Politics
Florida Bill to Ground Drones Continues to Soar
Around the State
Sen. Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando, and Sen. Joe Negron, R-Stuart
“It’s fine to kill terrorists with drones but not monitor Floridians,” said the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Joe Negron, R-Stuart. “There’s a delicate balance between freedom and security – we’ve gone too far toward security and away from freedom.”
Supporters of the bill say it is forward-thinking in a legislative environment prone to playing defense rather than offense. If the measure becomes law, Florida will be the first state to implement such restrictions on drones.
“Florida is literally on the verge of a massive marketing of drones to the law enforcement community. The timing is perfect to have the Legislature set out guidelines,” Negron told the committee.
Indeed, Sunshine State News reported the first foray into the use of drones in Florida at the end of 2011 when Miami-Dade County purchased its Honeywell T-Hawks with the assistance of a federal grant. Officials from Miami-Dade say they comply with all the necessary regulations and have only attempted to use the drones in one situation over the past two years.
Although Negron’s bill reins in law enforcement’s use of the unmanned aircrafts, it does not extend to commercial, private or federal use, a limited scope that has some lawmakers worried.
“I’m more concerned about the private market for drones,” said Sen. Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando. “I could see the Tampa Bay Times, a host of people who want access to drones.”
While Negron agrees a great “opportunity for mischief” exists with drones in private hands, he limited the scope of the bill, as a regulatory starting point, because it would provide measurable progress in reasonable time. The Stuart Republican is still a supporter of crafting laws for private use.
SB 92 includes three exemptions for law-enforcement implementation of the technology – a terrorist situation, probable cause that includes a search warrant, and special circumstances like a missing person or hostage situation.
The committee voted in support of advancing the legislation. Its counterpart, HB 119, sponsored by Rep. Ritch Workman, R-Melbourne, is currently moving through the Florida House.
Anne Smith writes special to Sunshine State News.
Comments (1)
Imagine what Richard Nixon would have done if he’d had such peremptory or discretionary presidential authority? Any of his antagonists, like Daniel Ellsberg, would have monitored by domestic drones... and then Ellsberg would have been picked up and held for providing “material support” to the enemy in a time of war.
There are currently no discernible safeguards to prevent a paranoid and power hungry President (think Johnson, Nixon, or Obama), or his/her national security team, from using drone technology as a threat and/or punishment to political enemies, particularly given the exigencies of war or a domestic emergency like 9/11.
For national security purposes, Americans are already subject to warrantless wiretaps of calls and emails, the warrantless GPS “tagging” of their vehicles, the domestic use of Predators or other spy-in-the-sky drones, and the Department of Homeland Security’s monitoring of all our behavior through “data fusion centers.”
wired.com/threatlevel/2012/03/ff_nsadatacenter/
Given this toxic mash-up of losses of privacy, if the road to hell is paved with good intentions, then domestic drones are a superhighway to an Orwellian panoptic gulag.
America’s promise has always been the power of the many to rule, instead of the one. Ungoverned drone usage, particularly domestically, gives power to the one.
Domestic drone usage is ill-conceived, elitist, and end-runs our inherent Constitutional protections.
Here are two (2) different videos that anchor my points:
youtube.com/watch?v=ssoOASanKao
vimeo.com/59689349
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