One of the favorite sayings of ‘net denizens is, “The Internet never forgets,” but the unspoken other half of that phrase is, “… because we never let it.”
With that in mind, I am recording the below paragraph from Mike Church’s radio show’s webpage regarding a certain Indiana Sheriff’s comments:
According to Newton County Sheriff, Don Hartman Sr., random house to house searches are now possible and could be helpful following the Barnes v. STATE of INDIANA Supreme Court ruling issued on May 12th, 2011. When asked three separate times due to the astounding callousness as it relates to trampling the inherent natural rights of Americans, he emphatically indicated that he would use random house to house checks, adding he felt people will welcome random searches if it means capturing a criminal.
Again, I do not live in Indiana (a situation for which I am beginning to be quite thankful), so this ruling does not directly affect me… until the Supreme Court rubber-stamps this legislating from the bench just like they did with a similar case in Kentucky.
However, I will say this much: no one will be permitted in my home without either my express permission, or a warrant. Period. Private property is private property, the Fourth Amendment remains on the books, and just as no one is bound to obey an unconstitutional law, no one is bound to obey an unconstitutional court ruling either.
Once this gets challenged and upheld at higher levels, I might suggest homeowners start investing in security screen doors, and I might start looking at replacing the sliding doors we have in our home…
(Courtesy of Burgers and Boomsticks.)
Update: Apparently, Sheriff Don Hartman disagrees with Mike Church’s characterization of his comments. He-said-he-said situations are so much fun….
Scary shit, this.
On another note, those screen doors/gates look badass. I might have to invest in one just for that.
Now that it’s turned out to be bogus, are you going to print a retraction?
Was not aware it had. Will look into it.
Update: Looked into. The Sheriff disagrees with the characterization of his comments, the original source of this report has not released the transcripts. At this point, it is two kids pointing at each other over a broken vase, and it would not surprise me if the Sheriff is pulling a CYA, but I have updated the post accordingly. Thanks for the heads-up!