Tomorrow, the Maine Legislature will consider two proposals - one would interfere with the Fourth Amendment privacy rights of All Terrain Vehicle (ATV) riders enjoying the extensive trail systems of our state and the other would dramatically infringe on the First Amendment speech rights of minors seeking medical care .
LD 1536, “An Act to Amend the Standards by Which Game Wardens May Stop All-Terrain Vehicles When Operating on Private Property" permits game wardens to stop ATV riders on private property for no reason.
And they can even stop you on your own land - again - for no reason whatsoever.
ATV operators are already required to obtain permission from private property owners and, if the landowner requests it, ATV operators must stop and identify themselves. These requirements respect the rights of private property owners, protect a landowner’s right to exclude, while also providing justification for game wardens to stop ATV riders they believe to be in violation.
LD 1536 goes too far. Members of law enforcement shouldn't be able to stop you in your car or on the street unless they have reason to believe you're doing something wrong.
Allowing game wardens (who are members of law enforcement) to stop ATV riders without suspicion of wrongdoing is incompatible with the Constitution's prohibition on unreasonable search and seizure. Plain and simple - one of our most fundamental rights is the right to be left alone.
The House vote is expected to be as early as tomorrow, Thursday, May 4. So contact your Senator and Representative to tell them to VOTE NO on LD 1536.
The other bill of interest,
LD 1677, An Act to Protect Minors from Pharmaceutical Marketing Practices impermissably interferes with minors' ability to access constitutionally protected information. As drafted, ,teenagers would not be able to access information related to pharmaceutical birth control methods, STI infection prevention and treatment, and other information vital to their health without parental consent. This change interferes with minors' First Amendment right to access this important information. And it flies in the face of Maine law and policy, designed to support confidential access to personal health care.
Maine has gone from having the highest teen birth rate in the nation to being the fifth lowest. A large part of that improvement is the result of our teenagers being able to seek out and obtain information, whether at the clinic or through the internet.
We believe the sponsors of this bill had no intention of impacting minors' access to health care information. However, that is, unfortunately, the end result. Between tomorrow's public hearing and the bill's work session, stakeholders ranging from AOL to Planned Parenthood and the ACLU of MAINE will be exploring ways to solve the problem of unintended consequences. The goal will be finding a way to address the compelling interest Maine has in protecting minors from inappropriate data collection, transfer, and use, without unconstitutionally infringing on the speech rights of minors and those who seek to reach them.
...Stay tuned...