A cautionary note

[MacGumerait]

Father Bill , you are absolutely correct . People should be very cautious about doing the DNA testing .

First off , there is the emotional caution ..... not liking your roots or finding out unseemly family information .

Secondly ( and very important ) , there is the legal caution .

It is a positive thing that law enforcement can use DNA to solve cases and convict or used to protect an innocent person .

However , in today's world with all the DNA testing companies their data can be subpoenaed in mass by law enforcement in the effort to solve a criminal case .

There have been several news stories in the past few years whereby an innocent person has become part of a criminal case and considered a " person of interest " or sometimes " a possible suspect " simply because their DNA data from these mass subpoenaed records have a somewhat close tie to a crime for very various reasons ..... when in reality and after the case was solved , they had no tie to anything involving the case.

DNA testing is subject to errors by the DNA testing company and by the law enforcement labs which can lead to unintended consequences down the road .... contaminated samples , margins of error in testing , etc.

So the BIG cautionary thing to consider from a legal standpoint is .... do you want to put your DNA into a database that can be accessed and used for all kinds of reasons ?

I must admit , I was once curious and wanted to do the DNA testing thing , although , after reading and hearing these news stories , I chose not to participate .

I know my family's roots as I am only a second generation American and my family were Scottish immigrants but I can appreciate those who want to do DNA testing .

I am not a conspiratorial type person , even though my rant might suggest it . I just agree with Father Bill's word of caution .


Cheers , Mike