Arizona Wants to Expand DNA Database to Include Those Arrested, not Just Convicted
June 22nd, 2007Via: Arizona Republic:
State lawmakers voted Tuesday to expand the state’s DNA database dramatically by requiring all people arrested for certain crimes to provide DNA samples for state records whether they are convicted or not.
Conservative and liberal lawmakers alike raised alarms that the measure would violate the civil liberties of people never convicted of a crime and set a dangerous precedent for government collection of sensitive genetic information.
“I think it is egregious,” Rep. Eddie Farnsworth, a conservative Republican from Gilbert and chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said on the House floor Tuesday. “It tramples on the liberties and freedom of the people.”
Supporters say the move provides an expanded crime-solving tool for law enforcement and compared taking a DNA sample to taking a mug shot or fingerprints at the time of arrest. Current law requires DNA samples only after a person is convicted of certain felonies.
…
Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Phoenix, called it a “radical change” in law that would disproportionately affect minorities and presume everyone arrested is guilty.
“I believe this is a very, very scary step toward a Big Brother state,” she said on the House floor.
Research Credit: PD
Kind of unrelated, but I’ve been thinking for awhile now that if I was staging a large scale killoff of the human population, I’d make sure I had as many genetic samples of the general population as possible.
There would be many reasons, but it would just make sense to grab as many samples as possible before liquidating the gene pool.