doaskdotell Argument DataBase Entry

Topic: b16

Argument Code: b1603

Source: Author EFF

Argument: Recent anti-terrorist legislation may be unconstitutional and violate the 4^th Amendment. Pen registers, wiretaps, Carnivore, etc. may target citizens who are not engaging in terrorism. Searches with little court protection may also do so. Profiling may occur (singling out persons of Middle-eastern origin) and there could be a slippery slope where
”victimless crime” laws (marijuana, vice, sodomy, vice) become a law enforcement tool to nab people the government only suspects of terrorism. Police often maintain that enforcing laws against minor offenses are important in reducing serious crime.

Counterargument Code: b1604

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