Tennessee legislator says his colleagues are afraid to end the power of civil asset forfeiture in their state due to the backlash they will receive from the police who “enjoy” that power:

“Law enforcement likes to have this revenue, I would assume, because there’s not a lot of accountability and transparency. They can use this money to spend it any way they want to without the legislature’s or a county commission’s oversight,” Daniel said.

“They (law enforcement) make the case that this is essential for them to continue the losing war on drugs and to provide safety to the people of Tennessee they are charged with. Legislators buy into this, and the rhetoric is that ‘If you vote for civil asset forfeiture reform then you are against law enforcement,’ which is totally false. You can vote for reform and civil forfeiture and still support law enforcement, but they frame it that way. A lot of legislators are hesitant to go there.”

“Law enforcement says this is designed to prevent drug trafficking by the cartels and the mules that are carrying these drugs and this money,” Daniel said.

“Well, you take a close look at it, and you learn the average size of the seizure and forfeiture is only $2,200 – that is not cartel money.”

Step one: abolish all government employee unions. Step two: abolish government.