Audio By Carbonatix
A handful of Republican state legislators are proposing a bill that would make it illegal for cops to use drones to gather information without a search warrant.
House Bill 2574, proposed by some of the black-helicopter-phobes at the Leg’ — including Representative Carl Seel and Senator Judy Burges — actually says cops could only use a drone, in any capacity, if they have a search warrant.
Real quick, consider the fact that cops don’t need a search warrant to fire up the chopper and fly around.
Still, this appears to be a popular type of legislation around the country — the Associated Press says “at least 11 states” are considering legislation like this, and they didn’t include Arizona in that count.
Will you step up to support New Times this year?
At New Times, we’re small and scrappy — and we make the most of every dollar from our supporters. Right now, we’re $16,000 away from reaching our December 31 goal of $30,000. If you’ve ever learned something new, stayed informed, or felt more connected because of New Times, now’s the time to give back.
HB 2574 also states that private citizens are allowed to own their own drones.
However, according to the bill, “It is unlawful for a person to use drones to monitor other persons inside their homes or places of worship or within the closed confines of their property or other locations where a person would have an expectation of privacy.”
According to the bill, anyone who violates its provisions is guilty of a class six felony.
While we’re on the subject of the Legislature’s Black Helicopter Committee, the same nine legislators sponsoring the bill on drones are also sponsoring a bill that says no one in Arizona can comply with a pair of sections in the National Defense Authorization Act of 2012.
Those sections have to do with indefinitely detaining terrorism suspects, which some people swear up and down could be applied to everyday citizens. That includes the Black Helicopter Committee, which alleges that these two sections of the NDAA violate the Constitution ten-fold. That bill, HB 2573, borrowed from the Tenth Amendment Center.
