Floor Speech: Cell Phone Privacy

Mr. Speaker, ladies and gentlemen of the House, as a cosponsor of LD 415, An Act To Require a Warrant To Obtain the Location Information of a Cell Phone or Other Electronic Device, I rise in strong opposition to the pending motion of ought not to pass.

Benjamin Franklin wrote, “They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.”

In other words, the ends do not justify the means.

The ends do not justify the means.

The ends do not justify the means.

The 4^th Amendment demands that the government respect your privacy and liberty, demands that the government do its job by securing a warrant before tracing your whereabouts anywhere in the world.

Please vote against the pending motion. Please vote to uphold essential liberty for your constituents, for yourself. 

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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OUTCOME:

5/29/2013 -  Speaker laid before the House
Subsequently, the Majority Ought Not to Pass Report FAILED.

ROLL CALL NO. 148
(Yeas 28 - Nays 113 - Absent 10 - Excused 0)

On motion of Representative McCABE of Skowhegan, the Minority Ought to Pass as Amended Report was ACCEPTED.

The Bill was READ ONCE.

Committee Amendment "A" (S-106) was READ and ADOPTED.

Under suspension of the rules, the Bill was given its SECOND READING without REFERENCE to the Committee on Bills in the Second Reading.

The Bill was PASSED TO BE ENGROSSED as Amended by Committee Amendment "A" (S-106).

In concurrence. ORDERED SENT FORTHWITH.