Op-Ed: Free Speech Orgs Agree With Right-Wingers: Protests Are OK

The U.S. Constitution was ratified and adopted in 1789, with the first ten amendments, the Bill of Rights, added in 1791. The first of those amendments reads, "Congress shall make no law 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 a redress of grievances." [Emphasis added] Those are important rights, and ones that the adult industry lives with and supports daily—but back in 1791, if an incurable, deadly disease were to appear anywhere in the world, the possibility that it could spread across the globe in a matter of days, infecting 2,214,861 of its inhabitants (as of today, though with the current haphazard testing system, that number could be far higher) and killing 150,948 of them was, simply put, impossible, even if the main means of transmission were airborne. Currently, the U.S. has 690,279 confirmed coronavirus cases, and 36,118 people have died from it, and most state governors have issued "orders," some enforced by police, others entirely voluntary, to stay at home, keep six feet away from all non-family members ... and refrain from gathering in groups of, depending on the state, 100, 50 ... or ten. It's that last part that caught the attention of the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) and roughly 20 other speech rights organizations, including the adult industry's Free Speech Coalition. (The full list is here.) NCAC noted that earlier this week, police in Raleigh, North Carolina tweeted that "Protesting is a non-essential activity," and found those words disturbing. "The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic cannot be used to justify the suspension of First Amendment rights," said the email sent out by NCAC today. "People must be free to express disagreement with government decisions, even when it involves criticism of essential public health measures. "Upholding First Amendment rights need not be at odds with the government’s authority and obligation to protect public health and safety," it continued. "The emergency decrees that call for social distancing, wearing of face covers or masks, and limits on the size of public assemblies can regulate the manner in which protests occur. However, regulations should be narrowly tailored to what is necessary to protect public health. ... Most protesters have been exercising their constitutional rights without threatening the health of their fellow citizens: wearing masks and standing six-feet apart outside hospitals and other places of business to protest inadequate safety precautions; participating in car demonstrations in Arizona, California and Michigan, and launching digital campaigns." We don't know which protests NCAC has been looking at, but that clearly hasn't been the case. Some if not most protest marches and other gatherings haven't cared a whit about the health of the participants, as the following images taken from TV news feeds in Michigan, Ohio and, yes, North Carolina show: (Of interest: A headline on Breitbart.com announces, "Watch Live: Minnesota Workers Protest Outside Governor's Mansion"—but for some reason, no video footage is anywhere to be seen—because it shows protesters ignoring distancing recommendations?) "The Michigan Conservative Coalition on its Facebook page said that Gov. Whitmer and her allies are 'infecting ALL of us with their radical, progressive agenda,'" claimed an article from EFE News Services. "'We can get this rally done and stay within the social distancing guidelines,' said Michigan Conservative Coalition co-founder Marian Sheridan in a statement." Really? Is that what social distancing, as shown above, is supposed to look like? But perhaps the point is, many, many protesters, nearly all members of or appearing at the behest of right-wing groups, either don't give a crap about social distancing, believe it doesn't work—or actually believe that even in a crowd, they stand little to no chance of catching the disease. "Despite the most hysterical and alarmist efforts of the leftist counterculture to convince us that the planet teeters on the brink of incinerating itself, people looked around themselves and didn’t see any evidence of it, so they weren’t willing to forfeit their prosperity and standard of living to turn the tide on 'global warming,'" conservative commentator Christopher G. Adamo wrote today. "But just perhaps, when those same members of the leftist counterculture have done their best to convince everyone that we face the terrifying prospect of an unknown killer that randomly takes lives, enough people can be cowed into giving up everything they’ve had, in hopes of achieving the historically empty promise of trading it all for a meager oppressed existence which the left tells us is the embodiment of security. And of course the opportunistic leftist Democrat office holders across the land, from local offices to the highest levels of government, were waiting in the wings to seize upon the potential death and suffering of the Wuhan Flu as a springboard for their despotic aspirations." Guess what, Chris? You probably won't believe it but "leftist Democratic office holders" have no despotic aspirations! You're thinking of Trump and his cronies who, if they could figure out a way to turn these protests into a method of converting "blue" states to red, wouldn't waste a second putting that plan into place! How about this one? "As acts of civil disobedience go, this was oddly pastoral: Gary Golden spread a blanket on the grassy lawn by Virginia's Executive Mansion, opened a wicker picnic basket and offered strawberries to strangers," wrote The Washington Post's Laura Vozzella and Gregory S. Schneider. "As fellow protesters took him up on the offer Thursday, coming up to the edge of the blanket, sticking their hands right into his container of sliced berries, Golden was defying Gov. Ralph Northam (D), who has ordered Virginians to keep their distance from one another to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus." Ain't that sweet! A social distancing "protest" reimagined as just some friendly sharing! How could that possibly hurt anyone? And let's not forget the preachers who've decided that filling pews is more important than making sure their flock stays healthy. • Evangelist Robert Jeffress, who preaches at Dallas’ First Baptist Church, on Sunday, March 15, "insisted on holding a large gathering even though countless health officials were warning against that type of thing."• "On Facebook, the New Life Christian Center declared, 'Due to the recent outbreak of fear—and the resulting raw, unmitigated stupidity—regarding the perceived threat of the "corona virus," etc., tomorrow night, Friday, March 13th, 2020, we WILL be having a church service here at the New Life Christian Center in Austin, Indiana. Anyone who is sick, you are welcome to come to church. We will lay hands on the sick, and the sick shall recover.'"• "While many well-intentioned people have different opinions regarding the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting government restrictions, we should all agree, however, that the church should be 'essential'—so essential that the community groans when its doors are shut," claimed far right attorney Mat Staver in an email. [Emphasis in original]• "Pastor Tony Spell of Life Tabernacle Church in Baton Rouge spoke to TMZ this Wednesday [April 8], saying that if his church members die from coronavirus, they’ve done so in the name of religious freedom," wrote Sky Palma of Raw Story.• "Easter looming, Kansas Republican leaders on Wednesday revoked Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s order limiting religious gatherings to 10 people as the state’s coronavirus death toll jumped 40 percent," reported Kansas.com on April 8.• "Infowars host Owen Shroyer demands that President Donald Trump’s administration lift social distancing recommendations meant to slow the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, threatening to push the Infowars audience into 'revolting' if he does not," reported Jared Holt. "Shroyer took issue with the guidelines in place, equating the measures to 'tyranny and communism'—ideas he claimed were 'more deadly than the coronavirus.'" The point is, these people are fucking nuts, and to support their efforts to gather closely at protests, church services, funerals, parties or whatever is to open the door to the deaths of more and more Americans. But what is the NCAC's and its co-signers' position? "We urge all public officials to recognize their obligation to defend First Amendment rights while they protect public safety. These rights are critically important during uncertain times like these." Are First Amendment rights important? Damn right! But the current situation is unprecedented in world history, and until a vaccine can be developed to immunize the populace against this sometimes-deadly disease, perhaps advising people that they can exercise their constitutional right to "peaceably ... assemble" isn't the wisest move.