Mask Mandates are Constitutional

My column in today’s West Bend Daily News.

Government mask mandates don’t violate constitutional rights

Many on the conservative side of the political spectrum claim that government mandates to wear a mask violate their individual constitutional rights.

A not-so-shining example of these claims was evident at the recent meeting of the Washington County Board of Supervisors, where all the members of the board met in a small room, sitting in their usual close-to-each-other seats with not one wearing a mask. In that clearly unsafe setting, the board debated Resolution 17 that reminded the members of the oath they took to defend the Constitution and laws of the United States and Wisconsin. Much of the debate centered around their claimed duty to protect our citizens from overreaching state mandates requiring masks because they violate an individual’s constitutional right to “liberty.” The so-called “sanctuary” resolution passed unanimously.

Claims that the Constitution prohibits requiring individuals to wear a mask are ridiculous and wrong.

Many of these so-called constitutional arguments are based on a misunderstanding of the First Amendment to the U. S. Constitution and the similar provisions of Wisconsin’s Constitution. These provisions generally prohibit government from passing laws impinging on freedom of speech, press, petition, assembly and religion. A mask does not keep you from expressing yourself. It may limit where and how you can speak, but these “time and place” restrictions are not prohibited unless they discriminate based upon the content of the speech. You cannot campaign within certain distance of a polling location is a perfect example.

First Amendment liberties are not absolute. All constitutional rights are subject to the government’s authority to protect the health, safety and welfare of the public according to the Supreme Court in cases like Prince v. Massachusetts.

Similarly, claims that mask mandates violate the “right to liberty” are just as ill-conceived. The right to liberty is really an embodiment of the principle of individual autonomy summarized succinctly in the phrase, “my body, my choice.”

The decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in Jacobson v. Massachusetts puts the argument that only you can control your body in the scrap heap. The court ruled that the state could require smallpox vaccinations without violating Jacobsen’s right to personal liberty or “the inherent right of every freeman to care for his own body and health in such way as to him seems best.”

The court continued, “There are manifold restraints to which every person is necessarily subject for the common good. On any other basis, organized society could not exist with safety to its members.” State courts have also ruled that an individual with active tuberculosis could be forcibly detained in a hospital for appropriate medical treatment.

This “police power” doctrine commands that all constitutional rights, including liberty, speech, assembly, freedom of movement or autonomy are held on condition that they do not endanger others or the public welfare.

A general pandemic, like the one in which we currently live where a deadly communicable disease can be transmitted by those who show no symptoms, justifies a wide range of reasonable restrictions on our liberties. Believing otherwise turns the Constitution into a suicide pact.

The government can force you to wear a mask to protect others, just like it can ban smoking in public or make you use the seat belt in your car. Doing so does not violate your constitutional rights. 

States, under the 10th Amendment to the United States Constitution, retain broad powers to protect the health and safety of their citizens, even if the federal government cannot or does not act.

Businesses that require masks for their employees and customers do not violate individual rights either as long as the requirements are applied in a manner that does not discriminate against a protected class. Think about it as “no shirt, no shoes, no mask, no service.”

Those who continue to believe that wearing a mask is just a personal choice have no respect and do not care about their fellow citizens. They should stop claiming a mantle of constitutional right to justify their selfishness.My column in today’s West Bend Daily News.

Government mask mandates don’t violate constitutional rights

Many on the conservative side of the political spectrum claim that government mandates to wear a mask violate their individual constitutional rights.

A not-so-shining example of these claims was evident at the recent meeting of the Washington County Board of Supervisors, where all the members of the board met in a small room, sitting in their usual close-to-each-other seats with not one wearing a mask. In that clearly unsafe setting, the board debated Resolution 17 that reminded the members of the oath they took to defend the Constitution and laws of the United States and Wisconsin. Much of the debate centered around their claimed duty to protect our citizens from overreaching state mandates requiring masks because they violate an individual’s constitutional right to “liberty.” The so-called “sanctuary” resolution passed unanimously.

Claims that the Constitution prohibits requiring individuals to wear a mask are ridiculous and wrong.

Many of these so-called constitutional arguments are based on a misunderstanding of the First Amendment to the U. S. Constitution and the similar provisions of Wisconsin’s Constitution. These provisions generally prohibit government from passing laws impinging on freedom of speech, press, petition, assembly and religion. A mask does not keep you from expressing yourself. It may limit where and how you can speak, but these “time and place” restrictions are not prohibited unless they discriminate based upon the content of the speech. You cannot campaign within certain distance of a polling location is a perfect example.

First Amendment liberties are not absolute. All constitutional rights are subject to the government’s authority to protect the health, safety and welfare of the public according to the Supreme Court in cases like Prince v. Massachusetts.

Similarly, claims that mask mandates violate the “right to liberty” are just as ill-conceived. The right to liberty is really an embodiment of the principle of individual autonomy summarized succinctly in the phrase, “my body, my choice.”

The decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in Jacobson v. Massachusetts puts the argument that only you can control your body in the scrap heap. The court ruled that the state could require smallpox vaccinations without violating Jacobsen’s right to personal liberty or “the inherent right of every freeman to care for his own body and health in such way as to him seems best.”

The court continued, “There are manifold restraints to which every person is necessarily subject for the common good. On any other basis, organized society could not exist with safety to its members.” State courts have also ruled that an individual with active tuberculosis could be forcibly detained in a hospital for appropriate medical treatment.

This “police power” doctrine commands that all constitutional rights, including liberty, speech, assembly, freedom of movement or autonomy are held on condition that they do not endanger others or the public welfare.

A general pandemic, like the one in which we currently live where a deadly communicable disease can be transmitted by those who show no symptoms, justifies a wide range of reasonable restrictions on our liberties. Believing otherwise turns the Constitution into a suicide pact.

The government can force you to wear a mask to protect others, just like it can ban smoking in public or make you use the seat belt in your car. Doing so does not violate your constitutional rights. 

States, under the 10th Amendment to the United States Constitution, retain broad powers to protect the health and safety of their citizens, even if the federal government cannot or does not act.

Businesses that require masks for their employees and customers do not violate individual rights either as long as the requirements are applied in a manner that does not discriminate against a protected class. Think about it as “no shirt, no shoes, no mask, no service.”

Those who continue to believe that wearing a mask is just a personal choice have no respect and do not care about their fellow citizens. They should stop claiming a mantle of constitutional right to justify their selfishness.