In an unequal society, there is no such thing as “equal protection under the law.” Though there may be only one set of written laws, these laws will always be interpreted and applied in ways that conform to the prevailing inequalities, prejudices, and power imbalances.

The question is not, what does the law say? The question is, who is writing, interpreting, executing, and enforcing the laws?

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A white man in Florida shoots a man he finds having sex with his wife, killing him.  A black woman in Florida shoots the wall to scare off an abusive husband, harming nobody. Guess which one was acquitted? Guess which one was convicted?

The FBI has admitted it sometimes uses aerial surveillance drones over US soil, and suggested further political debate and legislation to govern their domestic use may be necessary.

Speaking in a hearing mainly about telephone data collection, the bureau’s director, Robert Mueller, said it used drones to aid its investigations in a “very, very minimal way, very seldom”.

However, the potential for growing drone use either in the US, or involving US citizens abroad, is an increasingly charged issue in Congress, and the FBI acknowleged there may need to be legal restrictions placed on their use to protect privacy.

Looks like the privacy debate probably isn’t going away anytime in the near future, particularly when agencies like the FBI are admitting to the use of drone technology in domestic situations before they’ve even finalized their privacy guidelines for said programs.