Just in case you have not heard, privacy is now officially dead in America. The drones are coming.
From Fox News:
Unmanned drones could soon be buzzing in the skies above many U.S. cities, as the federal government green-lights the technology for local law enforcement amid widespread privacy concerns.
The Federal Aviation Administration on Monday began to explain the rules of the sky for these newly licensed drones at potentially dozens of sites across the country. The agency, on its website, said that government "entities" will have to obtain a special certificate in order to fly the aircraft, adding that the FAA is "streamlining the process for public agencies to safely fly (drones) in the nation's airspace."
In doing so, the government is taking a tool that has become synonymous with U.S. counterterror warfare in countries like Pakistan and Yemen -- and putting it in the hands of U.S. law enforcement.
Unlike some of the drones used overseas, these will not be equipped with missiles. They are to be used purely for surveillance. But that alone has raised serious privacy concerns on Capitol Hill and beyond.
"Our Founding Fathers had no idea that there would be remote-control drones with television monitors that can feed back live data instantaneously -- but if they had, they would have made darn sure ... that these things were subject to the Fourth Amendment (protecting individual privacy)," Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, told Fox News.
Drones have already been employed domestically. In what was described as the first case where an unmanned drone was used to arrest an American citizen on U.S. soil, a North Dakota SWAT team reportedly borrowed a Department of Homeland Security drone to monitor Rodney Brossart -- who was involved in a 16-hour standoff at his North Dakota farm over six cattle that had wandered onto his property and which he claimed as his own. The SWAT team apparently used the drone to make sure it was safe to arrest him, though his lawyer has since claimed Brossart was subjected to guerrilla-like police tactics and had his constitutional rights violated.
Now, thanks to these drones, privacy will be a thing of the past. The drones can fly, video anything they see, and even peer into your home with thermal imaging.
The Constitution clearly prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures. This is an unreasonable search and seizure when the government can fly a drone over your home and just look in, simply because someone wants to.
There is no Constitutional authority for these drones. There are no statutes that allow this or even a court case that says the government can do this.
Drones can have a legitimate role in law enforcement and other uses, such as search and rescue. But those legitimate uses do not strip Americans of their Constitutional rights.
Tags: amendment, constitution, drones, fourth, privacy
Permalink Reply by John Gearhart on At what altitude will these be flying? They could be difficult to shoot down if above 1000ft. Size and coloration will make them difficult to visually detect, sorry guys, unless you have access to anti-aircraft stuff, you'll be shooting in vain.
The military types can usually fly between 25,000 and 45,000 feet. Many smaller ones, currently used by some police departments, have a maximum of up to 8,000 feet.
Permalink Reply by Sherry Breece on Well, can we say this is going too far!!!!!!!
Permalink Reply by Lawrence Brown on Our biggest terror threat comes out of Washington,D.C.
Permalink Reply by Robert M. Hellen, Sr. on Oh heck, it's just the constitution being violated...no biggie, eh? Next, black helicopters all over the place I suppose.
Permalink Reply by janet barks on Well, I haven't heard this yet. Romney wants to replace Obamcare with Romneycare???
Where are all the folks that said "Romney said he would get rid of Obamacare?"
This is a real bad sign.
Permalink Reply by William C. Sawyer on Well, if I see one of those drones flying over, I can certainly give them something to photograph. ( | )
Permalink Reply by Kristine Kennedy on This is the least of your worries-everybody Google "microchips in humans".
Permalink Reply by Jo Gonzalez on Big Brother has been watching a long time, just not to this extent. My first encounter, was seeing them lurking on the edges of the crowd, at the Glenn Beck Rally in San Antonio, at the Alamo. The second time was when the Homeland Security was checking all the TeaParty People going to Searchlight to protest Harry Reid. We can expect no less, from these People, and modern technology is aiding and abetting. So much for Progress, Freedom, and Privacy.
Permalink Reply by Jo Gonzalez on Hey, you Guys, could be more fun than Dove hunting!!!
Permalink Reply by Thomas on Can we place any greater trust in our governments and their decisions than we will be able to place in the Chinese governments after our federal government has sold out to the politiboro in Beijing and the Chinese Empire has become the uber government of The United States?
The District of Columbia has become a strange little foreign country to which the citizens of the fifty states of The United States send massive amounts of foreign aid.
Since the drones are paid for with tax dollars, anyone has the right to destroy the things. If I'm paying for something and it's not working the way it should, I can get rid of it. Texas, it's an attitude and a way of life!! ;)
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