All posts tagged with: teenagers
Illegal Search and Seizure
May 9, 2007 | Filed Under Main, Politics | No Comments
Another softball game Monday and I had two singles, two RBI’s and a lot less pain than last week. Yea! Chris also scored his first goal in lacrosse. Yea!
Okay - so I have to go deal with local government tonight. Back to the Town Council chambers, hopefully with a number of other irate citizens. See - our Borough government is trying to pass a law proposed by our local police department. This law is aimed at stopping underage drinking. A commendable goal, of course. However, rather than curbing all advertisement and products aimed at teenagers and college students, they have taken this tack: If the Police become AWARE of a group of teenagers in a private home and they SUSPECT those teenagers MIGHT be drinking, then the Police can come to the door of your house and if they PERCEIVE that there is no adult at the home, then they can walk right in and issue tickets and make arrests. Also - while they are in the home, ANYTHING in plain view can be used as evidence to formulate a charge against either your child or the homeowner. All of this with no warrant required.
Now, here is what the Bill of Rights says:”The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”
Sound constitutional? Of course not. No one has a right to come into my house unless they actually know a real crime (there are various levels legally) is being committed. Beyond that - why not just make all teenagers felons? They enter high school and all receive ankle bracelets. That is how the law is judging them these days. Which is great from police officers who you know darn well drank before they reached 21! Imagine - at 18 you can leave home, sign loan documents, be tried as an adult, vote and go off to war to kill and be killed around the globe. BUT WE MUST PROTECT THEM FROM A COORS LIGHT!!! Stupid.
Look. These are tough years - granted. As a parent, I know I am being tested everyday. He’s going to make mistakes. I am going to make mistakes. That is how you grow up. And if he gets caught, he pays the penalties. But I do not agree with this “nanny society” we are living in. And I do not need the police pushing their way into my house on a whim. It is hard enough raising a teenager in this world. Because they know how hypocritical everything you tell them is. They see in on TV. They know your history. They watch our leaders lie at every opportunity. They may act like idiots some days, but they are not stupid.
I will add that one local municipality already passed this law. Another municipality made it a crime to smoke a cigarette in a car if there is a child present. If we are going to make bad parenting a crime, I going to start making my list of laws I would like to see….