Re:DNA versus Fingerprints (Score 1)

goombah99 said" On the one hand there is clear neccessity for the governement to establish a foresnic identity system. Finger prints, photographs, age, weight, height, eye color, build, race and gender are all legitimate and well established metric the government collects and wisely uses in our collective best interest." You crack me up. What is the "clear necessity for the government to establish a forensic identity system"? Why does the government - any government, not just the feds - need that information? And if it is so vital, why hasn't the Department of Transportation federalized driver's licenses or created a mechanism for mandatory collection and reporting of that data to the federal level? When I was young and stupid, I gave the feds a full set of fingerprints in exchange for my Z-card (merchant mariner's document, required for me to work on ocean-going oil tankers) because the issuing agency, the US Coast Guard, administered that program. At that time, the USCG was under the US Department of Transporation; when our goverment is at war, it shifts to the Pentagon. Plus, our government regulations made the American merchant fleet obsolete, so I suspect that the USCG will remain under the Pentagon, even if we declare this fiasco a success and leave the Middle Eastern theatre. Although I am now too old to be called to active duty (and believe me, I sweated through the entire first Gulf war), I bet my fingerprints are still on file. Why does the government still need them? I understand the government's need to identify its soldiers, who are now required to give DNA samples for that purpose. Beyond that, there is no clear and compelling reason for the government to collect and indefinitely retain personal data from law-abiding citizens. I don't really see the distinction between personal crimes and property crimes. Another of my prior jobs was overseeing collection of DNA from mothers, children, and their alleged fathers to establish paternity and child support orders. You don't need to give blood any more to get DNA. We collected DNA from children younger than one using a buccal swab, a big Q-Tip that is gently rubbed against the inner cheek to slough off epithelial cells.