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M.A.D.D.
Mothers Against Drunk Driving is one of the most powerful
lobbies facing Judges, the District Attorney and the legislature today.
Although their original agenda was to prevent tragic accidents resulting in
possible death from repeat DWI offenders, the organization has become self
sustaining and one wherein a casual drink following work, a social hour with
friends, or wine over dinner may cause you suffer the embarrassment, the
financial costs, and possible criminal record or jail for an otherwise
innocent activity.
Deferred Adjudication is not available for D.W.I. because
of M.A.D.D. influence. This is one of the primary reasons that our courts
have an enormous backlog of D.W.I. cases, and why so may are tried. Even the
District Attorney agrees that Deferred Adjudication should be available for
a DWI first offense and then used as enhancement for a second offense.
The following Article by DUI Gulag is very good. Their site may be found at
www.duigulag.com.
MOTHERS AGAINST DRUNK DRIVING’S
NATIONWIDE CAMPAIGN TO LOWER STATUTORY BAC LEVELS TO 0.08% IS A POLITICAL
AGENDA THAT HAS NO CLEAR PUBLIC SAFETY BENEFIT by
DUI Gulag at http://www.duigulag.com/agenda.htm.
Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) was founded by a group of California
women in 1980 after a 13 year old girl was killed by a hit-and-run driver.
The driver was a chronic alcoholic who also happened to be a chronic drunk
driver. The MADD founders were outraged by what they perceived to be a
lenient sentence handed down by the California judge as part of a plea
bargain in the criminal case that arose from the fatal accident. Since that
time MADD has developed into one of the largest and most powerful political
action/advocacy organizations in the U.S.
MADD’s activities were originally geared towards legitimate educational and
victim support oriented functions. MADD’s political focus was geared towards
removing chronic/alcoholic drunk drivers from the nation’s highways.
Responsible social drinkers who drove home after a wedding or after good
conversation with friends at the neighborhood pub were not targets of MADD’s
efforts. To the extent that MADD has worked to support victims and to
educate the public about legitimate chronic alcoholic/drunk driving issues
it should be commended. Unfortunately, in recent years the national MADD
organization and most of it’s local chapters have been taken over by
ultra-conservative, anti-alcohol extremists who have adopted a political
agenda that threatens the second coming of Prohibition.
Instead of focusing on ways to remove the chronic/alcoholic drunk driver
from our highways, MADD’s primary focus is upon "drivers who have had
something to drink." MADD is undeterred by the fact that government accident
and fatality data clearly show that low BAC "drivers who have had something
to drink" do not pose a legitimate threat to public safety. The fact that a
sleepy person or a person talking on a cell-phone while driving may be
inherently more dangerous than someone who has had two or three beers to
drink appears to be of no concern to MADD.
MADD’s modus operandi is to use generalizations, misstatements, scapegoating,
distortions of the truth and victimization propaganda to force the federal
and state governments to pass increasingly irrational and draconian DUI
laws. MADD seeks to clone itself onto local governments (in much the same
manner as did the National Socialist Party in Germany during the years
following World War I ) by entering into government/private sector
"partnerships"; by having it’s propaganda displayed in government buildings;
by having it’s logo attached to government vehicles and police uniforms; by
giving awards and political support to judges and other public officials who
are either afraid of, or who support, their agenda; and by working to
require citizens who have been criminalized for DUI to attend mandatory MADD
propaganda seminars as a condition of probation.
If MADD’s political agenda is ever fulfilled, no person in the U.S. will be
able to drive home after drinking a couple of beers at a ball game or after
enjoying wine with a meal at a restaurant without violating the law, risking
arrest and being subjected to unlimited civil liability. If MADD’s attempts
to criminalize low BAC drivers really saved lives it would be one thing.
However, all available valid government data indicates that it does not.
Even the principal founder of MADD has left the organization, citing a lack
of focus on the real public safety issue, that of getting high BAC
chronic/alcoholic drunk drivers off the road.
Although MADD steadfastly asserts that it is not embarked upon an
anti-alcohol crusade, MADD’s actions belie it’s words. Here are a few
features of MADD’s published public policy agenda. If you work in the
alcohol or restaurant/hospitality industries you definitely need to read
this:
 | MADD advocates the imposition of "significant"
additional federal excise taxes, particularly on beer and wine. The intent
is to tax beer and wine at the same rate as hard liquor. This will make
the purchase of beer and wine more expensive, possibly doubling or
tripling the price.
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| MADD advocates the imposition of "substantial"
increases in other federal and state taxation on all alcoholic beverages.
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| MADD advocates criminal punishment being imposed upon
citizens who have only been charged with, but not convicted of, the crime
of DUI.
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| MADD maintains an adversarial position against the
alcohol industry. Under MADD’s definition, "alcohol industry" includes
distillers, brewers, wineries, distributors, wholesalers, retailers,
alcohol related trade associations, and any non-profit organization that
receives a majority of its funds from any of the entities listed above.
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| MADD supports a revision of the federal Transportation
Employee Testing Act that would require random, mandatory
post-hiring/pre-duty alcohol and drug testing of all workers subject to
the act.
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| MADD advocates the use of passive alcohol sensors (on
flashlights, etc.) by police to detect any use of alcohol. Ostensibly,
this is supposed to be used to detect underage drinking. The real purpose
is to give police a basis to detect and arrest more and more unimpaired
"drinking drivers."
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| MADD advocates the use of, and conducts, "court
monitoring" as a means of intimidating those judges who lack sufficient
moral character to render justice and exercise independent judgment in the
face of MADD coercion.
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| MADD is continuously lobbying politicians to pass
increasingly oppressive, draconian DUI laws that are primarily aimed at
low BAC drivers. Indeed, six to eight hundred thousand American citizens
are arrested each year for low BAC DUI even thought they were not impaired
at the time of their arrests and despite the fact they constituted no
threat to public safety. Legislators who stand up for the constitutional
liberties of their constituents in the face of MADD’s legislative assaults
are publicly ridiculed and defamed.
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| MADD position papers advocate the imposition of special
alcohol related ‘Constitutional Amendments” and a "Victims’ Bill of
Rights" in every state. MADD is actively lobbying for tort reform
legislation that would provide for the award of punitive damages and
unlimited compensatory damages in civil cases where alcohol involvement
has been alleged. |
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