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ANOTHER BILL THAT HAS BEEN FILED BEFORE MISSOURI LAWMAKERS EVEN HEAD TO JEFFERSON CITY IS
THE DRONE BAN BILL. CASEY GUERNSEY, A REPUBLICAN HOUSE MEMBER FROM BETHANY, HE
WANTS TO PROHIBIT UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES, MORE COMMONLY KNOWN AS DRONES, FROM CONDUCTING
SURVEILLANCE WITHOUT A WARRANT IN THE SHOW-ME STATE. IF PASSED, MISSOURI WOULD BE THE
FIRST STATE TO REGULATE DRONES. BEFORE YOU THING THIS IS TOO FARFETCHED, DRONES ARE BEING
USED OUTSIDE OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT BY POLICE DEPARTMENTS, INCLUDING SEATTLE,
AND IN ARKANSAS. THERE ARE CORPORATIONS AND EVEN UNIVERSITIES, INCLUDING K-STATE.
WHAT'S THE CONCERN ABOUT THESE? WELL, IT'S A PRIVACY CONCERN. PEOPLE ARE WORRIED THAT THE
POLICE ARE GOING TO HAVE THE ABILITY TO SURVEY YOU WITHOUT YOUR KNOWING, IN VIOLATION OF
YOUR CIVIL RIGHTS, GOING TO BE ABLE TO LOOK IN AREAS PREVIOUS THEY THEY WOULD NEED A WARRANT
TO. MY PROBLEM WITH THIS IS, THERE ARE A LOT OF PUBLIC AREAS WITH
THE PLAIN VIEW DOCTRINE, WHICH ALLOWS POLICE TO
GET EVIDENCE OR MAKE AN ARREST IF IT'S IN THEIR
PLAIN VIEW. THESE KIND OF PEOPLE AREN'T BEING CONCERNED ABOUT THAT.
IN OTHER WORDS, THE DRONES CAN FLY OVER AREAS WHERE OTHERWISE POLICE COULD WALK, AND THAT'S
FINE. THERE ARE LOTS OF ISSUES WITH THIS BILL.
I THINK THE BIG CONCERN IS THE CIVIL RIGHTS COMPONENT. I THINK THERE IS SOME
CONCERN, FRANKLY, THAT MEDIA WILL START USING DRONES. IT'S A RELATIVELY INEXPENSIVE -.
STACEY MIGHT START USING. YOU CAN CHUCKLE, BUT THE REALITY IS THAT THAT'S NOT
COMPLETELY OUT OF THE REALM OF POSSIBILITY. THE REALITY IS, THOUGH, NICK, I
THINK THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT WILL -- THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT CLAIMS JURISDICTION OVER THE
SKIES LARGELY, AND I THINK THAT'S WHERE IT WILL END UP. BILL.
AND THE COURTS HAVE GENERALLY SUPPORTED THE SURVEILLANCE AND EVIDENCE COLLECTED BY DRONES.
DRONES HAVE COME WAY DOWN IN PRICE, JUST LIKE ANY OTHER TECHNOLOGY.
I TALKED WITH THE ACLU HERE IN KANSAS CITY YESTERDAY. THEY THINK THAT ULTIMATELY WHAT
WILL HAPPEN IS THAT LEGISLATION WILL DETERMINE WHAT IS PUBLIC PROPERTY, WHAT IS PRIVATE
PROPERTY, AND THAT'S REALLY WHERE THE RUB WILL BE. BUT AREN'T THEY SUPPORTING
REPRESENTATIVE GUERNSEY'S BILL? THEY ABSOLUTELY ARE, YES. THEY ARE CONCERNED ABOUT WHAT
HAPPENS TO THE INFORMATION GAINED FROM THESE DRONES. THEY'RE VERY CONCERNED.
FASCINATED ABOUT EVERYTHING WITH THE MISSOURI LEGISLATURE. WHICH IS A SICKNESS, BARB.
IT IS. BUT THIS IS ANOTHER BILL THAT MISSOURI IS OUT IN FRONT OF
THE -- ALL THE STATES ON. YOU KNOW, IT'S BECAUSE THIS REP, CASEY GUERNSEY, HAS A DEEP, DEEP
MISTRUST OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, AND HE'S NOT BY ANY MEANS THE ONLY ONE DOWN THERE
THAT SHARES THAT. IT'S JUST ANOTHER REALLY FASCINATING PART ABOUT OUR
LEGISLATURE. PART OF IT ALSO IS ABOUT AGRICULTURE.
WILL THEY BE SPYING ON FARMERS? THAT DEFINITELY SEEMS TO BE HIS CONCERN.
HE'S NOT WORRIED ABOUT CRIMES IN INNER CITIES. HE'S WORRIED ABOUT POLLUTION IN
THE STREAMS BY AGRICULTURE ENTITIES. HE WANTS TO PROTECT THEIR
ABILITY TO POLLUTE. HE'S NOT WORRIED ABOUT PRIVACY CONCERNS OF PEOPLE.
JUST READ INTO HIS COMMENTS. SO THIS IS ANOTHER BILL WE NEED TO BE WATCHING IN THIS
LEGISLATIVE SESSION. AND WE WILL BE. WE WILL BE.
WE WILL DRONE ON ABOUT IT. WELL, THIS WEEK, MOVING ONTO THE OTHER SIDE OF OUR STATE