Supreme Court votes in favor of DNA Database

[Jim]

So?

[rgrokelley]

So?

DNA evidence, unlike fingerprints, can tell everything about you. Your genetic makeup. Your chance of getting a certain disease or physical disability. Who your parents were. I could go on, but it tells all.

What this decision allows is for law enforcement to gather DNA evidence without a conviction and without a court order. You get picked up for jaywalking, and they can gather your DNA.

"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized"

I would consider my DNA to be my "persons"

OK, so lets look at "so"? In a nice benevolent world, where the government would never do anything to innocent people, this seems that it is not that big of a deal. However imagine a government who would use the power of the government to intimidate certain political groups. What could you do with their DNA?

Or, go one further, and lets look at the same situation to the extreme. What would Hitler have been able to do if he could actually tell who was Jewish and who was not by having everyone's DNA evidence on file.

Thank goodness we have a benevolent government who would never, ever, spy on its own people

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/05 ... s-scandal/

and would never round up any of its citizens based upon their race...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_A ... internment

and is not keeping information gathered on its citizens in a massive storage facility

http://rt.com/news/utah-data-center-spy-789/

Nothing to worry about here.

[rangertough]

So?

DNA evidence, unlike fingerprints, can tell everything about you. Your genetic makeup. Your chance of getting a certain disease or physical disability. Who your parents were. I could go on, but it tells all.

What this decision allows is for law enforcement to gather DNA evidence without a conviction and without a court order. You get picked up for jaywalking, and they can gather your DNA.

"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized"

I would consider my DNA to be my "persons"

OK, so lets look at "so"? In a nice benevolent world, where the government would never do anything to innocent people, this seems that it is not that big of a deal. However imagine a government who would use the power of the government to intimidate certain political groups. What could you do with their DNA?

Or, go one further, and lets look at the same situation to the extreme. What would Hitler have been able to do if he could actually tell who was Jewish and who was not by having everyone's DNA evidence on file.

Thank goodness we have a benevolent government who would never, ever, spy on its own people

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/05 ... s-scandal/

and would never round up any of its citizens based upon their race...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_A ... internment

and is not keeping information gathered on its citizens in a massive storage facility

http://rt.com/news/utah-data-center-spy-789/

Nothing to worry about here.

Basically agree with you on the ruling and it's relationship with the Constitution.

However, sighting the IRS/targeting and relating it to DNA is reaching. You cannot tell political leanings from DNA. "What could you do with thier DNA?" Identify them. That's it nothing more.

Also the only people I'm worried about our government picking up and putting in camps in the near future are hetero, caucasian, afluent males. Public opinion seems to lean towards that group being the biggest threat to the current regime. Thankfully I'm all but the last one and the Army didn't really give me a marketable skill set to fix it.

If the spread of Islam isn't checked shortly our granddaughters will become slaves and our grandsons put to the sword. That has me a buttload more worried than this.

Then again I've been typed since 1993 as has every other Soldier.

(Just so we're clear this post wss mostly tounge-in-cheek)

Tough

[KW Driver]

Yeah, but once you separate from service, you can have your DNA sample destroyed.

And I'm sure they do it too.

[Jim]

Yeah, but once you separate from service, you can have your DNA sample destroyed.

And I'm sure they do it too.

I also believe in Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and Social Security.

[rgrokelley]

What could you do with thier DNA?" Identify them. That's it nothing more.

Don't look at this case with 2013 eyeballs. Right now all they can do is identify, but what about five years from now. Not 100, but just five. Technology is doubling in speed. Since I was born the world has advanced incredibly (1960s). DNA was pretty much unknown. Since my kids have been born, same thing (1990). Almost all of the stuff used on the TV show Star Trek is available now. Since 9/11 all technology has doubled in speed again. What was considered science fiction and unachievable in 2001 is considered the norm now. So what will they be able to tell from our DNA in just five years? When you give this power to the government it is almost impossible to get it back.

[rangertough]

What could you do with thier DNA?" Identify them. That's it nothing more.

Almost all of the stuff used on the TV show Star Trek is available now.

So what will they be able to tell from our DNA in just five years?

To address the points in order:

Except Transporters and faster than light travel and phasers and religious tolerance from Jews and Muslims and Christians and racial tolerance and equality of the sexes and being able to eradicate fatal flaws in our DNA in utero and and and.

They will be able to prove if you were there (that's the one that worries me), all of your "genetic potetials" (ie height, body type, baldness (carried on the mother side), breast size (carried on the fathers side) and what genetic defects you might pass to your offspring.

If the Government is going to use a DNA registry for evil purposes it will be done the old fashioned way, by planting evidence (DNA replication is a potential future tech that is worrisome) or falsifying reports (blame hackers/computers for this).

As I said before I agree that this COA is a bad one. Mostly if we just changed the law to read "If convicted of a Class (whatever gets you tossed in a cell) misdemeaner or felony" I'd be OK with this.

On a related note: Anyone seen Gattica?

Tough