Will Grigg?s Liberty Minute

November 25, 2013

Customers at shopping malls are sometimes cornered by clipboard-toting researchers conducting surveys of various kinds. Busy shoppers who don?t have a few minutes to spare can decline ? politely, if possible, brusquely, if necessary.

What if the researchers were uniformed police officers, and their intention were not merely to ask questions, but rather to collect DNA samples through mouth swabs and blood draws? And what if the unwilling participants were drivers, rather than shoppers? These are not hypothetical questions: Police in Ft. Worth, Texas erected a roadblock on a busy street on November 15, herding drivers into a parking lot where they were asked to undergo mouth swabs or blood draws as part of a survey conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Although the exercise was described as ?voluntary,? drivers were not allowed to proceed through the roadblock. Those who surrendered DNA samples were paid a tiny amount for their trouble. Those who refused were compelled to undergo Breathalyzer tests.

The officers who conducted this patently unconstitutional roadblock were off-duty. They had been hired directly by the federal agency, and the Police Chief claims that he is investigating the matter. The officers who took part should be fired and prosecuted for multiple counts of unlawful detention.

Let us take back the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free.