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UPDATED: Cruz control for drones?

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UPDATED: Cruz control for drones?

POSTED: Tuesday, February 19, 2013, 2:07 PM

I was planning to write on this topic this week and still may, but events are getting away from me. I never thought I'd say these words, but hooray for state Rep. Angel Cruz:

Concerned about violations of privacy by drones, State Rep. Angel Cruz of Philadelphia is proposing that law-enforcement agencies in Pennsylvania get court approval for any unmanned aerial surveillance.

The bill, which has nine cosponsors, including Republicans and Democrats, is likely to be introduced next week, said Cruz, a Democrat.

The amendment to the state's criminal code, similar to one he first proposed a couple of years ago, would limit drone use to investigating serious crimes, where the penalty could be year or more in prison.

Although the bill doesn't address whether drones can be armed or owned by citizens or businesses - such as news organizations - lawmakers will address those issues, Cruz said.

This can and will be refined, but it seems like a reasonable first try at a compromise. On one hand, there are occasions where a drone could certainly be useful for good purposes -- finding a lost hiker in remote woods, for example. But if they're just going to be another annexation to an ever-growing police state, then we can do without them. Also, I think the more debate we have about how drones are used here in the U.S., the more we'll also focus on how they're being used to kill people abroad.

UPDATE: A very thoughtful essay on drones from a great American writer, Esquire's Tom Junod.

Will Bunch @ 2:07 PM Permalink | 6 comments

6 comments

Comments (6)

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 2:28 PM, 02/19/2013

And don't forget your post on this impending bill in Washington state Will, which is currently taking aim at both the 2nd & 4th amendments: “In order to continue to possess an assault weapon that was legally possessed on the effective date of this section, the person possessing shall … safely and securely store the assault weapon. The sheriff of the county may, no more than once per year, conduct an inspection to ensure compliance with this subsection.”

— teardownthisfishwrap

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 2:30 PM, 02/19/2013

Note that Cruz is a democrat. the totalitarian party. Barry must be proud.

— CD75

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 4:02 PM, 02/19/2013

Ever-growing police state? Ironic thought, considering that unmanned drones would reduce the need for more police, more patrols, etc. We're looking at this all wrong. Drones will be in common use within the next few decades, just like private manned aircraft are today. The privacy issue will thus be moot once we lose our expectation of privacy from each other. Technology is what is eroding our "expectation of privacy", a basic concept in traditional 4th Amendment analysis. Advancing technology is what is threatening our traditional understanding of keeping and bearing arms, as well. Until we address technology as it relates to our social responsibilities to each other, and draw clear distinct lines, we'll be hard-pressed to use the Bill of Rights when it's the gubmint doing the encroaching.

— montani semper liberi

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 10:26 PM, 02/19/2013

I was afraid you were going to say something in favor of Sen. Ted Cruz, the worst new senator since Jim DeMint, and actually worse than DeMint.

— Archimedes

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 9:08 AM, 02/20/2013

An argument to the expectation of privacy seems laughable in today's day and age where people willingly post their every move and thought on social media. It boggles my mind the details on one's life that some people put out in cyberspace these days.

I guess the argument here is that the only powers "reserved for the states" is control of its airspace....

— Wiseman6

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 10:37 AM, 02/21/2013

I'm still waiting for this column. Time is getting away from you but you still find time to write your dumb propaganda pieces. Don't just focus on this PA issue but the fact that thanks to Obama, drones are coming to the United States and for no good reason. If the war on terror is winding down, why is the war on people's privacy ramping up?

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Will Bunch, a senior writer at the Philadelphia Daily News, blogs about his obsessions, including national and local politics and world affairs, the media, pop music, the Philadelphia Phillies, soccer and other sports, not necessarily in that order.

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