Soaring Contest and Coronavirus
On Sunday, April 19, 2020 at 10:39:58 AM UTC-5, wrote:
Freedom of choice and a population based epidemiological response to a pandemic are, unfortunately, and temporarily, mutually exclusive.
Funny, I don't see anything like that in the Constitution. I do see things like Freedom of Speech, Freedom to Assemble, Freedom to practice religion of choice (or not) and other things under the first ten Amendments, collectively known as the "Bill OF Rights."
Not a lawyer and very open to be corrected by one, but...
Maybe you didn't quite get to the 10th amendment then? Somewhat indirect in it's application to freedom of assembly... but essentially undisputed in the opinion as to the legality of the states pass quarantine laws (and federal quarantine powers were enacted during the Spanish Flu pandemic) as long as they are not applied with prejudice to any one religion, etc. Scalia firmly defended much of this, in case you were thinking it was a Democratic issue item. Republicans used to be staunch defenders states rights, hard to tell what their position is now on a variety of topics...
Anyhoo, a very basic, honest look into some of these very simple constitutional concepts would lead to pretty clear answers. Currently there are lot's of legal scholars weighing in on the real and difficult constitutional issues the virus has brought to the fore. The right to limit assembly by states under emergency powers is not one of them. Some are challenging the idea that the current crisis does not rise to the level of emergency. I am not one of them, but I'm just a simple internet user and glider pilot.
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