Florida's Great Debate for this week

[justinb138 0]

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I didn't say anything about a continuous pattern.

Maybe you should have.

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In any case, a high school football player has a good chance of eventually hurting someone.

True, but football injuries are usually less severe than car wrecks.

[rehmwa 2]

nicely said, Don

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[lawrocket 3]

I don't mind the license plate thing at all. Driving a vehicle is not a right (at least not yet - the 9th Circuit may find that the right to drive falls under the penumbra of the due process clause).

On the other hand, I have a serious, SERIOUS problem with authorizing searches without probable cause. I call that police harassment, and I think it sucks and I would cheer for the ACLU when they fought that part.

My wife is hotter than your wife.

[NtheSeaOrSky 0]

Aside from the search without probable cause, I don't see the pink plate as being too much different from the sex offender registry.

Life is not fair and there are no guarantees...

[Wopelao 0]

So, let's say hypothetically, that you will be ok with a 38 yo man, sex offender convicted child molester to work in the daycare your daughter is at, or be her teacher, and can spend time with her?.

[jenfly00 0]

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Aside from the search without probable cause, I don't see the pink plate as being too much different from the sex offender registry.

Good point. Why not require a special plate for those convicted of sex offenses?

What other crimes should we include?

-----------------------
"O brave new world that has such people in it".

[Nightingale 0]

I don't think I'd have as much of a problem with making their driver's license pink and putting a big DUI and the date on it. That way, the officer who pulled them over for a legitimate reason will have notice to check for alcohol influence.

Pink license plates would make the vehicles targets for people who have had family members/friends hit by drunk drivers, which could put the life of an innocent person in jeopardy who happened to be driving. It could also mark cars for things like keying and vandalizing. The problem is the driver, not the vehicle.

[Nightingale 0]

For sex offender registries, you usually have to either know the name of the person you want to check, or have at least a general area to search, and you have to go looking. You also get knowledge of the person. A license plate would put it right out there in people's faces, and it brands the car, not the driver. I think it will cause more problems than it solves.

That said, I don't like the sex offender registry either, because sometimes the people branded as sex offenders are unlikely to re-offend. Sometimes they are. Depends on the nature of the crime and the offender. If they've paid their debt to society in prison and are off parole, their past is nobody else's business. However, if they're still considered a danger to society, they shouldn't be let out to begin with.

[mr2mk1g 10]

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So, let's say hypothetically, that you will be ok with a 38 yo man, sex offender convicted child molester to work in the daycare your daughter is at, or be her teacher, and can spend time with her?

No he can't and shouldn't. But that's different. What you can't and shouldn't be able to do is stop and search him whenever you like on the sole basis of a past conviction.

[NtheSeaOrSky 0]

Here is a search of our registry based on just a zip code http://sbi.jus.state.nc.us/cgi-binHAHT/hsrun.hse/SOR/SOR/SOR.htx;start=HS_SORSearchFrames

It 'brands' the whole house not just the offender, and gives out publicly quite a bit more info than a pink license plate in my opinion.

I see the plates/registry as an attempt to deter the crime, since apparently the current punishments were not an effective deterrent.

edited to add DOH, don't know why the page I had won't come up...if you are curious to see all the personal info they put up type in zip code 28326

Life is not fair and there are no guarantees...

[popsjumper 2]

Pink tags would go nicely with all those pink Cadillacs in Clearwater. Oooo, and the Don Cesar in St. Pete, too!

stop and search with no cause? Screw you!

My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239

[rehmwa 2]

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The problem is the driver, not the vehicle.

Agreed - let's bolt a pink license plate to their foreheads.

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[PhreeZone 20]

I'm thinking more like tattooing DUI in red on their forehead.

Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com

[DaVinci 0]

I don't have a problem with the pink plate.

Give them the option= Pink plate with limited driving rights, or take their license. That way they have a choice.

The search. I would be ok with it if it just included only an alcohol test.

The possible damage to their cars is a real threat. However when you consider this is for repeat offenders. And when you consider that for everytime a driver gets a DUI most times it is not the only times they drove, rather they are only times they were caught. So think about the amount of destruction that the Drunks could have caused.

[TheAnvil 0]

Mixed feelings here. I'm familiar with the way a drunk driver can ruin lives in a very up close and personal manner. Part of me says 'screw the bastards! Make them get a DUI tattoo on their foreheads too!'
Another part of me says that we, as a society, have made this particular crime out to be more heinous than it actually is.

In all honesty, how many of us here on DZ.com can say we've NEVER had a couple of beers then driven? How many of us here can state with a straight face that everyone is impaired the same amount if they have the same BAC (ABC in some cases)? Some people have excellent reflexes with a 0.1 BAC...others aren't. It varies significantly with myriad factors coming into play.

I know a few people with DUIs that really shouldn't have them. I know a few that don't have them that probably should. Can't really say I support the license plate thing. Could make the cars of those people targets for keying/vandalism and the people driving those cars targets of prejudice that might or might not be deserved.

My US$0.02.

Vinny the Anvil
Post Traumatic Didn't Make The Lakers Syndrome is REAL
JACKASS POWER!!!!!!

[BASE1036 0]

I think it would be more beneficial for all of the old fuckers on the verge of death to have these plates. I think THEY are more of a risk than the habitual drunks (Not trying to discount the severity of drunk driving)

Daniel
Protect Yourself and Your Loved Ones
Tasers - Pepper Spray - Stun Guns and more!
www.dallassecuritysupply.com

[happythoughts 0]

I live in Tampa, Fl. We have a bar district that runs down 7th ave from 15th st to 22nd st. Seven blocks of bars and they are packed on Saturday night. Literally 1000s of people.

Fla DUI limit is .08 (some states use .10)
According to
this online calculator, a 180lb man who has 2 drinks in 2 hours will have a .0808 BAC.

Conclusion, the police could pull over every single person leaving that bar district on a weekend night.

I am not in favor of drunk driving, but I just don't believe that the Florida law is about public safety either.