Pubdate: Fri, 13 May 2011
Source: Daytona Beach News-Journal (FL)
Copyright: 2011 News-Journal Corporation
Contact:  http://www.news-journalonline.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/700
Note: gives priority to local writers
Author: Eric West

RULE MAKES NO SENSE

The Florida Legislature just passed a bill requiring all welfare 
recipients to take periodic drug tests to receive their welfare 
payments. The reasoning for this was that those on welfare receive 
taxpayer money and we should take every precaution to safeguard that 
money from possibly being used for buying drugs. Appellate courts 
have already held laws of this nature unconstitutional because they 
single out just one group of people.

It would appear that the way to correct this problem, and the logical 
extension of that argument, should be that each legislator should be 
required to also be part of a random drug testing program. They take 
a lot more taxpayer dollars per person than any welfare recipient 
does, and from the votes the majority made in this year's legislative 
session, it's a reasonable request to make!

ERIC WEST, Daytona Beach
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom