Friday 06-03-11

Ron Paul warns of 'dictatorship in Washington DC'

GOP Presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) on Tuesday warned of too much "dictatorship in Washington D.C." while on a campaign stop in Mason City, Iowa.

"We're not on the verge of having a king, but we are on the verge of having way too much dictatorship in Washington, D.C.," Paul said, comparing the U.S.'s current situation to a Biblical tale in which the ancient Israelites demanded, against their own good, that a king rule their land instead of God.

"Our rights come from our creator, not our government," added Paul according to the The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier.

Paul, who announced last month that he will run for president for the third time, faces an uphill battle as many Americans consider his positions to be on the far fringe of the right-wing.

Paul, however, noted that he had recently observed a seismic shift in American politics.

"The mainstream is changing," said Paul. "The mainstream wants balanced budgets, sound government and personal liberties --- that is mainstream.”

"The shift is in our direction --- obeying the Constitution for a change," he said.

http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/senate/164271-ron-paul-warns-of-dictatorship-in-washington-dc-

New Mexico High Court Rules Cops Can Seize Guns During Traffic Stops

Go figure this one:

Police officers in New Mexico can take guns away from drivers who pose no threat. The state supreme court ruled on May 20 that “officer safety” is more important than any constitutional rights a gun-owning motorist might have. The ruling was handed down in deciding the fate of Gregory Ketelson who was a passenger in a vehicle pulled over on November 13, 2008.

During the stop, Hobbs Police Officer Miroslava Bleau saw a 9mm handgun on the back seat floorboard. Ketelson and the driver of the car were ordered out and away from the car while Officer Shane Blevins grabbed the gun. The officers later learned that Ketelson, as a convicted felon, could not legally possess a firearm. The court, however, only considered whether the officers acted properly in taking the gun before they had any reason to suspect Ketelson, who was entirely cooperative during the encounter, of committing a crime.

The court ruled that the police had acted properly, agreeing with prosecutors who said "that anyone with a gun ought to be considered 'armed and dangerous' and thus the gun could be seized at any time."

This case overturns a 2005 ruling in which the court found

"It would be anomalous to treat the mere presence of a firearm in an automobile as supporting a reasonable suspicion that the occupants are inclined to harm an officer in the course of a routine traffic stop,” the court held in 2005.

http://reason.com/blog/2011/06/01/new-mexico-high-court-rules-co?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reason%2FHitandRun+%28Reason+Online+-+Hit+%26+Run+Blog%29