Currently, the state of Ohio only allows the taking of DNA if a person has been convicted of a felony or violent misdemeanor, however, a new bill in the state would change the law to expand DNA collection to anyone arrested regardless of guilt or innocence.

Law enforcement currently supports the expansion, claiming that it will prevent future crimes, but others feel that collection DNA before a conviction presumes guilt and, therefore, crosses a line.  The bill also fails to address what would happen to the DNA should a person not be convicted.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio opposes the measure, saying it poses a “myriad of civil liberty risks” including violating a person’s constitutional protections against illegal search and seizure, is ripe for abuse and is an invasion of privacy.

“Collecting DNA from all arrestees is a search and there should be some process, a court order or warrant, for a search,”

Authorities claim that the bill is merely updating the law to reflect current thinking elsewhere, including the federal government.  If the bill passes, it will be enacted in 2011 because the state still has to figure out how to pay for it.

If enacted, Ohio will follow 21 other states that have laws to take DNA from arrestees, according to Gordon Thomas Honeywell Governmental Affairs, a lobbying group that tracks DNA legislation.

Three other states – Illinois, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania – have laws pending.

Kentucky and Indiana take the DNA after felony convictions. Indiana introduced a similar bill, but it died before coming to a vote.

The federal system last year began taking DNA from anyone arrested on a federal crime.

Every state, as well as the federal government who has allowed for this type of testing has committed an invasion of privacy against individuals.  They have eliminated due process for people with the stroke of a pen of fear.  People are arrested every day, yet are innocent of the crime they are accused of.  Collecting their DNA upon arrest changes the fundamentals of our society from innocent until proven guilty to guilty for all time.

Instead of automatically assuming this bill will solve all the crime problems we have, we should be erring on the side of caution.  There is no need to trample on the Constitution and infringing on our rights.  The Constitution gives us these rights to protect us from the law.  Now, the law wants to take them away, putting right back where we started in 1776.  Personal freedom should always come first and this bill isn’t even considering the harm it will do to millions of people if passed.