Posted on 03/25/2015 10:38:09 AM PDT by reaganaut1
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Civil asset forfeiture is one of those issues where Americans of all political persuasions grasp the truth that government has grown far too powerful and arrogant, with officials serving their own interests rather than those of the public. Some officials have badly overreached, using their power to engage in what Frederic Bastiat called “legal plunder” and thereby awakened a huge cross section of the populace to the fact that government is often more about helping itself than about serving the public interest.
The silver lining to civil asset forfeiture is that it helps people to understand that, as Albert Jay Nock argued in the 1930s, the state is our enemy. (His book Our Enemy, the State is as pertinent today as when he wrote it in 1935.)
In particular, state legislatures have responded to this abuse and New Mexico is on the verge of a complete turnabout. Both chambers of the state legislature have unanimously passed HB 560 sponsored by Representative Zachary Cook. Cook is a Republican, and the GOP controls the House 37 to 33, but the Senate is controlled by the Democrats, 24 to 17. Nevertheless, it passed without a single no vote and now awaits Governor Martinez’s signature.
The key provisions of the bill include that no citizen will suffer forfeiture prior to conviction of a criminal act, that proceeds from forfeitures in those cases will go into the state’s general fund and not into the coffers of the seizing agencies (thus removing the temptation for, as the Institute for Justice puts it “policing for profit,”) and that state and local law enforcement agencies will not be able to get around the state law by resorting to the federal “equitable sharing” law.
(Excerpt) Read more at forbes.com ...
Here's a big chunk of killer Platform, Mr. Cruz and Mr. Walker.
Roger that. Kinda hard to believe that there is actually some sanity in play. Way to go NM. Mr. Cruz, Mr. Walker, take notes fellas.
I'd be interested in details how they get around this part.
Most places that I've heard of that have done away with policing for profit, have just shifted to using fedgov criminals to steal people's property.
I would change the term FORFEITURE, and use instead the more accurate term CONFISCATION.
Always seemed to me that these CONFISCATORY laws were only written to enrich the feds at the expense of the citizens; in other words, a tax out of the barrel a gun.
To me; a clear violation of the 4th Amendment, the 5th Amendment, the 6th Amendment and the principals of the Constitution in general.Free men are not subject to having their property confiscated by by an over reaching, over bearing, corrupt government.
When the government becomes corrupt and no longer serves the needs of the people and instead only serves it’s self, the people have a GOD given and moral right to change that government.
NM Ping List.
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Woo Hoo!!!
And for a good reason, not the usual 49th out of 50!
I hope Texas bans it too
Yeah, I was surprised, and pleased.
Zach Cook is a Ruidoso lad, although I don’t know him personally, (like I have known well his predecessors)... . He has been quite good at responding to emails etc. though.
As it is a great source of money for them, I expect the law enforcement agencies will lobby very hard for her to veto it, so don’t celebrate just yet.
Nice!
I've had zero luck getting the emails to Federal-level Senators/Representatives -- Usually it's prepackaged BS that essentially proves they didn't read [or understand] what I sent.
No matter what word you use, it is Theft under Color of Law... which ought to carry a life sentance of hard labor breaking big rocks into little rocks with a 12 lb. sledge.
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