This is simply not a civil rights issue

Published 3:20 pm Thursday, January 17, 2008

I’ve been through several Kansas City area sobriety checkpoints back in the ’90s and have never found them to be an inconvenience. The officer asks if you’ve been drinking and, if you haven’t, you answer, “no.” If the officer doesn’t immediately find reason to doubt your statement, the officer says, “Have a nice evening.” It actually made me feel better to have something in place to make people think about their level of impairment before driving.

Sobriety checkpoints are meant as a deterrent, not a catch-all crime net. The cops aren’t looking at your tattoos and jewelry to determine what gang you belong to. They just want to be sure that you’re not driving impaired. I don’t understand why the governor needs to be involved in the process at all. I don’t see this as a civil rights issue. It’s always been my understanding that driving is a privilege, not a right.

Ron Hastings