Originally Posted by
DX-MAN
Who's confused? The people who make the laws, and that's because they listen to the rustle of money in their ears first.
Answering a cop's questions abridges your rights? Really? Sorry, but your privacy gets checked at your front door in society; you enter the public domain, and your right to privacy is subjugated to the right of society to be orderly. Questioning you isn't the same as going through your pockets.
Actually the privacy of my thoughts, intentions, and spoken word are all more sacred than the contents of my pockets.
And then what may be in my pockets (or backpack or trunk) is only subject to search if I have given probable cause.
We are weak in this country when it comes to knowing and retaining our rights. We are easily persuaded by "good of society" notions that result in more taxes, regulation, inspection, intrusion, and whatever else the "state" can dream up.