Implied Rights
Kevin Bryant
Stupidity has reached a new low here in the state of Missouri. It has been determined that the people of Missouri no longer have the right eat at McDonalds, buy an air conditioner, use deodorant or drive Fords. In fact, people of Missouri do not even have the right to drink water.
The Missouri State Court of Appeals decided a case recently involving the rights (or lack of) cities to impose smoking bans and have the ability to apply that ban to some businesses but not others. I myself do not have a problem with smoking bans in public schools, churches, restaurants or other places frequented by children. Children for the most part do not have the right to choose where their parents take them, and I do not advocate that children disobey their parents.
The Missouri State Court of Appeals decided in favor of the cities. No big shock there even though I strongly disagree with smoking bans and think it should be left up to the individual businesses to decide if they want to restrict or regulate smoking and other behavior within their own establishments. What I strongly disagree with is the reason the court gave for siding with the cities. Their reasoning was that since there is no law specifically granting Americans the right to smoke, the cities have a right to regulate the activity as they see fit. It is my constitutional right to life but there is no such law that states I have a right to suck out oxygen from the atmosphere. So does this mean I have the right to live but not the right to breathe?
What ever happened to implied rights? If I decide to go out on my deck just to soak up some run rays, does the government have the right to arrest me because there is no such law that states that sitting in the sunlight on one’s own property is a specific right? The Constitution states that all Americans have the right to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. The part about “as allowed by the government” must be in the small print that I failed to read.
The decision of the court sets a very dangerous precedence. This decision opens the door for total government control. Unless struck down by the Missouri Supreme Court, this ruling could easily lead the way of Missouri becoming the first communist or socialist state within the United States. Think about this, you have the right to own a business but no where does it say you have the right to make a profit from that business. You have right to own land but no where is it specifically written that you may choose what type of flowers you may grow on that property. If you paint your house yellow and I being your neighbor wake up one day and decide that I don’t like the color yellow anymore, I can take you to court over it and the court can force you to paint your house a different color. It’s not written anywhere that you have the right to choose what color your house can be. Illinois has the motto: Land of Lincoln. Missouri should consider changing theirs from: The Show-Me State to Land of the Oppressed.
Implied rights: The Constitution was written not strictly by a bunch of lawyers but it sure is being ripped apart by them. The Constitution was written so as to allow for the use of that little something called Common Sense. We all know common sense is dead at the federal level of government and in some state governments as well. Missouri has now become a member of that select group of states that include California, Washington, Oregon, Massachusetts, New York, Michigan and a few others where common sense is no longer applied or allowed.
Kevin Bryant
Stupidity has reached a new low here in the state of Missouri. It has been determined that the people of Missouri no longer have the right eat at McDonalds, buy an air conditioner, use deodorant or drive Fords. In fact, people of Missouri do not even have the right to drink water.
The Missouri State Court of Appeals decided a case recently involving the rights (or lack of) cities to impose smoking bans and have the ability to apply that ban to some businesses but not others. I myself do not have a problem with smoking bans in public schools, churches, restaurants or other places frequented by children. Children for the most part do not have the right to choose where their parents take them, and I do not advocate that children disobey their parents.
The Missouri State Court of Appeals decided in favor of the cities. No big shock there even though I strongly disagree with smoking bans and think it should be left up to the individual businesses to decide if they want to restrict or regulate smoking and other behavior within their own establishments. What I strongly disagree with is the reason the court gave for siding with the cities. Their reasoning was that since there is no law specifically granting Americans the right to smoke, the cities have a right to regulate the activity as they see fit. It is my constitutional right to life but there is no such law that states I have a right to suck out oxygen from the atmosphere. So does this mean I have the right to live but not the right to breathe?
What ever happened to implied rights? If I decide to go out on my deck just to soak up some run rays, does the government have the right to arrest me because there is no such law that states that sitting in the sunlight on one’s own property is a specific right? The Constitution states that all Americans have the right to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. The part about “as allowed by the government” must be in the small print that I failed to read.
The decision of the court sets a very dangerous precedence. This decision opens the door for total government control. Unless struck down by the Missouri Supreme Court, this ruling could easily lead the way of Missouri becoming the first communist or socialist state within the United States. Think about this, you have the right to own a business but no where does it say you have the right to make a profit from that business. You have right to own land but no where is it specifically written that you may choose what type of flowers you may grow on that property. If you paint your house yellow and I being your neighbor wake up one day and decide that I don’t like the color yellow anymore, I can take you to court over it and the court can force you to paint your house a different color. It’s not written anywhere that you have the right to choose what color your house can be. Illinois has the motto: Land of Lincoln. Missouri should consider changing theirs from: The Show-Me State to Land of the Oppressed.
Implied rights: The Constitution was written not strictly by a bunch of lawyers but it sure is being ripped apart by them. The Constitution was written so as to allow for the use of that little something called Common Sense. We all know common sense is dead at the federal level of government and in some state governments as well. Missouri has now become a member of that select group of states that include California, Washington, Oregon, Massachusetts, New York, Michigan and a few others where common sense is no longer applied or allowed.
