Sobriety Check Points.... Will it happen in SA?

[Merovee]

Today the police can and will pull over a group of youths in a vehicle that are out late at night for no other reason other than they are young and it is night. So where are those claiming we are losing our rights?

I was once at a party in a rural area years ago where the sheriffs department ended it early and as everyone was leaving we had to go through a checkpoint where they briefly asked us for identification, a license if the operator of a motor vehicle, and proof of insurance. It was not a huge hassle and only those who were in violation or suspected of being in violation of some law, such as drinking and driving, or driving without insurance, were asked to pull over.

While dropping off a cousin for his national guard duty one weekend and driving back to town we were pulled over by immigration. The agent simply asked each of us if we were American citizens and let us on our way.

Another time I was returning with a coworker on an assignment in Laredo and we had to stop at an interior border patrol checkpoint that was well away from the border, we did not even cross over but stayed on American soil the whole time, they asked a few questions, ran dogs around our vehicle, and like the rest of the cars in line we were on our way. Those interior inspection stations are permanent structures and operating this very moment.

The fact that no one is whining about rights in those situations because those are the best chances for law enforcement to catch those engaging in illegal activity speaks volumes. It illustrates the fact that these rights advocates know they are not teens out doing mischief, or drug runners, or immigrant smugglers, so they are OK with law enforcement stopping all these other people.

Yet when it comes to doing something they engage in, drinking, and knowing at times after a drink or two they also wish to drive, they do not want to be pulled over or inspected, so they suddenly draw the line, cry foul, and whine about rights. It is a public road payed for by our tax dollars and if drunks are using them then by all means set up checkpoints and catch them.

The whole rights argument is incredibly weak and one has to be naive to believe their opinion is greater than that of the Supreme Court's or that of our own state which with the proper legislation finds sobriety checkpoints to be constitutional. There is no valid rights argument except by those who (A) either whine about rights in any given situation, no one is taking them seriously because they also claim they will have to defend our rights with their guns, as if the military and law enforcement do not already do that, and they are also siding with drunk drivers in this instance and the lawyers who defend them, or (B) those hiding behind such arguments because they are drunk drivers themselves.

[L210]

Unless someone wants to overthrow the Supreme Court which was set up by the Constitution, then sobriety checkpoints remain constitutional. You can try to challenge it in court again since there are a number of different justices now. After doing a little research, the argument for the Patriot Act is very much like the argument for sobriety checkpoints. It's basically, "Yes, this is a minor infringement upon people's rights, but people's safety outweighs this minor infringement." Parts of the Patriot Act have been struck down as unconstitutional, so maybe some of you have a chance.

Bexar County being the worst in the country for drunk drivers is disgusting. The penalty for the first offense needs to be very stiff in order to be a good deterrent. If the first offense gets a slap on the wrist, that still leaves room for people to murder innocent people on the roads. Killing someone while drinking and driving should be considered felony murder because the person made a conscious decision while sober to not have a safe way home.

The bill might have its best chance of passing this year. Sobriety checkpoints have mostly been brought up by Republicans and they have more control of the state house and senate. Past bills were only deemed unconstitutional in Texas because of the lack of statewide guidelines. This bill is much more detailed in what officers can and cannot do. The only drawback is that this bill will only apply to highly populated counties when many less populated counties have higher alcohol-related traffic fatality rates.

[RodLu]

"What's more important: your safety or your junk?" -some guy I recently heard on TV.....though admittedly it was about something-else-albeit-a-somewhat-similar-thing