Welcome to the United States of Absolution

[Gyno Rhino]

How about this?

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...identification

Police ask you a question, you don't answer, you go to directly to jail - do not pass go do not collect your rights.

[Mighty Mouse]

Usually 9 times out of ten its the people who dont want to give their info that are guilty of something. Its hard to believe that he wouldn't give his name because he was fighting for his rights It sounds like he is just trying to use this agruement to get out of trouble.

[Saturday Fever]

Whether a person is guilty or not is not the question. This is saying that at any given time, with or without cause, a cop can stop you on the sidewalk, at your front door, in the middle of a shopping mall and demand to see your ID. And if you refuse because they have no right or reason to ask for it, you're going to jail.

And that isn't what America is supposed to be about.

[-sin-]

He should have just answered the question. If I was a cop and this guy refused to tell me his name or show ID, I would suspect he was hiding something or had warrants out for his arrest.

[Saturday Fever]

Why? You must not see the extremely slippery slope this creates.

[-sin-]

Why? You must not see the extremely slippery slope this creates.

Its not like they just saw this guy walking down the road, minding his own business and decided to interrogate him. Someone saw him and his daughter arguing on the side of the road and called the cops to break it up. I think asking for his name was a valid question.

[Saturday Fever]

Why? Because arguing with your child isn't your own business? Perhaps we'll just disagree, but there was no reason to ask for identification in this case.

[Jasonl]

I agree with SF 100%. America is now a country dictated by a power-hungry "big brother" who wants to control its citizen's lifes in every aspect possible. I'm sure I'll get flammed for this, but I'm sure not proud to be an American anymore. All that propaganda the gov. was pumping into your mind all throughout your young, impressionable childhood(school) has led everyone to think this is the best way to be living, which, IMO it isn't.

[Saint Patrick]

I agree with SF 100%. America is now a country dictated by a power-hungry "big brother" who wants to control its citizen's lifes in every aspect possible. I'm sure I'll get flammed for this, but I'm sure not proud to be an American anymore. All that propaganda the gov. was pumping into your mind all throughout your young, impressionable childhood(school) has led everyone to think this is the best way to be living, which, IMO it isn't.

Damn straight. I blame Bush.

Sure, Clinton wasn't perfect, but I don't remember him ever infringing on my civil liberties or pissing on the bill of rights the way G.W. has.

[Mighty Mouse]

I definitly agree cops shouldn't be able to walk up to you in the street and demand ID for no reason but in this case they were called out to the area by a witness who seen a man agruing with a teenage girl. Its up to them to find out the situation.

[clvmike19]

Yeah ever since W came into office the Gestapo has been knocking down doors.....no?

Ok ok.......the press cant criticize him......Richard Clarke on 60 mins you say?

Enough of the pissing on the bill of rights....it aint happening.

[Jasonl]

Our forefathers would be rolling over in their graves right now if they knew how this country had turned out.

[GonePostal]

I agree with SF. Though in this case the cop might have been doing his job with the best intentions that does not mean all cops will. Cops do not have the right to interogate you for something so trivial as someone saw you have an arguement. Very slippery slope and this could set a precident where other less well intentioned officer might use for less amicable goals.

[Shane]

I agree with St. Patty and SF.

If any of you don't think cops will abuse their powers...a couple months ago a cop broke into a teachers classroom in the middle of the night to take pictures of the stuff on the teachers wall because some of it was critical of the Bush administrations current policies. Rush Limbaugh put the pictures on his website. Also, a couple months ago in San Francisco a teacher was having a class discussion about the Iraq conflict and asking the students what they thought about it. Two of the students said someone should wack the president. The students wer hauled into the principles office, yelled at and intimidated by two secret service agents. Now as far as a person, any person, wanting to take pics of what's on a teachers classroom walls I have no problem with that, but there's a way to do it without breaking the law or abuse of power. And I know you aren't supposed to make a threatening remark about the president, but two high school students expressing an opinion in a classroom discussion are hardly a threat to national security or the president. There are other examples of these things and it's probably only gonna get worse as long as people keep buying into the govts BS and tolerate it.

[Joe Black]

The Police should have the power to demand identification from you in my opinion. I think there should be a certain criteria met before being able to enforce your name be given though. Damn, I figured this was law anyway. If a UK policeman asks me for my name in the street, I am pretty sure I do not have the rights to just walk off and ignore them.

I just cannot see in anyway why you would not want to tell a Police office your name unless you have something to hide. It wouldn’t bother me in the slightest having to do so.

Of course there is always the potential for Police to abuse this power, but hell they have enough power to potentially abuse as it is, asking for your id is not such a big thing.

