TRI In The News
Charlottesville Becomes First City in US to Pass Anti-Drone Resolution
From The Daily Progress
Original article available here
Charlottesville became the first city in the country to approve a resolution against unmanned surveillance drones, largely written by the Rutherford Institute, a civil-rights advocacy group based in Albemarle County.
The resolution called on the state and federal government to limit the use of drones, keep weapons off them and preclude evidence gathered by drones from being used in court. It also contained a two-year moratorium on the use of drones within Charlottesville city limits.
The council approved the resolution, 3-2, late Monday night. Councilors Kathy Galvin and Kristin Szakos voted against the measure.
" This is not the same issue, in my mind, as other issues of national importance, like bringing an AK-15 into a grocery store," Galvin said, referencing a man who recently carried a loaded AR-15 assault rifle into a local Kroger. "I don’t feel at this point that [drones] are important for us to be dealing with."
Drones, the institute said, soon will be widely used in American skies for surveillance, and can be equipped with lethal and non-lethal weapons.
"Drones spy on people without warrants, in violation of our Fourth Amendment," said David Swanson, who organized an anti-drone rally Sunday in front of City Hall. "We can be in charge of technology. We don’t have to let technology be in charge of us."
The council agenda included a resolution prepared by city staff, but councilors decided they liked the Rutherford Institute's simpler resolution better.
Norris and Councilor Dede Smith asked for language to be added to the resolution specifically precluding authorities in Charlottesville from using drones for surveillance or crowd control.
Mayor Satyendra Huja originally was skeptical of adding Charlottesville-specific language, arguing that the Rutherford Institute's resolution was adequate as it was written.
"The Rutherford Institute motion does what I think people want to happen without going into too much detail or adding too much responsibility," he said.
