In response to Texas’ new law allowing drones the right to take video or photo along the southwest border, Manuel R. Flores, a resident of Laredo, Texas, has sued the state.
Flores, who lives within the exemption zone, claims that Texans should be given the right to film anywhere or nowhere, otherwise it seems to be racial matter targeting Mexicans for intrusive scrutiny. The suit claims that allowing an exemption along the border is a violation of constitutional rights.
Mr. Flores and his attorney, Carlos Soltero, have looked into legislative history and have failed to come up with any sound reason as to why the 25-mile zone along the border would be ground for an exemption, other than the fact that the population within the region is largely Mexican.
Many states such as Texas have been dealing with the issue of drones on their own regard, as the federal government has yet to issue a national drone policy. In Texas, the legislature is responsible for deciding whether this policy should be one that holds true across the state, or whether all regions, including the current exemption zone, should be banned from drone video and photography.
The issue at hand here is not the use of drones to take photo or video, rather it’s a matter of allowing different rules and not carrying a uniform law across the state.
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