DON'T DESTROY REPUBLIC THROUGH THOUGHTLESS FEAR

The Jan. 18 article "1968 Corvette seized with couple's guilty plea" is
cause for serious reflection. Apparently the couple was guilty of
possession, not manufacturing or trafficking illegal drugs. They had their
drugs confiscated, yet, they will receive an $11,000 tax lien on drugs they
no longer possess. They forfeited $3,800 and their Corvette. This is all on
top of the jail time and any fines associated with their conviction. They
forfeit their Second Amendment rights and their right to vote.

I fear what people who abuse hard drugs might do to others. That is good
reason to support the right to keep and bear arms. The founders of this
country feared the King of England and his army's abuses of tyrannical
forfeiture laws so much that they wrote into our Constitution that even
treason was not a crime that could be punishable by forfeiture. Though put
to death, the heirs of traitors would still inherit their estates.

Before we as a society accept forfeiture laws or allow expansion of their
use out of fear of drugs, we should remember the founding fathers
considered forfeiture laws -- not drug use -- the danger worthy of mention
in our Constitution. I recommend the Web site www.fear.org.

"Just Say No" is a good sound bite, but a poor replacement for careful
thought. Let's not destroy the republic through thoughtless fear. Blind
trust in federal government?

Thomas Patrick Rogers

Owensboro