House Votes To Expand National DNA Arrest Database

suraj.sun writes with this excerpt from CNET: "Millions of Americans arrested for but not convicted of crimes will likely have their DNA forcibly extracted and added to a national database, according to a bill approved by the US House of Representatives on Tuesday. By a 357 to 32 vote, the House approved legislation that will pay state governments to require DNA samples, which could mean drawing blood with a needle, from adults 'arrested for' certain serious crimes. Not one Democrat voted against the database measure, which would hand out about $75 million to states that agree to make such testing mandatory. ... But civil libertarians say DNA samples should be required only from people who have been convicted of crimes, and argue that if there is probable cause to believe that someone is involved in a crime, a judge can sign a warrant allowing a blood sample or cheek swab to be forcibly extracted."

Comments

Re:The house needs more rebels

[Ethanol-fueled]

Heck, if the census-takers had all been DNA screened against the criminal database, I'd worry a bit less about the possibility of my family letting them into the house.

Mistrustful alarmists like you are part of the problem. You should be much more worried about the Wall Street schmucks bilking you out of your wealth.

"As we feel guilt for delegating increasing amounts of parental responsibility to daycare workers and the like, we tend to compensate for our guilt by treating the public at large with mistrust and hostility. A monster must be careful in these paranoid times, even a monster as indifferent to children as Hannibal Lecter."

Paraphrased from Thomas Harris novel Hannibal. Wish I had the book here, the actual quote is much more eloquent.