Tennessee Tyranny: Fingerprinting During Routine Traffic Stops
By Eric Peters, Automotive Columnist
Now they’ll be fingerprinting us for jaywalking. Or “speeding.” Just about any (formerly minor) traffic violation.
Beginning in the once-fine state of Tennessee. Southerners, it appears, are becoming just as statist as the Yankee carpetbaggers they used to (rightly) despise.
Two bills have made their way through the rancid colon of the TN House and Senate, HB2220 and SB2153, respectively, that would “… authorize(s) use of fingerprints as (a) form of acknowledgement, in lieu of, or in addition to, a person’s signature for citations and certain other notices and documents.” (See http://www.capitol.tn.gov and type in the bill numbers.)
In plain language, when you get pulled over or stopped by a cop for some trivial reason such as doing 5 mph over the limit in a Radar Trap Zone, the cop — at his discretion — may compel you, the offender, to submit to being fingerprinted “in lieu of, or in addition to” your signature on the summons.
Tennessee’s tyranny is the first such action of its kind in these forcibly united States — and has aroused a popular groundswell of resentment and resistance. Understandably.
Fingerprinting starts with an “F” — because generally, the accepted practice has been that only felons, or those accused of committing felonies, get inked. Fingerprints go into a national criminal database, so that in the future it will be easier and simpler to track and identify the activities of felons.
But jaywalkers, U-turn bandits and speeders?
Hell, under TN’s new cornpone jackbootery, a person could be fingerprinted merely for spitting on the sidewalk, in violation of town ordinance Barney Fife 5, Section 3a.
It would be humorous, maybe a little bit, if it weren’t so obnoxious to common sense and civil liberties.
Comments?
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Randy , can you really believe there is no difference between signature and drivers license pic and this ridiculous idea of fingerprinting for minor offenses ??????????
Not even YOU could that clueless…………..I’ve given you the benefit of the doubt here , even though you have proved time and again you don’t really deserve it .
I’d bet you were quite fond of the security afforded to all under the eastern block at the cost of their freedom in the 80s ……….:~( . Good thing the peoples that lived under this terany thought differently than you . I’d bet your don’t even know what the eastern block was ……….
T Jefferson ,
“No security is bought at the cost of our freedom” I’m from one of the original 13 colonies and I take that one very seriously .
Too bad the republican party never got that one over the last 8 years …………..there motto over the last 8 years ” was scare the uneducated masses like you enough and they will give up all their freedoms” …….Most immigrants know more about the constitution than clowns like you , really sad ..
I’d bet you don’t even know what the reciprocal agreement between the states on driving rules and laws even is ………….
Randy you really need to go back into your “safe room” , hide under the bed and lock the door ( with your system of ~20 locks , LOL) . We will all be happier ……..:<) once you feel safe again …
You must be terrified out here in the real world where freedoms mean more to the rest of us than your feeling safe .
southernboy I will give you the benefit of a doubt if you give me one good reason why it would do you harm if your finger print was taken. I gave my excuse that it gives positive identification but you and others have given absolutly no reason why it would cause you harm. Your turn.
I forgot to answer your political question. Say what you want about the evil repulicans but there have been no major incidents in the US for many many years. You and others would prefer absolute freedom to everyone to bring people and weapons in to kill as many of us as possible. You shout out to come and get us. You forget that the current democratic president has changed his stance a buch since he took office and found out the facts and did not have to spout off propoganda any more to get elected.
Randy –
Lufthansa has a flight from JFK to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on June 29, 2009 for $677.00. Why not go? You will forever be safe from those awful drunks and speeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeders. And, if you are bad, they will feed you your missing limb. I hope you decide to leave. I will provide you some financial assistance to leave if you so desire. Maybe free drinks on the plane? LOL.
Swamprat, no I think I will stay where I am . YOu will be in jail anyway getting all of those tickets for 5 mph over the limit.
If you are against finger printing then I would say that you should not get a picture for your drivers license or sign it ffor that matter. What about all that personal information you give when you file your tax forms? Maybe you should not file any taxes. What about all that public information when you buy a house? Maybe you should only rent. What about if you get a loan from a bank? Maybe you have to pay cash for everything. What about that ip address you are sending all over when you are on the internet? Maybe you should not use a phone or internet anymore. I think the only safe place for you is in the woods somewhere miles away from all civilization. Maybe that is the case given your name that you use. You must be a rat that lives in the swamp. I do not know how you send internet messages.
I knew a Randy once. He was the fattest kid in the sixth grade.
Today, his fingerprints are on file.
WTF is going in the volunteer state ??????????????? speed & traffic light Scameras , now this ???????? How can a legislature be so disconected from reality ?????????????????????
Looks like I might be taking the more northern route on my next trip across the region ……. And on finger printing being reasonable for a minor traffic offense , bullsh!t ………there is nothing reasonable about this . My drivers license & signature is more than enough as is all that is required under the reciprocal agreement between states , has been for all of my driving life .
