Washington, DC – It has recently come to my attention that the First Amendment does not apply to folks petitioning for an end to the destruction of Gaza and the killing of Muslims who live there. This is an exemption with which I was not familiar. I have not heard of any groups petitioning for support of Israel being rousted by police in riot gear.
Being of a certain age, I remember well the protests against the Vietnam War. Several students were killed at Kent State. This, of course, led to more protests, which often were more aggressive.
Not so long ago, the constabulary, armed and in riot gear, removed the tent cities regarding Wall Street excesses.
After the murder of George Floyd, police armed and in riot gear rounded up and sometimes bludgeoned protesters and, at times, press reporters.
The First Amendment reads, “Congress shall make no law against respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for redress of grievances.” Now, apparently, the above exceptions were listed somewhere in invisible ink.
The very whisper of any restrictions on the rights given in the Second Amendment causes massive eruptions. The “slippery slope” boondoggle has left us with massive handheld canons and rifles that have ammunition that explodes the bodies of those shot with them. However, as demonstrations regarding the First Amendment are being met with brute force intervention and arrests, a brief “ho-hum” exhales from those who see the Second Amendment as sacrosanct.
Most students in elite universities, and now even State institutions, come from elite backgrounds and good schools that teach the Constitution and the First Amendment. Naïvely, they believed they had the right to protest and assemble. They learned that there could be no state-sanctioned religion. Attacking the First Amendment is just fine. Billionaires who give tons of money insist universities punish those whose views they disdain. They have every right to do this, but that interference gives ammunition to anyone looking to find undo influence from some group or other.
The Constitution posits equal protection under the law, yet the Supreme Court abrogated the rights of women to make choices about their own bodies and futures. Rather than doctors and female patients making medical decisions, it has been decided that some states can simply make an exception to equal protection under the law. Those same states, emboldened by their success in limiting the rights of all females, have joyfully made exceptions to their “parent’s rights” mantra to interfere in health decisions in the instance of gender dysmorphia.
The rabid defenders of the Second Amendment see no problem with wanting some version or other of Christianity declared a State Religion. They have no problem limiting the right to equal protection of those they disapprove of. They cheer for the martyrs of the January 6 event and are fine with the police rounding up students who are protesting against the Israeli excesses.
It is stunning to witness the abysmal ignorance of those who do not realize that by picking and choosing what they like in the Constitution, they undermine the whole system. They pick and choose what is in the Bible or Koran and undermine the entire integrity of their belief system.
The entire edifice of the secular laws or the religious tenets depends on all the parts. Today, we are witnessing the chaos that results from gaming all these systems.
M.A. Callahan
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M.A. Callahan#molongui-disabled-link
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M.A. Callahan#molongui-disabled-link
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M.A. Callahan#molongui-disabled-link
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M.A. Callahan#molongui-disabled-link
