Support Constitutional Amendment 4 - Right to Privacy

A group of Sarasota City Residents will meet with Sarasota City Officials to provide public comment regarding the violation of 4th Amendment rights via Camera Surveillance.

Interested individuals are invited to attend or comment in person on Oct 5th, 2026.

Event will be held at the Regular City Commission Meeting
on Oct 5, 2026 at:

City Commission Chambers
Sarasota City Hall
1565 1st Street
Sarasota, FL 34236

https://sarasota.granicusideas.com/meetings/8146-regular-city-commission-meeting/agenda_items

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Now, we are not all so gullible. Surveillance cameras are not inert objects. They are not just taking pictures. They are there to SEARCH.

As part of the Bill of Rights to the U.S. Constitution, the 4th Amendment reads:

“The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”

Although the Enumerated Limitations of Power in the Constitution are not therein specifically applied to the States, the 14th Amendment specifies that:

"No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States;"

In other words, neither the State, nor the Federal government has the rightful power of a search but upon probable cause.

Transporting oneself does not constitute a probable cause for a search. And cameras connected 24/7 connected to databases have unlimited search potential - they SEARCH.

And who gets this information? Are you personally allowed to know the identity of the driver in the vehicle beside you? So why protect the identity of a criminal from their victims, when so gleefully this information is available to all those who know how to abuse it?

Today it is bad enough that a surveillance tower fits in your pocket. Your phone reports your whereabouts to firms that sell what the government is forbidden to seize, and the government buys it, calling the purchase a loophole rather than a crime. Automated license-plate readers log the movements of drivers who have committed no offense, and warehouse those movements for years. Facial recognition turns a crowd into a lineup that never consented to stand in one. And data centers stitch the whole quilt together.

Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), is the law governing how U.S. intelligence agencies conduct surveillance. Such surveillance vacuums up the actions and communications of Americans as incidental catch, and the catch is queried, without a warrant, by the very officers the Fourth Amendment identifies as the danger.

The men who wrote our Constitution had already met this beast. It wore the uniform of the Crown and carried a writ of assistance, a general warrant permitting the king’s agents to rummage through any Colonist’s house, papers, and person on suspicion, on whim, on nothing at all.

As far as being legally effective, it is said that evidence obtained through violations of the Fourth Amendment is generally inadmissible in court, reinforcing the importance of lawful searches.

So, what valid, constitutional, purpose remains if the data collected cannot be used for lawful purposes?

Why go further down the road of Technocracy?

The 4th Amendment allows for no exclusions based on convenience, efficiency, or efficacy. Those arguments just don't withstand scrutiny.

Some food for thought:

"He who sacrifices freedom for security deserves neither."
- Benjamin Franklin

"He who gives his freedom for safety gets none of them."
- Thomas Jefferson

"Distrust and caution are the parents of security. "
- Benjamin Franklin

Here is a link to a video on the subject [2 min]:
https://youtu.be/OGyFD0Eg-44

You can write the city commissioners in advance at:
commissioners@sarasotafl.gov

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🕘 Realistic Timing for Citizens' Input

• Meeting starts: 9:00 AM
• Citizens' Input slots: generally appear twice — once early (near the top of the agenda) and again later (after New Business)
• Early slot arrival: usually within the first 15–45 minutes, after Call to Order, Invocation, Pledge, agenda approval, and any presentations
• Late slot: often early-to-mid afternoon (frequently around or after the lunch recess)

⚠️ One Caveat

The agenda explicitly states Citizen Input is "Limited to 30 minutes" with 3 minutes per person. So:

• If a lot of people sign up, you may not get called if the 30 minutes runs out
• Arrive early and fill out the "Request To Speak" form at the back of the chambers — placement in the queue matters