Editor, OBSERVER:
New York always seems to be "first" when it comes to really bad ideas. When the DNA expansion law takes effect in October, people will be forced to submit to a DNA swab when they commit even a minor misdemeanor. Shoplifting, illegal parking, speeding, running a stop sign, trespassing are examples of minor misdemeanors.
It is troubling when so many people do not see the possible abuses that can result from such an over-reach of government authority. Not to mention the obvious problems of managing such a huge database. Experts have said that the chance of a false positive will increase exponentially when the DNA database suddenly doubles in size.
The law goes too far when a person's DNA can be stored in a databank for even minor offenses and routinely compared to people who commit violent crimes forever! There is no discussion of how a DNA sample can ever be removed from the system.
Make a minor mistake and you are a marked man. Once you're in, you're in. This is not the America my father fought for. It seems that this new law is just another of a long list of reasons to leave New York state. Now, that's a good idea!
TIM STOCKMAN,
South Dayton
