[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 78 (Wednesday, June 5, 2013)]
[House]
[Page H3105]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
THE RECENT SUPREME COURT DECISION ON DNA COLLECTION
(Mr. MASSIE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
Mr. MASSIE. I rise today in strong opposition to the recent Supreme
Court decision in Maryland v. King. As Justice Scalia warned in his
brilliant dissent, a consequence of this week's ruling is that your DNA
can now ``be taken and entered into a national DNA database if you are
ever arrested, rightly or wrongly, or for whatever reason.''
On the day I was sworn in, I pledged that I would be a staunch
defender of individual liberties and of our Constitution, an unwavering
advocate for freedom. This includes upholding the Fourth Amendment to
our Constitution that protects us against unreasonable searches and
seizures.
I strongly disagree with the five Justices in this case who held that
DNA collection is just ``another metric of identification,'' like ``a
name or a fingerprint.'' It is not. It's an intrusive invasion of
privacy and property that should never be allowed before a person has
even been tried, convicted, or served a warrant.
As my Senate colleague Ted Cruz warned, ``unchecked government power
and intrusive personal databases . . . pose real risks to our
liberty.''
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