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Stripping Away Our Rights, One Constitutional
Guarantee at a Time
Conservatives understand how the Leftist agenda
threatens the prosperity, sovereignty, and
fundamental values of our country. But how many
realize the extent to which the
feminist-progressive effort to curb partner abuse
is rolling back many of our most cherished civil
liberties?
Recently Stop Abusive and Violent Environments,
a Washington-based advocacy organization, released
a report titled “Assaulting our Rights: How
Domestic Violence Laws Curtail our Fundamental
Freedoms:” www.saveservices.org/downloads/SAVE-Assault-Civil-Rights
This document exposes, in chilling detail, how
our fundamental rights have been casually tossed
aside in the name of curing the so-called
“epidemic” of domestic violence.
It starts with the First Amendment, the right to
free speech. Did you realize that calling your
partner a naughty word now constitutes grounds for
state intervention? That in most states, legal
definitions of domestic violence are larded with
broadly-worded offenses like causing
“annoyance” or “emotional
distress”?
Ladies, call your better-half a
“dimwit” or “gasbag,” and
you’ll likely find yourself out on the street,
subject to a restraining order. Gents, be herewith
advised that rebuking your heart-throb as a
“fatso” will likewise leave you subject
to state-imposed sanctions.
The First Amendment also foreshadows the freedom
to marry and the right to privacy in family
matters. As the Supreme Court opined, “Choices
about marriage, family life…are among
associational rights [the] Court has ranked
as ‘of basic importance in our
society.’” (M.L.B. v. S.L.J, 1996)
But thanks to a veritable blizzard of
“get-tough-on-crime” laws, our
nation’s domestic violence system now amounts
to “state-imposed de facto divorce,”
reveals Harvard Law School professor Jeannie Suk,
whereby the government “initiates and dictates
the end of the intimate relationship as a solution
to DV.”
The Second Amendment guarantees the “right
of the people to keep and bear Arms.” But if
you are merely accused of partner abuse,
you’ll be forced to turn in your hunting
rifle, Civil War handgun collection, and maybe even
your trusty pea-shooter. Thank the well-meaning
Lautenberg Amendment for that.
The Fourth Amendment promises citizens must be
“secure in their persons, house, papers, and
effects.” But each year, 2-3 million
restraining orders are issued – no evidence or
proof necessary – forcing hundreds of
thousands of innocent men from their homes. And if
your favorite squeeze decides to auction off your
personal goods to raise a little cash, no one will
dare stop her. As a domestic violence
“survivor,” she now belongs to a
protected victim class with almost limitless
rights.
The Fourth Amendment also proclaims
“probable cause” must exist before a
person can be “seized.” Well, forget what
you learned in high school civics class, because
thanks to the Violence Against Women Act, 22 states
now have so-called “mandatory arrest”
laws for allegations of assault. And in 33 states
you’ll be thrown in jail for even a technical
violation of a restraining order, like sending your
kid a Happy Birthday card.
The Fifth (and Fourteenth) Amendments assure
citizens will not be deprived of life, liberty, or
property “without due process of law.”
That quaint idea fell by the wayside years ago.
Now, according to Cheryl Hanna of the Vermont Law
School, “Evidentiary standards for proving
abuse have been so relaxed that any man who stands
accused is considered guilty.”
Now on to the Sixth Amendment which says,
“In all criminal prosecutions, the accused
shall enjoy the right…to be confronted with
the witnesses against him.” But many
prosecutors now adhere to a “no-drop”
prosecution policy. No-drop means the prosecution
will go forward, even if the evidence is flimsy or
she recants the accusation.
And the Fourteenth Amendment guarantees
“equal protection of the laws.” But men,
if your wife attacks you in the middle of the night
and you decide to press charges, be sure the police
catch her still clutching the knife with blood
dripping off the blade.
And don’t try to defend yourself from the
onslaught. As Washington state attorney Lisa Scott
warns, “Even the act of pushing her away, or
holding her arms to stop her from hitting you, can
be chargeable domestic violence.”
The Parental Liberty Doctrine, which also rests
on the Fourteenth Amendment, affirms the
“right of the individual…to establish a
home and bring up children,” the Supreme Court
held in Meyer v. Nebraska.
But find yourself accused of domestic violence
– again, no proof necessary – you may
find your parental rights whisked away by an
over-zealous judge who has been lectured during
countless hours of domestic violence indoctrination
to “always err on the side of
caution.”
Each year, according to the SAVE report, over
two million Americans have their fundamental civil
liberties shredded by the Violence Against Women
Act. The irony of it all is that Vice President Joe
Biden, who openly and proudly championed VAWA, is a
former professor of constitutional law.
* * *
Carey
Roberts probes and lampoons political correctness.
His work has been published frequently in the
Washington Times, Townhall.com, LewRockwell.com,
ifeminists.net, Intellectual Conservative, and
elsewhere. He is a staff reporter for the New Media
Network. You can contact him at E-Mail
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