With the federal government employing heavily armed SWAT teams to raid Amish farms that dare sell raw milk to willing consumers, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services confiscating mommy-packed lunches from little girls because of alleged violations of federal nutritional standards, the state of Ohio evidently wants to boost its own share of control over the lives of its citizens.
A proposed state law, Senate Bill 305, would make you a felon simply for having a "hidden compartment" in your automobile. It doesn't matter why you want a hidden compartment, nor what you use it for. If you have one, you may face 18 months in jail and a $5,000 fine if this bill becomes law.
The government, of course, always has a reason for imposing its tentacles into every conceivable part of our lives. In this case it's to "protect us" against the illegal drugs that are apparently being smuggled by the megaton over our highways in secret boxes.
Perhaps if this bill gets passed, we can next look forward to the government forbidding us from having secret compartments in our homes. Or, considering the bodily compartment where some drug dealers have been known to hide their products from the authorities, maybe the state of Ohio will mandate proctological inspections as we leave our homes every morning.
I trust that Gov. John Kasich and the bill's co-sponsor, Sen. Tom Patton, have the best intentions in supporting this ridiculous bill. Unfortunately it is one more example of an out of control bureaucracy micro-managing every minutiae of people's lives and slowly siphoning their God-given freedoms.
As a republican, I understand that the party's philosophy is based on limited government. This bill is clearly a violation of that philosophy.
If you agree that enough is enough, I encourage you to let Sen. Patton and Gov. Kasich know it by letter, phone or e-mail.
The bill can be viewed here.
Sen. Tom Patton can be emailed here.
Gov. John Kasich can be emailed here.
Although the article I linked to may not have cited an Amish farm, at least one Amish farm also has raided in the same manner for selling raw milk. In the lunch case, the story says "that meal didn’t meet with approval from the government agent who was on site inspecting kids’ lunches that day." Those are the facts.
Meanwhile, Kasich, along with the rest of the whore-to-the-lobbyists Republicans, signed a bill into law last week which now gives Ohio one of the WEAKEST consumer protection laws in the country. That's been pretty much swept under the rug. Not surprising, the wingnuts on the right are silent. If this was a Democrat doing this, they'd be spewing blood.
Truly hidden compartments are only located when a drug sniffing canine hits on a vehicle and the subsequent search reveals the hidden compartment. If someone wants a hidden compartment to transport money or valuables for a business purpose then since no crime is being facilitated there is no violation of this bill. If this compartment is discovered by the police without any drugs ever being used in that compartment it is a poorly constructed secret compartment anyway. Intent is a factor in this bill despite the author's claim.
Rep Smith stands behind the amendment allowing domestic information campaigns to allow propaganda on american soil