A police state.....in Texas?

Every time a hurricane blows into the US, there are people in it's direct path who refuse to leave their homes. These people wind up having to be rescued and/or supplies delivered to them at great cost to the taxpayer and at great risk to the emergency workers. Well, Texas has passed a law that gives the local government the power to forcibly remove you from your home....for your own good....

A new state law will allow police to arrest people who don’t leave town under mandatory evacuation orders.

As it stands, officials cannot compel people to evacuate, only warn that those who stay behind won’t have any emergency services at their disposal. The new law gives county judges and mayors the power to authorize use of “reasonable force” to remove people from the area.

The law, passed this year, takes effect Sept. 1, in the heart of hurricane season in Texas. It also applies to other disasters, such as fires or floods.

It sounds like a common-sense idea on the face of it but, given that governments almost never give back power they've taken, is it a good idea to hand over to the local authorities the power to come into your home, when they think it's necessary, and remove you from it? I don't think so.

If a person wants to ride out the storm in his home, he should have the right to do that but, he shouldn't expect any, ANY rescue services to help him afterwards. Nor should he receive any help unless he pays for it. There should be no law against dying stupidly in your own home, or preventing the suffering by homeowners who refuse to get out of harm's way.

It's just a slippery slope to me, to hand over to the authorities, the power to remove you from your home if THEY see fit to do so. It's a question of balancing the need for public safety versus our Constitutionally guaranteed, individual and property rights. I'll almost always come down on the side of the Constitution over the government.