NEWS FROM THE LIBERTARIAN PARTY
2600 Virginia Avenue, NW, Suite 100
Washington DC 20037
World Wide Web: http://www.lp.org/
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For release: March 12, 1999
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For additional information:
George Getz, Press Secretary
Phone: (202) 333-0008 Ext. 222
E-Mail: 76214.3676@Compuserve.com
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Janet Reno's proposed DNA database
is scary news for innocent Americans
WASHINGTON, DC -- A new federal proposal to collect DNA samples
from everyone arrested for any crime is a dangerous expansion of
government power that blurs the distinction between the innocent and
the guilty, the Libertarian Party warned today.
"This proposal would turn America into a nation of suspects,"
charged David Bergland, the party's national chairman. "Every year, it
would subject as many as 6 million legally innocent people to an
invasive, unconstitutional search. And it creates the specter of a
Brave New World-style DNA database that would allow the government to
keep track of your most personal genetic information."
Last week, Attorney General Janet Reno ordered a federal
commission to study the legality of collecting DNA samples from every
one of the estimated 15.3 million Americans who are arrested annually
for any misdemeanor or felony.
The so-called National Commission on the Future of DNA Evidence
will issue a recommendation by August 1, 1999.
The government already maintains a DNA database of convicted
murderers, rapists, and child molesters, but this new proposal
represents the first time the federal government has sought the power
to collect genetic material from people never convicted of any crime.
However, such programs are already moving forward at the state
level: Starting in September, everyone arrested in Louisiana will have
a DNA sample taken; a similar bill has been filed in North Carolina;
and Mayor Rudolph Giuliani wants DNA collected from everyone arrested
in New York City.
But Libertarians say such proposals -- whether at the state or
federal level -- are unnecessary, unconstitutional, and unfair.
"People who have neither been charged with nor convicted of any
crime should have the same rights as any other American -- including
the right not to have their genetic information included in some
high-tech government database," said Bergland.
"The fact is, out of the 15.3 million people arrested every
year, only an estimated 61% are convicted of a crime. This means that
6,000,000 legally innocent people could be treated the same way we now
treat murderers, rapists, and child molesters. That's wrong, plain and
simple."
Such an invasive search -- which requires police technicians
to take blood or saliva -- is also a violation of the Fourth Amendment,
argued Bergland.
"DNA is not an external identifier, like a photograph of your
face, your height, or your fingerprints. It is deeply personal
information that contains data about the very essence of who you are --
including your health and other hereditary factors. The government
should not have access to it simply because you were arrested for
jaywalking or at a political protest," he said.
Ironically, the proposal comes after the FBI demonstrated that
it is unable to keep track of the DNA of criminals who have actually
been convicted of violent crimes, he noted.
The current national DNA database contains 38,000 criminal
genetic profiles -- but another 250,000 samples must be re-analyzed to
meet FBI standards, and another 350,000 to 400,000 samples are
backlogged, waiting to be analyzed.
"If the government is really interested in keeping Americans
safe, perhaps the FBI should keep track of the evidence it has
collected from guilty murderers, rapists, and child molesters --
instead of trying to seize DNA samples from millions of innocent
people," said Bergland.
The Libertarian Party http://www.lp.org/
2600 Virginia Ave. NW, Suite 100 voice: 202-333-0008
Washington DC 20037 fax: 202-333-0072
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