I was just kidding about the "firearms, drugs, or both". I knew what you meant. I was trying to be funny.
I was serious about my incredulity over the narcotics roadblock. It seems blatantly unconstitutional to stop every vehicle with an assumption of guilt, and at the officer's discretion, search vehicles for illicit drugs... and I don't care how much they whine about it being "for the children".
A lot of this sort of behavior is the direct result of the asset forfeiture laws. Police departments are increasingly funded by the property they seize, usually in the War On Drugs. They probably won't admit it, but officers are often promoted based on the property that's seized in their cases. Asset forfeiture laws establish bad incentives for the police by decreasing their role as peace officers and increasing their role as law enforcement officers, with an emphasis on taking people's property. It makes for sloppy police work, relying less on investigation and more on Let's Make A Deal. Here's a classic example. Arrest both parents and charge them. The prosecutor offers The Deal. The husband pleads guilty to a reduced charge, the police keep everything they confiscated, and the wife stays out of jail to take care of the kids. The alternative? They seized your assets so it's difficult to hire an attorney to defend yourself. Even if you can borrow money from friends or family, the prosecutor draws out your case over many months. The prosecution is paid (with your tax dollars and your seized property!) to be in court. Meanwhile, your attorney is charging you $200 per hour, you're in jail, and Child Protective Services is doing everything they can to place your children with foster parents. It's very hard to win that game once accused of a crime, regardless of your innocence or guilt. Justice? Yeah, sure. It hasn't happened to me... yet. The system seems just great, until it happens to you.
I did 17 political and gun rights gun shows in the run-up to the 2010 election. I only did one gun show for the 2011 election. I won't be doing any in the foreseeable future. Most people are there to look at guns, and the minority who care about gun rights are the same people I talked to before, and they already got it before talking to me about it. It's tiresome to hear gun owners say, "I'm going to buy a such & such, before they make it illegal." Or, "I hope they don't pass another ban." Or my all time favorite... the gun dealer who says, "I hope they pass another assault weapons ban. I made a million dollars when they passed the last one back in 1994."
