EDITORIAL: Bill of Rights Day: Eternal vigilance required
This week — Wednesday, to be specific — marked the 79th celebration of Bill of Rights Day. Given how the pandemic has triggered a renewed debate over the proper balance between individual liberties and public health, recognition of this annual observance is perhaps more important than ever.
The judicial system has done an admirable job during these trying times in preserving the notion that government virus edicts must be guided by the constitutional principles that undergird our democratic republic. The 9th Circuit’s decision earlier this week that Nevada can’t impose harsher COVID restrictions on houses of worship than it does on restaurants and big-box stores is just one such example.
But once the pandemic is over, where will we stand? How are those first 10 amendments to the Constitution faring today? It’s a mixed bag.
The First Amendment guarantees some of our most cherished freedoms, but an ominous trend has taken hold. Progressives are inching closer to advocating limits on “offensive” or “hurtful” commentary in the name of “social justice.” In addition, Senate Democrats have embraced a proposal to amend the Bill of Rights to allow state censorship of certain political speech.
The Second Amendment’s right to bear arms remains under constant attack from the left, despite a 2008 Supreme Court ruling reaffirming this individual right.
The Fourth Amendment’s protection against “unreasonable searches and seizures” faces challenges in the digital age as electronic devices make it easier for the authorities to access personal information or to track our whereabouts. Both Republicans and Democrats have shown an unfortunate proclivity to shunt aside this protection under the guise of fighting terrorism.
The Fifth Amendment’s guarantee of due process has been diluted when civil forfeiture allows law enforcement to confiscate property from those who have never been charged with a crime. The assertion that private property shall not “be taken for public use without just compensation” has been similarly weakened by a bulbous regulatory state that will likely only grow more obese under a Biden administration.
Progressives rediscovered the moribund Ninth and 10th amendments when blue states sought to challenge the Trump administration on a variety of issues. Will this newfound respect for principles therein continue after President Donald Trump leaves office?
All the news is not bad, however. The presence of more constitutionalists on the federal bench and the Supreme Court — thanks to Mr. Trump and the GOP Senate — bodes well for checking the worst instincts of those who would compromise individual liberty to promote the political fashions of the day. The United States remains a beacon of freedom to the world. But our freedoms come with a warning label: Eternal vigilance required.