If you live in Massachusetts, don’t labor under the misconception that you own your vehicle, or a boat or plane. Under a bill sponsored by a Democrat legislator, the Commonwealth would forbid you from adding a hidden compartment to secure your private property, such as a handgun, money or other valuables.
Designed as an alleged anti-drug law, the bill would punish those who add a hidden compartment after the vehicle is purchased with a two-year mandatory prison sentence, and five years for subsequent offenses.
Even worse, the law would empower police to seize the vehicle under civil forfeiture law. Lawmakers in support of the House bill claim it’s necessary to prosecute the war on drugs. State police officials have endorsed the bill as needed to discourage drug trafficking.
Learn how the bill lessens the burden of proof on the Commonwealth and effectively guts the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution that protects citizens from unlawful searches and seizures. The disturbing details can be found on the next page.NEXT PAGE »
That’s why you don’t VOTE for a DEMOCRAT.
Kathryn Johnson don’t see where you stated your comment was a joke.
here’s the language of the law, and the chances of it passing as written are minimal (so they say): (a) Definition: As used in this section, the term “hidden compartment” shall be defined as any after-market hidden or secret compartment that is operated electronically, mechanically, or manually and has been installed in or attached to a conveyance including any aircraft, vehicle, or vessel, or any factory-designed void in such a conveyance that has been modified, altered, or changed to function as a hidden compartment.
b) Any person who possesses, uses, or controls a conveyance containing a hidden compartment with the intent to secrete, store, or transport (i) any controlled substances which have been manufactured, delivered, distributed, dispensed or acquired in violation of this chapter, (ii) any materials, products, and equipment of any kind used or intended for use, in the manufacturing, compounding, processing, delivering, dispensing, distributing, importing, or exporting of any controlled substance in violation of this chapter, (iii) any drug paraphernalia, (iv) any moneys, negotiable instruments, securities, or other things of value furnished or intended to be furnished by any person in exchange for a controlled substance in violation of this chapter, all proceeds traceable to such an exchange, including currency and any other thing of value, and all moneys, negotiable instruments, and securities used or intended to be used to facilitate any violation of the provisions of section thirty-two, thirty-two A, thirty-two B, thirty-two C, thirty-two D, thirty-two E, thirty-two F, thirty-two G, thirty-two I, thirty-two J, or forty of this chapter, and (v) firearms, ammunition, or other weapons, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not less than 3 years and not more than 5 years, or by imprisonment in the house of correction for not more than 2 ½ years. No sentence imposed under the provisions of this section shall be less than a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 2 years. The penalty for a second or subsequent offense shall be imprisonment in the state prison for not less than 5 and not more than 10 years after a second offense.
(c) Any person who designs, constructs, builds, alters or fabricates a hidden compartment intended for the use in or attached to a conveyance, or installs in or attaches a hidden compartment to a conveyance with the intent to secrete, store, or transport any of the items listed in subsection (b) shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not less than 3 years and not more than 5 years, or by imprisonment in the house of correction for not more than 2 ½ years. No sentence imposed under the provisions of this section shall be less than a mandatory minimum tern of imprisonment of 2 years. The penalty for a second or subsequent offense shall be imprisonment in the state prison for not less than 5 and not more than 10 years after a second offense.
(d) Forfeiture: Any conveyance containing a hidden compartment, as well as the contents of the hidden compartment, shall be subject to seizure by any city, town, or state police department and subject to the provisions of Section 47 of this chapter. Proof that a conveyance contains a hidden compartment as defined in this section shall be prima facie evidence that the conveyance was used intended for use in and for the business of unlawfully manufacturing, dispensing, or distributing controlled substances.
Removal of the hidden compartment from the conveyance, or the promise to do so, shall not be the basis for a defense to forfeiture of the conveyance under Section 47 of this chapter and shall not be the basis for the court to release the conveyance to the owner.
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Moronic
Go$#%&!@*your self.
Flouride in the water and lithium in comtrails = a neutered citizenry unable to get angry and focused enough to ACT!
If you think you’re going to be searched, sprinkle some cayenne and gunpowder around on your vehicles floor mats.
Democrats display addict like behavior and are in total denial just how destructive their ideology is…untreated mental illness.
Name a RIGHT THEY HAVE TAKEN !
Not news. Several States have laws on secret compartments that are installed after the vehicle is built.