I wonder what can be done to challenge this outrage ??????? What will happen when someone refuses to give a finger print ?? And what happens to finger prints collected when you are found not guilty of a charged offense ?????? This stinks of an effort to collect a fingerprint data base for use for who knows what . Not a can of worms I want opened , they aren’t getting my finger prints to put in some data base if I have any say on it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I would challenge this on what they might do with the prints they collect after the case is resolved .
And Randy how out there are you , do you even think before you post ?? You become more & more a clueless idiot with every response you give like this not thinking it through before you write . Why don’t you more to a country that has no rights , you would love the UK today as I think you might feel safe there . But not in my country will I willing give over rights without a fight .
And I’d bet you would be for collecting the DNA of all Americans to keep in a data base , even when not convicted of or even charged with a crime ????????? The fish hook is front of you are going to bite ?????……….
You haven’t been convicted of any crime yet doofus. But then again, you can’t even spell finger right.
What civil liberties would fingure printing violate?
I’m not a lawyer, and I assume no stated liberties are violated in this case, but I have to ask you what compels you to ask?
Do you want to be fingerprinted at every turn? How about when you go to wal-mart? How about when you get stopped for some trivial offense like driving 5 mph over the speed limit?
How about when you enter and leave your house? If you have nothing to hide, there’s nothing wrong with it, right? How about the government turn your power off and limit you to two flushes per day on your toilet? You are living under a rock if you don’t believe that the technology isn’t to monitor every solitary human activity. You are very naive if you don’t believe that it couldn’t or wouldn’t be used in one form or another.
When I took my business law class in college, I was taught that the “reasonable man” standard had to be applied in disposition of legal cases. Unfortuantely, the standard is a moving target. Twisted, sick people in black robes and suburban neurotic fishwives who vote for justices and politicians have become unreasonable and have allowed crap like this to stick in court. In the past, finger printing was reserved for people who belonged in jail.
Actually, the question is what harm is a person driving 5 mph over the speed limit doing? If the person wasn’t involved in an accident, that person shouldn’t be pulled over.
As long as we have unreasonable people, we will have unreasonable laws. If you like this, may I suggest a one way plane trip to China? I will even pay for your course in Mandarin so that you can get a great job over there. I would like nothing more than to send people who like to be fingerprinted over to our global paradise.
Swamprat, first thing what percentage of people that get tickets get them while driving 5 mph or less over the limit? My guess would be far less than .1% but that is just my guess. You know rather than China I think I like the way the do things in countries like Saudi Arabia where they cut a limb off if you get caught doing something bad.
You and others here would do all you can to allow drunks to be on our streets or serial killers or rapists because we can not be stopping anyone’s rights to get away with whatever they want to do by doing any kind of checks.
Well I guess you are of the school, that it is better to execute ten innocent men to make sure you get that one guilty man.
rather than it is better to let ten guilty men go, than imprison one innocent man.
George, no Gearge you do not get the whole point of this. The whole point is to get the right person. If someone gets stopped for a serious offense and has stollen your identity, you would be the one that gets into trouble. If they would take a finger print at the time then you would have an out and positive proof that you did not do it. You would then rather have the person that did not do the crime to get the punishment. When are you guys going to learn that more positive identification is better not worse? One of the main reasons for this law was for positive ID. You are the one that says hang the innocent guy.
If you want to volunteer your fingerprint, go ahead.
sideissue: identity theft comes from government, not from people rummaging through your garbage-contrary to what McGruff says.
I wouldn’t give government to the authority to violate your rights, or deprive you of rights without due process.
The ‘drunk driving issue’ was settled like 75 years ago.
For light-weights, impairment occurs at 0.05, for heavy-weights 0.15. So it worked out to 0.10.
If you want to do something about DUI, start bumping up the charges for DUI deaths from involuntary manslaughter, to 3rd degree murder.
Where, why, and how do you bring up serial killers and rapists on a driving rights advocacy site?
George where does finger printing come up on a dirvers rights advocacy site?
It goes back that you want to hang the innocent and and let the criminals go free just because you do not want a change in procedures. If you do not like fingerprints you should also not want to sign a ticket because it can be copied or your name or address for that matter.
As for your drunken driving stance, you and I have different views. I say to try and stop someone before they lkill someone else and you say to punish someone after they kill someone else if they are still alive to punish. Drunken driving accidents are one of the highest preventable ways to reduce deaths. Punsishment after the fact would only make it so someone does not create two accidents with killings it doen not do a thing about prevening their first killing.
See headline, and linked story.
Just put an X. You are under duress to write your name.
I don’t.
Do you think the message won’t get out. Don’t drink then drive.
George, how many times have you gone to jail since you do not sign your name? If you signed your name on your drivers license and not on a ticket then I would think there would be a good chance you would go to jail.
Never.
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