Restoring protections

The House of Representatives recently voted overwhelmingly to reform our
nation's civil asset forfeiture laws by a margin of 375-48. If common sense
prevails, the Senate will do the same, and our constitutional protections
against unreasonable searches and seizure will be partially restored.

Many law-abiding citizens have had their rights violated, the family dog
shot, and their homes and property confiscated by Drug Enforcement
Administration agents who are more interested in seizing property than
protecting the public. Oftentimes the victims of these un-American raids
were never charged with a crime but lost their property anyway. The
corruption stemming from these bad laws trickled down from the highest
levels of government to local law enforcement, prosecutors, judges and
mercenary snitches.

If the people cared about freedom as much as they give lip service to it,
these laws would never have been drafted. The fact that they have been in
force for so long speaks ill for this generation of mollycoddled Americans.

T.A. Ballard, Cleburne