Rep. Ted Budd, R-N.C., said lockdowns sparked by the coronavirus outbreak should not be allowed to trample Americans’ civil liberties.
He made his comments on a column posted by Fox News on Friday.
“History has repeatedly shown us that during times of fear, it’s common to see individuals in positions of power cross inappropriate and unconstitutional lines,” he said.
And Budd wrote: “Imagine a world where you could be arrested for playing T-ball in an empty park with your 6-year-old daughter. Would you feel like you were living in a place that cherishes individual freedom, or would you feel like you were a victim of an oppressive nanny state?
“Chances are the latter. This scenario happened to 33-year-old former police officer Matt Mooney in Brighton, Colo. On a casual Sunday afternoon, he took his wife and daughter to an empty field to practice softball and was soon arrested in front of his family for violating state social distancing guidelines.”
He noted Mooney was eventually released, but “it doesn’t excuse the violation of his civil liberties.”
He said this is not to say that state and local governments’ ability to enact policies they see fit during the pandemic should be threatened.
“It is our job to conduct the appropriate oversight and ensure that responses to this pandemic are measured and based on both medical expertise and the law,” Budd said. “Our country has come too far to settle for anything less.”
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.
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