[phreak]

Now they might just ask your name. But you could lie about that, so next they might require everyone to carry identification all the time. But they could be forged. What's next then? Tattooing your ID into your arm? (been done before...) Inserting a microchip with tracking device into eveyone, "just to be sure"? Hey, if you aren't breaking any laws, you shouldn't mind Big Brother tracking where you are and who you meet 24/7. Right?

[The_Brick]

Guess what.

In Australia (wannabe mini america) police have the power to seach anyone on the spot without cause.

[cjb]

Our forefathers would be rolling over in their graves right now if they knew how this country had turned out.

And this isn't the same country our forefathers founded. Back then people were actually held accountable for their actions. Guns probably weren't being brought to school. You could discipline your child without social services being called on you. You knew your neighbor and would even help him out if he needed it. Oh, and MTV hadn't been invented yet.

It pains me to say it, but there is such a thing as having too much freedom.

[Songsangnim]

I agree with St. Patty and SF.

If any of you don't think cops will abuse their powers...a couple months ago a cop broke into a teachers classroom in the middle of the night to take pictures of the stuff on the teachers wall because some of it was critical of the Bush administrations current policies. Rush Limbaugh put the pictures on his website. Also, a couple months ago in San Francisco a teacher was having a class discussion about the Iraq conflict and asking the students what they thought about it. Two of the students said someone should wack the president. The students wer hauled into the principles office, yelled at and intimidated by two secret service agents. Now as far as a person, any person, wanting to take pics of what's on a teachers classroom walls I have no problem with that, but there's a way to do it without breaking the law or abuse of power. And I know you aren't supposed to make a threatening remark about the president, but two high school students expressing an opinion in a classroom discussion are hardly a threat to national security or the president. There are other examples of these things and it's probably only gonna get worse as long as people keep buying into the govts BS and tolerate it.

This is not a good example. To threaten the life of the president, (or for that matter certain other persons guarded by Secret Service agents) is a federal crime. This particular law has been on the books a long time. And it just doesn't cover direct threats, but indirect threats as well, even in another country. At the university I attended one of the students made a bet with another about if the President actually read his e-mail. So the second student sent a (non-serious) death threat to the President. Mind you, this was in Canada, and the guy was just joking around. When he returned from classes the next day, there were a couple of Mounties waiting for him. He eventually was let off with a warning.

Point being, if you violate a federal law, you are likely to get in serious trouble. Ignorance of the law is not regarded as an acceptable excuse.

[BCC]

Now they might just ask your name. But you could lie about that, so next they might require everyone to carry identification all the time.

The last time I was confronted by a police officer. I did not have an ID on me. He said that was against the law and he could take me in for it.

[Saturday Fever]

It's law in most places that you have to have identification. It's not law that you have to whip it out at a cop's whim.

[galileo]

This is just a way for them to legally get girls' names and addresses so they can stalk them.

[WillKuenzel]

It's law in most places that you have to have identification. It's not law that you have to whip it out at a cop's whim.

That's what I thought, I just wasn't sure about the last part.

If though you don't give it to them, isn't that enough to create reasonable suspicion or whatever, so that they may search. What's the law on that? I thought that if a cop pulled you over for something (maybe weaving or driving erratically) that they could search your vehicle if they had reasonable cause to think that you might have been drinking? Where's the line drawn on something like that?

[Reinier]

I agree with St. Patty and SF.

If any of you don't think cops will abuse their powers...a couple months ago a cop broke into a teachers classroom in the middle of the night to take pictures of the stuff on the teachers wall because some of it was critical of the Bush administrations current policies. Rush Limbaugh put the pictures on his website. Also, a couple months ago in San Francisco a teacher was having a class discussion about the Iraq conflict and asking the students what they thought about it. Two of the students said someone should wack the president. The students wer hauled into the principles office, yelled at and intimidated by two secret service agents. Now as far as a person, any person, wanting to take pics of what's on a teachers classroom walls I have no problem with that, but there's a way to do it without breaking the law or abuse of power. And I know you aren't supposed to make a threatening remark about the president, but two high school students expressing an opinion in a classroom discussion are hardly a threat to national security or the president. There are other examples of these things and it's probably only gonna get worse as long as people keep buying into the govts BS and tolerate it.

Just wanted to reemphasize this post. Cuz if this doesnt make you think things over, you have your head halfway up to your gall bladder

[Saturday Fever]

I thought that if a cop pulled you over for something (maybe weaving or driving erratically) that they could search your vehicle if they had reasonable cause to think that you might have been drinking? Where's the line drawn on something like that?

In this example, the cops would take the breath test first. If you failed, they'd have cause to search your vehicle.