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DEA Planned To Monitor Cars Parked At Gun Shows Using License Plate Readers

HughPickens.com writes According to a newly disclosed DEA email obtained by the ACLU through the Freedom of Information Act, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives collaborated on plans to monitor gun show attendees using automatic license plate readers. Responding to inquiries about the document, the DEA said that the monitoring of gun shows was merely a proposal and was never implemented. "The proposal in the email was only a suggestion. It was never authorized by DEA, and the idea under discussion in the email was never launched,'' says DEA administrator Michele Leonhart.

According to the Wall Street Journal the proposal shows the challenges and risks facing the U.S. as it looks to new, potentially intrusive surveillance technology to help stop criminals. Many of the government's recent efforts have scooped up data from innocent Americans, as well as those suspected of crimes, creating records that lawmakers and others say raise privacy concerns. "Automatic license plate readers must not be used to collect information on lawful activity — whether it be peacefully assembling for lawful purposes, or driving on the nation's highways," says the ACLU. "Without strong regulations and greater transparency, this new technology will only increase the threat of illegitimate government surveillance." National Rifle Association spokesman Andrew Arulanandam says the NRA is "looking into this to see if gun owners were improperly targeted, and has no further comment until we have all the facts."

6 of 577 comments (clear)

  1. Re:not New news by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Informative

    At this point, the burden of proof is on you, not the "paranoid" guy.

  2. Re:The DEA is just doing their job by rubycodez · · Score: 5, Informative

    You are a liar.

    Venezuela's gun murder rate went UP after guns outlawed in 2012, from 68 per 100,000 to 79 per 100,000 in 2013.

    Let's talk about another hispanic country that made guns illegal except for those who have signed paper by minister of defense, Mexico. A real crime free paradise there since citizens aren't allowed to have guns, eh?

  3. Aussie gun laws. by TapeCutter · · Score: 1, Informative

    Our gun laws worked exactly as advertised, after a string of US style mass shootings in the late 80's / early 90's the laws banning semi-automatics were introduced, the catalyst being the Port Arthur massacre that claimed 30+ lives. Since the laws were introduced 20+yrs ago there has not been another mass shooting in this country. Since mass shooting had been rare the effect on the murder rate was insignificant. Gun deaths are still around 200 souls per year, there are towns in the US that have a higher rate than our entire country, this fact has nothing to do with the law and everything to do with the culture inherited from our colonial past.

    This may be extremely difficult for an American to understand but "self-defence" is not a valid reason for granting a gun license in this country. Nobody living here needs a semi-auto rifle/shotgun, and very few of us would want one anyway. However before you start raving how stupid we Aussie's are, what other country can you name where the leader can go for a regular morning jog in the street without a small army of heavily armed body guards following him around?

    --
    And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
  4. Re:It's about entitlement for no work not guns by ganjadude · · Score: 2, Informative

    The mere situation where they vehemently insist that sporting clubs are a "well organized militia" shows how far it has diverged from anything resembling reality.

    you may want to educate yourself on the wording "well regulated militia" Because you are not using it in the proper context. Heres a hint. it has nothing to do with government regulations, and everything to do with owning guns in working order.

    --
    have you seen my sig? there are many others like it but none that are the same
  5. Re:The sad part? by PopeRatzo · · Score: 1, Informative

    but i stand by my statement, just because SCOTUS says something doesnt make it constitutional.

    Does that apply to the Supreme Court's "right to personal gun ownership"? Because it didn't exist until SCOTUS said it did.

    --
    You are welcome on my lawn.
  6. Re: The sad part? by mrchaotica · · Score: 3, Informative

    The militia is not the government's business. The militia is the People's business, and may be used against a government if it has become tyrannical. (In fact, that's what the people who wrote the Bill of Rights has just finished doing!)

    --

    "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz