Posted on 11/29/2005 11:48:43 AM PST by Wallace T.
DEB DAVIS LIKES to commute to work by public bus. She uses the time to read, crochet or pay bills. It's her quiet time. What with the high price of gas, she saves money, too: a week's worth of gas money gets her a month's worth of bus rides.
The bus she rides crosses the property of the Denver Federal Center, a collection of government offices such as the Veterans Administration, the U.S. Geological Survey, and part of the National Archives. The Denver Federal Center is not a high security area: it's not Area 51 or NORAD.
On her first day commuting to work by bus, the bus stopped at the gates of the Denver Federal Center. A security guard got on and demanded that all of the passengers on this public bus produce ID. She was surprised by the demand of the man in uniform, but she complied: it would have meant a walk of several miles if she hadn't. Her ID was not taken and compared to any "no-ride" list. The guard barely glanced at it.
When she got home, what had happened on the bus began to bother her. 'This is not a police state or communist Russia', she thought. From her 8th grade Civics class she knew there is no law requiring her, as an American citizen, to carry ID or any papers, much less show them to anyone on a public bus.
She decided she would no longer show her ID on the bus.
This abuse cannot be justified by the so-called War on Terror. Deborah Davis is a 50 year old, blonde haired white woman. Her son is serving his country in the military in Iraq.
Was she arrested because;
a) she refused to show ID while riding a public bus, or
b) she refused to show ID upon entry to the Federal Center properties?
I suspect it was b), but I shudder to think it could one day be a).
This is going to cost us taxpayers a fortune once she gets a lawyer and sues.AWB
B is the correct answer.
OK, what in the love God is going on? This is really getting out of control. The USA is becoming a police state.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1530313/posts
Alot of people think that the idea of another civil war in America is crazy, but if things keep going this way.....
keep your powder dry.
A lot of the statists here will deny this, but one of the biggest issues causing the original revolution was colonists being stopped and seized over improper documentation.
Of course most colonists had no documentation of any sort, so the redcoats could just seize anyone.
We're beyond what our fathers would tolerate in many areas.
The bus went through or past federal property as part of its route. She had no intention to disembark there.
I'm just sort of deeply confused over her not actually taking the bus TO this Federal Center, but the bus has to pass through it and they look at everyone's ID.
Not that I ride the bus at all but DC and Maryland are of course covered by Federal property and I'm unaware of similar practices for public buses here.
Would it have made a difference if she was brunette?
IIRC there was a Federal (supreme?) court decision a few years ago that held you have to produce ID if asked to do so by the police.
The question is, do they actually have the athourity to do this?
Didn't SCOTUS rule that it is acceptable for police to ask for ID without a reason?
Correct. The United States fought an all out war in World War II. Except for young men of draft age, who were subject to questioning by MPs or local police, I am not aware of any restrictions on travel, except in the unfortunate case of the Japanese-Americans. There were fifth columnists in the country: members of the German-American Bund and assorted groups of home-grown fascists such as the Silver Shirts. However, these potential subversives were controlled through police and FBI infiltration and surveillance.
If we fought World War II without demanding ID of everyone on a random basis, we can fight the Muslim terrorists without reverting to a police state mentality.
I'm sure she didn't, but she was present on that property.
Still, I can't quite figure a public bus that passes through a restricted area in that manner.
You have to go through a metal detector in the city and county building too.....if she was an ileagal..she would have been ok..I think it was stupid for her to ba a jerk..either we find out the terrorists before they find us
Not necessarily show ID, but you have to identify yourself.
IIRC, the plaintiff was asked by a police officer to identify himself, and the plaintiff refused (wouldn't even verbally give his name). I don't recall specifics about identification requirements in the case, but since you're not required to carry ID, I don't think it mattered.
I do take solace that this ID check was only required for buses crossing govt property, but considering the National ID card in the works, I doubt such checks will only stay on government property. Especially if certain politicians want to increase the government workforce/labor union by employing thousands of nearly useless security personnel.
It's been renamed the Bill of Government Inconveniences and declared null and void.
I hope she doesn't try to get on a plane.....or go to France for that matter..they want ID also
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