Ohio Patriot Act

Earlier this month, "in the final hours before the holiday recess, the Ohio General Assembly voted to pass the Ohio Patriot Act. Despite mounting pressure from the public, the amended bill passed the House in a vote of 69-23. It was then sent to the Senate to approve amendments made by the House. The Senate passed the bill by a vote of 29-2 and will now be sent to Governor Taft." Taft incidentally has an approval rating of 6.5% in Ohio!!!

Among its provisions .. (via Mefi)

• Police can deny entry to "transportation infrastructure" to anyone not showing an ID;
• Police can demand the name, address, and date of birth of anyone suspected of having committed a crime or being about to commit a crime, or having witnessed a crime or a plan to commit a crime. Failure to provide this information is an arrestable offense -- so basically all demonstrators could be required to give their names, addresses and dates of birth or face arrest;
• Reminiscent of Joe McCarthy's famous question, many state licenses will begin with the question "Are you a member of an organization on the U.S. Department of State Terrorist Exclusion List?". Failure to answer means no license; answering affirmatively is self-incrimination.
• Perhaps worst of all, the original version of the bill simply prohibited state or local governemnts or government employees from objecting to the USA PATRIOT act. The current version allows criticism, but threatens local government with the loss of funds if they in any way "materially hinder" Federal anti-terrorism efforts.

Some other components of the Ohio Patriot Act