From: gerard@progress.COM (Gerard Bras)
Newsgroups: rec.boats
Subject: Re: Boarding(was Re: Coast Guard Boating T
Date: 17 Dec 92 21:44:41 GMT
Organization: Progress Software Corp.

jeffh@nonsuch.EBay.Sun.COM (Jeff Huntington) writes:


>We are not going to solve this "problem" by just ventilating on the net.  

Right.

>Does anyone on the net have any ideas on how boaters can band together and 
>exert the proper pressure to fix this problem?  Do anyone know what buttons 
>to push or where the appropriate pressure points are?  This has been going 
>on for quite a while now, and if we don't do something together (as boaters), 
>I am afraid it will continue for a long time. We have all kinds of laws that 
>protect the "rights" of all kinds of citizens (both guilty and non-guilty).  
>Seems that we should be able to get some protection for the right of boaters 
>not to have their boats trashed in the name of drug enforcement.  If the police
>(or Marines) were to treat ordinary citizens cars and houses this way, there 
>would be such a howl raised that every politician in the country would be 
>proposing a law to fix it.  I, more than most, am not in favor of more laws.
>Still, there has to be some way to solve this problem.  What do you think?

The place to start is your elected representatives.  In particular your
Congresspersons.  It's my understanding that a the Coast Guard has already
taken measures to resolve complaints coming from Capitol Hill.  If steady
pressure is kept up it's almost certain to make a difference.   Some
organizations like BOAT/US are trying to do this, dare I say the foul word,
lobbying in an organized manner.  It's amazing what relatively small 
pressure groups have accomplished.  One thing that will really help
is if you can get a representative to champion your cause and then
focus your efforts.  Once you have an inside track things are bound to get
easier.

Other wise the way to go about this is to organize a group and start writing
letters on a regular basis and at the slightest provocation.  It will help
to have some reliable way of finding out about boardings so that when you
write you'll have the facts.  The Freedom of Information Act is probably
one of the best tools.  It would not surprise me if you could force the CG
to divulge the number and location of boardings, what the outcome was,
and maybe get the specifics of individual boardings.  Failing this,
get a PO box and start soliciting in magazines for reports by individuals
who have been boarded.  The local or regional ones like Soundings or
Latitude 38 might be your best bet.  In general having a flair for
publicity will be an asset.

To come to the heart of the matter, you might want to address the general 
failure of prohibition policies and try to get more rational drug laws
passed.  It is my opinion that without prohibition there would be almost
no drug related crime to worry about.  Further, given the amount of drug 
abuse that goes on in spite of prohibition, I don't think consumption would
increase if the purchase were made mandatory.  But this is getting away from
boats and into my political views, so I'll leave it at that.

While I'm here, I should add that I've never had a bad experience with the
Coast Guard.  They seem pretty laid back here in the Northeast.  The one time
I've called them they came running and went to some lengths to try and
save someones life.  I was, and am, extremely grateful to have been relieved
of a bad situation.  At the time they were a model of courtesy and 
professionalism.

cheers,
gerard