A part of our system that we should thoroughly appreciate is federalism. Despite the name, it gives more power to the states to handle their issues, and the federal government has little intervention. The ability of a state to have power under the Tenth Amendment is unique. The majority of countries globally have a central government and do not allow states or local governments to have much power. State governments have much power in the United States, but they are not immune to being sued for overreach or exercising oppressively on residents. At what point does Attorney General Bill Bar step in and stop the power grab?
The first case of COVID-19 was in late January, and we knew little about the virus. The only information we were able to gather was from communist-controlled China. Given the newness of the disease, we needed to take reasonable steps to keep it contained as much as possible.
President Trump exercised federalism at the beginning of the pandemic. He did not act like a dictator despite the left’s claims. Vice President Pence to assembled a team to begin fact-finding to seek out the most reasonable route necessary for mitigation. Federal guidelines were requested from the Center for Disease Control and passed onto governors of each state. Some governors quickly moved with little information, and others waited to see what type of data was being collected by their state health departments before making lockdown decisions.
We were told to wear masks and to follow social distancing guidelines of six feet or more. Eventually, governors ordered businesses they deemed to be “non-essential” closed down to slow the spread of the virus, even though the governors still received their paychecks, and our economy began to shrink and wither.
The month of April came quickly along with Easter Sunday. Governors declared that they were ready to spit on the First Amendment and told Christian worshipers that they could not assemble at their church, not even in a drive-in style service with their windows up.
While the numbers show that the curve flattened and many Republican-governed states open, Democrats from across the country continue to enforce strict limitations on citizens. The Michigan Governor Gretchen Witmer (D) lengthened the Michigan lockdown seemingly to spite protestors. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D) threatened residents to go inside, or they will face arrest. California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) reclosed all the state beaches and issued a list of activities that people are “allowed” to do in his state.
The issue of tyranny is real. Left-wing governors are using COVID-19 as an excuse to control the population of their state, attempting to create more people that rely on the government to meet the needs of their life.
I believe in the Tenth Amendment very much, states rights. The power of the federal government should not be massive and overreaching. However, we have hit a point where the amount of control that is being used by state governors has repeatedly violated the First Amendment rights of freedom to assemble and exercise one’s religious beliefs peacefully.
A critical job of the federal government is to protect our Constitutional rights. Specific individual states are overstepping. Politicians across the country are telling people to stay in their homes, likening to house arrest. When this happens, lawsuits should start flying into the courts, and the Department of Justice should be on the side of the citizens.
Freedom is inherently dangerous. Citizens who decide to face the danger of an unknown virus where there is no vaccine should be allowed. It is not the government’s job to keep us physically safe. Once one begins to rely on a government to keep them from harm, they are mostly the walking dead. If a citizen is worried that they may catch the virus, then they should stay in their home and deal with the seclusion, loneliness, and fear on their terms, but this should not be heaped upon the heads, hearts, and livelihoods of fellow American’s.
Yes, this virus is real, and it is deadly, but the numbers are nowhere near initially indicated, which should lead to an ending of the lockdown in most of the country. Overzealous left-wing politicians have created a nation of prisoners in their own homes.
It is time for the Attorney General Bill Barr to step forward and address the problem of overreaching state and local governments by issuing a legal opinion. As the top law enforcement official in the country, it is impressed upon Barr to recognize the problem and address it clearly and concisely. Otherwise, our Constitutional rights are finished.
John Dempsey is a graduate of American Military University and has a deep understanding of law enforcement issues and how they relate to the Constitution, society and our culture. He’s been published in BearingArms.com and AmericanThinker.com. He can be followed on Twitter @John_Demp83.