One of President Obama's favorite terrorist-catching tactics has been the use of unmanned drones, which can fly out of range of detection while collect information about an area. Now, Sen. Rand Paul is proposing a bill which would sharply curtail the government's ability to use these aircraft domestically, by requiring them to have a warrent to spy on Americans.
More broadly, Paul's bill is aimed at preventing "unwarranted governmental intrusion" through the use of drones, according to the lawmaker.
"Like other tools used to collect information in law enforcement, in order to use drones a warrant needs to be issued," Paul said Tuesday. "Americans going about their everyday lives should not be treated like criminals or terrorists and have their rights infringed upon by military tactics."
The bill, S. 3287, would require the government to obtain a warrant to use drones with the exception of patroling national borders, when drones are needed to prevent "imminent danger to life" or when there are risks of a terrorist attack.
The bill would also give Americans the ability to sue the government for violating the act. And, it would prohibit evidence collected with warrantless drone surveillance from being used as evidence in court.
Well, it's certainly good to know we won't be devolving into Soviet Russia anytime soon. Wonder if the Democrats will jump on board this, too. Wiretapping, anyone?