This is a sign of what is to come if I have ever seen one. A new bill being put forward in the State Senate of AZ is something we should take notice of because how many social and economic issues this will cause for the people being effected by it.
The details in SB1475 are ambiguous to say the least and when some like me who is pro liberty reads through it we see red flags are all over the place indeed. It reads vague seemingly on propose, it says things like this:
So your DNA information is going to be stored with all of your personal data in The Department Of Safety? Are they trying to convince us that the DMV is now a laboratory capable of saving samples or is this going to be a system of digital storage run by disinterested and/or corrupt state workers? Either way I see problems with this plan and it doesn't stop there. I see some real 4th amendment law suits coming down because of this carte blanc access, after all, how can they not abuse such unfettered power?
I take issue with the dishonest language as well, it claims police could use this data in their investigations when it should that they will %100, without a doubt, use this database to assist in their crime investigations. When it says that someone could buy this info for the use of legitimate research I think it crosses the line though. They are going to sell your DNA to an unknown someone for research but who has final say on what constitutes legitimacy here I must ask?
That is just creepy and reeks of dystopia to me but of course they do manage to pull on emotions when they plead their case. The way these politicians attempt to box people like me in is to remind us on how this would help with child and family protection issues we have in our society. I can't argue against people applying to the state to be foster parents to be under a rule that would prove their identity and criminal history. In this instance I think that it would help to keep out predators, even after the corruption allows creeps through there will be some who are stopped from having access to vulnerable children and it pulls on my heart to think about. I think many of us are desperate to help even one kid in a bad situation at nearly any cost but we have to be extremely cautious with our freedoms because once they are gone, it's very difficult to get the back.
I predict that if this kind of government control, once normalized, will become more invasive over time. The idea has been floated around that you would eventually have to submit to this database if you want a drivers license. I can only imagine what new ways these people will come up with to use this new tool but I definitely feel freedom is at risk here though.
This doesn't just have criminal justice implications but I also wager much that this will have social effects that will be instantly felt by many people who their identity is part of their personal privacy and in no way want their DNA determining who they are. I bring up transgender people for instance because of the issue of dead naming and the outing of past identities hurting the person's ability to pursue liberty nd happiness as they see fit.
I honestly feel like adding this hypothetical situation into this conversation for two reasons, the basis for them drafting this bill is not public so we need absolutely should consider everyone involved as much as possible when we are trying to rearrange society by government fiat. Also, if we don't bring it up they won't until it is too late that is.
One of the connections being made by local news outlets to a motivation for bringing this into fruition is a recent case where DNA helped bring a rapist to justice. The details are inescapably horrible in this kind of crime but please forgive me for repeating their theory but it does matter and here is why.
No one can argue that, in this case, these invasive tactics paid off and would be the fastest way to deal with similar crimes in the future. If we can rely on the testing methods and storage of this data an arrest can be made over night when an atrocious crime like this happens if the state has its way for sure. An argument can be made whether that is going to far but I insist that there will be many unintended consequences as well.
One that came to mind is those who would be caught up in a sweep of DNA inspections is a trans gendered person I would argue. It seems like a privacy violation to bring in a person for questioning if they for instance are incapable of committing said crime. I can't help but think that a person would be suspect in a case like Hacienda Healthcare despite having taken steps, what ever they may be, to live their life in their manner of choosing because the DNA record depicting them as the gender they have left behind. I am a big proponent of people being able to mind their own business and live in peace and I'm sure that I'm not alone on that perspective so we should talk about this before anything gets passed I would say.
I'm sure there are ways to work this out but then we need to bring up the problem of adding protections to laws for some and not others. This gets even more complicated when you try and fix it and the ripples of these actions will be felt by everyone regardless of their identity. We all want equal protection and have to be careful to not add loopholes that can be exploited by the very criminals we are after. I often argue that laws that attempt to change human behavior typically only work to control those willing to conform to the status quo and have nearly no effect on those who wish to subvert the rules of society. In short, we don't want to give bad people protection along side the good people who need it, the phrase if we outlaw guns, only outlaws will have guns comes to mind.
I believe it is on us to think this through because our leaders probably will not. I doubt they have the ability to identify all the variables in play when it comes to remaking society in such a massive way so I insist we need to do it ourselves.
I would really like to hear what everyone thinks in the comments, I have a lot of questions and hope we can get ahead of this issue. If the legislators in Arizona get this passed and it holds up in the courts believe me we will see it more states across the U.S.A. so kicking the can so to speak isn't really an option. Even if it fails, the idea of DNA data bases being owned by the government will keep coming up again and again until it does get put into in law, I can almost guarantee that.
Please let me know where you think you fit into this debate, do you think it is worth a loss in liberty for a gain in security when it comes to getting the worst criminals caught quickly? Is it even possible to implement a system like this without violating every one's privacy and causing massive social problems? Will it lead to corruption and double standards in our criminal justice nets?
I believe we can identify all the variables that will cause problems because of this action if we put our heads together a lot better than any politicians will be able to and I look forward to hearing what you have to say. I feel safe arguing that our representatives, if we want to call them that, will blindly lead us down a road that leads to Gattaca becoming our new reality and I for one do not want that for our society.
