-Caveat Lector- ------- Forwarded message follows ------- =============================== NEWS FROM THE LIBERTARIAN PARTY 2600 Virginia Avenue, NW, Suite 100 Washington DC 20037 World Wide Web: http://www.LP.org =============================== For release: May 30, 2001 =============================== For additional information: George Getz, Press Secretary Phone: (202) 333-0008 Ext. 222 E-Mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] =============================== Criminal outrage: Millions harassed at seatbelt roadblocks over holiday weekend [May 30] WASHINGTON, DC -- If you were stopped at a roadblock or ticketed for not wearing a seatbelt this past Memorial Day weekend, you weren't alone: Millions of Americans were inconvenienced by what the Libertarian Party says was the "largest highway harassment campaign" in U.S. history. "It is an outrage that 10,446 law enforcement agencies wasted their time and energy to browbeat motorists for not wearing a seatbelt -- in a nation where 90,000 women are raped annually; 15,000 people are murdered; 400,000 people are robbed; and 900,000 people are assaulted," said Steve Dasbach, the party's national director. "That's not public safety -- it's public harassment. It's a criminal misuse of law enforcement resources, and Americans should be outraged by it." This past weekend, 10,446 law enforcement agencies in all 50 states participated in what was called Operation ABC Mobilization: America Buckles Up Children. According to the National Safety Council (NSC) -- which coordinated the effort with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration -- it was the "largest-ever crackdown on drivers who fail to buckle up themselves." The NSC bragged that police in all 50 states "are blanketing roadways with checkpoints and safety patrols." Although comprehensive figures are not available, at least 15,000 "checkpoints and saturation patrols" were operating over the Memorial Day weekend in the southeast USA; more than 300 people were ticketed in Pennsylvania for not wearing seatbelts; and 1,500 checkpoints were operating in Kentucky during the seven days surrounding Memorial Day. Extrapolate those numbers to all 50 states, said Dasbach, and millions of people were probably inconvenienced, frightened, ticketed, or arrested because politicians decided that Americans are not smart enough to decide for themselves whether to wear a seatbelt. "Seatbelt laws are not a victimless crime," he said. "The real victims of these kinds of nuisance laws are the millions of people who wasted time this Memorial Day weekend in roadblock-caused traffic jams; the hundreds of thousands of families who were inconvenienced or frightened because they were pulled over by police; and the tens of thousands of minority drivers who saw this as another example of police harassment." Even worse, said Dasbach, is the tragic waste of police resources. "Think of the time and money that went into this campaign: 10,446 law enforcement agencies, hundreds of thousands of individual police officers, and millions of dollars from police budgets, all to give tickets to that most fearsome of outlaws -- the adult who doesn't wear a seatbelt," he said. "Now consider that according to FBI figures, there are 1.4 million violent crimes committed in America (murder, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault) every year, along with 10.2 million property crimes. Imagine how many of those crimes could have been solved or prevented if the police focused on protecting Americans against real criminals -- instead of targeting innocent people whose only crime is not wearing a seatbelt." This vast outpouring of police activity also conceals an important fact, said Dasbach: Most Americans already wear seatbelts. "According to the most recent studies from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 71% of Americans do wear seatbelts, and 97% of parents buckle up their children. So 10,446 law enforcement agencies are harassing 100% of Americans to catch the 29% who don't buckle up -- and the 3% who don't buckle up their children. "Again, you have to wonder: Who's committing the real crime? A foolish driver who puts his own safety at risk by not buckling up? Or the politicians and police who harass millions of Americans over a victimless crime -- while murderers and rapists are left free to victimize innocent people?" ------- End of forwarded message ------- -- Best wishes Fear is strange soil. Mainly it grows obedience like corn, which grows in rows and makes weeding easy. But sometimes it grows the potatoes of defiance, which flourish underground. -Terry Pratchett, Small Gods <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. 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