Driving while gay'? Proposal would have Missouri cops try to gather that info, too

[cali]

• For the past 15 years, police officers in Missouri have been required to record the ethnicity of drivers they stop on the roads, so the information can be examined for evidence of racial profiling.

Reams of data now indicate that “driving while black” is a real offense in the eyes of some Missouri officers and departments.

But “driving while gay”?

New state legislation unveiled Tuesday would expand the current process of data collection that police officers in Missouri are required to follow during traffic stops to include not just race, but also “perceived” sexual orientation, as well as religion, “disability” and “English language proficiency.”

<snip>

The legislation seeks to require officers to gather the demographic data for pedestrian stops as well as traffic stops. Its backers acted in part as a result of the unrest in Ferguson that followed a pedestrian stop.

<snip>

Under the proposed new law, which would replace that statute, the officer would be required to record “the perceived race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, disability, English language proficiency or national origin of the individual stopped.”

<snip>
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/kevin-mcdermott/driving-while-gay-proposal-would-have-missouri-cops-try-to/article_87973f23-f6bd-577a-a29d-915543b25ee8.html

[hobbit709]

1. They wouldn't have known what to do with Leslie Cochran here in Austin.

He was certainly in a category all his own.

[Nye Bevan]

2. This just seems ridiculous.

I'm pretty sure there have been no allegations that cops have pulled over a disproportionate number of gay people. And if this is instituted, the cops reports in which they state how they "perceive" a driver's sexual orientation are probably going to be quite offensive.

[cali]

5. I agree. It feels really intrusive as well

[Bluenorthwest]

14. Oh my God. Abusive police practices were and remain one of the primary motivators of the LGBT

movement. So yeah, they do hassle LGBT more frequently. Which is actually part of why this idea stinks so badly. Perception? On the part of one of the most abusive segments in society?

[Nye Bevan]

15. So am I right that you agree with me

that it's a stupid idea to tell cops to report what they believe the sexual orientation to be of motorists that they pull over?

[IDemo]

3. Maybe this will create a market for the Gaydar Detector n/t

[Sherman A1]

4. I get a kick out of all the goofy

bills filed or pre-filed in this and other state legislatures based on some individuals personal agenda about this and so many other topics.

They are too often simply bizarre......

[RKP5637]

6. Yet another state never to visit! n/t

[RKP5637]

7. Hmmmm, I wonder if they'll add a category for white obnoxious rednecks too! n/t

[rurallib]

8. maybe a special license plate and how about an armband

with a pink triangle on it? That should do the trick!

[cali]

9. This.proposed legislation is supported by the ACLU

Crazy

[LuvNewcastle]

10. Yes, they're compiling information.

How would they have any notion about sexual orientation as they pull someone over? Maybe if they have certain stickers on their cars, but I have no stickers on my car. There are not many cases where they know people are gay before they turn on the blue lights, unless it's a small town and they already know the person they're pulling over. They're simply collecting information about everyone they can, and it should be illegal.

[RKP5637]

11. Exactly! A dossier is being built up on every individual in America. A piece at a time,

here and there, and everyone is being pigeonholed into classifications into a database. I think it's far more extensive and intrusive than many realize.

[LuvNewcastle]

12. It's fucking scary as hell.

They're recording all of our phone calls and our emails and they want to know who we're sleeping with. This is the most fascist bullshit I've ever seen. I never would have thought we would see this shit in the U.S. If the wrong person gets elected, like Cruz, we could see some horrific times in this country. Thank God for Edward Snowden. If it weren't for him, we would still be in the dark about a lot of our government's activities.

[RKP5637]

13. Frankly, it's getting very reminiscent of WWII Germany. And now they want a backdoor into all

encryption. Imagine the field day they would have sorting through and classifying/pigeonholing all of that. Being from hi-tech, I fully understand/realize the implications of massive data warehousing and retrieval. And often errors.