-Caveat Lector- Police States are crime free except for the criminals in charge. flw >Libertarians: Boycott New York City >until DWI car-seizure law is repealed? > > WASHINGTON, DC -- The Libertarian Party is suggesting a >nationwide boycott of New York City until the city repeals a >controversial new law which allows police to seize the cars of people >arrested for -- but not convicted of -- drunk driving. > > "Mayor Rudy Giuliani and the New York City government need to >be taught a lesson: If you steal people's cars, you will be punished," >said the party's national director, Steve Dasbach. "And the best way to >punish them is to dry up the flow of tourist and business dollars into >the city. > > "That's why we're encouraging every American who values civil >liberties to boycott New York City until this government-sponsored >car-stealing crime wave ends." > > Dasbach said the Libertarian Party is asking Americans to >consider canceling any planned tourist trips to New York City, and >rescheduling any business meetings or conventions to another city. > > "If you go to New York City now, you'll send the message that >you approve of the city government behaving like a stolen car ring, and >the police force being encouraged to act like armed carjackers," he >said. > > "Instead, you could show your support for the Constitution and >the Bill of Rights -- by boycotting New York City." > > This week, Giuliani announced that under asset forfeiture laws, >city police would start immediately seizing the cars of people arrested >for suspicion of drunk driving. > > Even if that person is found not guilty of DWI in a court of >law, the city may still keep the car by taking them to civil court, >said Giuliani, where the standard of proof is lower. Such a civil >proceeding could take "anywhere from days to years," said a police >department spokesman. > > The New York City Police Department has already begun setting >up random checkpoints around the city, and seized four cars during the >first day of the new program. > > It's those seizures -- and the "frightening power of the police >to keep the property of people who have been found innocent of any >crime" -- that makes New York City too risky to visit, said Dasbach. > > "The Big Apple is in the grip of a crime wave, and the >criminals are sitting in offices at City Hall," he said. "The fact is, >the city is now too dangerous to visit. After all, what can you do when >the police steal your car: Call 911 and report it to the police?" > > Whatever happens with the New York car-seizure law, Americans >should also realize that it's just the latest example of how asset >forfeiture laws have been chipping away at traditional American notions >of criminal justice, said Dasbach. > > "Thanks to asset forfeiture laws, federal, state, and local law >enforcement agents can seize your car, house, wallet, boat, or other >property by invoking a hundred different statutes -- without convicting >you of any crime," he noted. > > "Your property can be seized for alleged offenses involving >your banking habits, drugs, wildlife, prostitution, or even for having >friends at your house for a game of poker. In each case, you then have >to prove you're innocent before you get your property back." > > The problem has become so bad, noted James Bovard in his new >book, Freedom In Chains (St. Martin's Press, 1999), that the federal >government now steals far more than all of the nation's bank robbers. > > In 1994, for example, criminals committed 7,885 bank robberies >nationwide and stole approximately $28 million in cash. That same year, >federal prosecutors confiscated $2.1 billion in property and cash in >asset forfeiture proceedings. > > Since 1979, federal seizures of property under forfeiture laws >have increased 2,500%, totaling over $5 billion confiscated from >accused private citizens and businesses. > > "Americans spend a lot of time worrying about criminals -- but >government actions are costing us far more," said Dasbach. "It's a sad >day for America when the government is stealing more than the criminals >they're supposed to protect us from." 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