A Scarlet letter

 I found this article in the Berkshire eagle this morning.  The content ties in with some of the things that we have been talking about in class.  The end quote got me "The spirit of the law was not to violate anyone's civil rights. It's just a preventative." 


BOSTON (AP) -- A Massachusetts lawmaker who proposed a bill to have the letter "G" affixed to the driver’s licenses of suspected gang members said Tuesday he was pulling back on the proposal, which critics decried as a "scarlet letter" measure that raises legal and constitutional issues.
"The bill will not go forward in its current state. It will be modified if it even goes forward at all," said Rep. Paul McMurty, D-Dedham.
The measure, heard earlier this week by the Legislature’s Transportation Committee, would create a scoring system for police departments and other law enforcement agencies to determine whether a person should be classified as a gang member. Those with score of 10 points or higher would be required to put a sticker with the letter "G" on their driver’s licenses.
McMurtry said the original intention of his bill was to revoke the driver’s licenses of gang members so they would not be able to drive from one location to another to commit crimes.
"The spirit of the law was not to violate anyone’s civil rights. It’s just a preventative," he said.