A commercially available Hummer isn’t considered a recreational assault vehicle, however, according to politicians in Oregon, an unmanned aircraft with a camera mounted on it is considered a “drone,” and if Senate Bill 71 passes, they will be illegal. To put this in perspective, during the same time period that this legislation was drafted, a group of 7th graders at the Cornerstone Christian School equipped a weather balloon with several GoPro HERO cameras, and successfully launched Hello Kitty into space. If Senate Bill 71 were enforced, these kids would face up to 20 years in prison, on top of fines of up to $375,000.00.
To make matters worse, the general public and the press has welcomed the bill as good news. This is largely due to timing. On February 5th 2013, NBC News broke a story about a secret Justice Department memo that outlined the use of drones for killing American citizens on US soil, if the targets were considered to be senior operational leaders of al-Qaida or similar forces.
It’s scary stuff, for certain, however, this news sparked a wave of prohibitive legislation, not only in Oregon, but in 11 other states. In fact, as of this week, it’s illegal for city agencies in Charlottesville, Virginia to operate unmanned aircraft within city limits. In Seattle, the police department was forced to scrap its drone project due to vocal disapproval from the public. The police want to use multi-rotor remote-controlled helicopters as a money-saving alternatives to full-blown manned aircraft, but the public feels that their privacy is in jeopardy.
Floyd Prozanski, the Democratic Senator behind Senate Bill 71, has been quoted saying:
“…the last thing I think people want to do is look outside their picture window or their bedroom window and see a drone.”
This quote illuminates the core of the issue. Rhetoric like Mr. Prozanski’s quote paints a fictitious scenario in the minds of the public. The masses assume that unmanned remote-controlled aircraft will be used for malicious purposes, meanwhile, the people who are actually using them are doing positive, meaningful things with them. Government agencies mainly want to use them for search and rescue, and fighting forest fires. If you’re honestly worried about someone peeping in your window, there are already laws in place protecting you from that.
What’s tragic about Oregon’s Senate Bill 71 is that no differentiation is made between machine gun-equipped military drones, and the camera-equipped weather balloons used by grade school science students, or the remote-controlled multirotor aircraft used by filmmakers. The people who will be hurt by legislation like Senate Bill 71 aren’t killers, spies and terrorists; they’re artists, students, public servants and nerds.
The fact that Oregon is on the frontline in the battle against camera-equipped radio-controlled airplanes is peculiar. As you may know, I’m obsessed with creative production equipment, and the multi-rotor helicopters that carry HD video cameras hold a special place in my heart. Even though it wouldn’t make any sense for me to purchase one of these helicopters, I still researched obsessively and determined which model would be the best choice for shooting video. It turns out the way to go is the XProHeli XP2, which is made by a small company headquartered in Bend, Oregon.
Not too far away from XProHeli’s headquarters in Bend, just across the Columbia River you’ll find Insitu, Inc., Boeing’s unmanned aircraft subsidiary. It’s a booming industry, and perhaps one that Oregonians aren’t uncomfortable housing in their backyard. If you purchase an aircraft like this and use it for illegal purposes, the authorities should apprehend you and punish you. However, the knee jerk reaction to ban all camera-equipped unmanned aircraft from the skies is ruefully misguided. People simply assume their use will be abused, and the die is cast.
The subject of drones is a sensitive one. They’re constantly used as a source of criticism against the Obama administration, and they’re conversely considered to be everything that’s wrong and right with the modern battlefield. However, it doesn’t matter what your stance is on them, because the people being hurt by this kind of legislation are not using drones. They’re using tools for creative expression. Operating a powerful remote-controlled helicopter isn’t a problem, however, the moment you mount a Sony NEX 5n to it, you’re suddenly a criminal. It’s unjust.
XProHeli has built a successful company making remote-controlled helicopters that are specially designed for shooting video. The XP2 makes it possible to capture absolutely stunning aerial shots. Perviously unattainable footage is now a possibility. Senate Bill 71 and similar laws will put honest, hardworking companies like XProHeli out of business, and strip filmmakers of this amazing new technology. It’s incredibly unfair, and does nothing short of compromising the first amendment. If this bill passes, the freedom of the press will be chained to the ground. It may as well be six feet under.
You can help to stop Senate Bill 71 by signing this petition:
