Reminder... the acedmic supported ALL of this, and claimed it didn't go nearly far enough.
This doesnt even include state government decisions (i.e. California arresting someone on the beach and Michigan banning the sale of seeds).
He supported it all. Wanted more. And now he criticizes me for not crying about Trump yelling at CNN?
Fuck off, loser
----‐------
The COVID-19 era (roughly 2020-2022) saw a range of government policies in the United States that sparked debates over their impact on American liberties. Critics argued that certain measures infringed on constitutional rights, while proponents often justified them as necessary for public health. Below is a list of government policies—federal, state, and local—that were cited by various groups as violating liberties, along with the specific freedoms they were seen to impact. I’ll aim to be concise, objective, and grounded in the principles of the U.S. Constitution, focusing on policies that were widely debated. Since you didn’t specify a desired length, I’ll keep it comprehensive but to the point.
### 1. **Lockdowns and Stay-at-Home Orders**
- **Description**: State and local governments (e.g., California, New York, Michigan) imposed stay-at-home orders, closing non-essential businesses, schools, and public spaces, often for extended periods in 2020-2021.
- **Liberties Impacted**:
- **Freedom of Movement/Assembly (First Amendment)**: Restrictions on gatherings limited protests, religious services, and social interactions. For example, Michigan’s strict lockdown orders were challenged in court for curbing assembly rights.
- **Economic Liberty (Fifth Amendment, Due Process)**: Business closures were argued to deprive owners of property and livelihood without adequate due process. The U.S. Supreme Court in *Roman Catholic Diocese v. Cuomo* (2020) struck down some New York restrictions for violating religious liberty.
- **Example**: California’s prolonged closure of gyms, salons, and restaurants led to lawsuits claiming violations of economic freedom and equal protection.
### 2. **Mask Mandates**
- **Description**: Federal, state, and local mandates required masks in public spaces, workplaces, and schools (e.g., CDC’s 2021 mask guidance for public transportation).
- **Liberties Impacted**:
- **Freedom of Expression (First Amendment)**: Some argued masks stifled personal expression or coerced speech by mandating a public health stance.
- **Bodily Autonomy (Ninth Amendment, Substantive Due Process)**: Critics claimed mandates infringed on personal choice over one’s body, though courts generally upheld them under public health precedents like *Jacobson v. Massachusetts* (1905).
- **Example**: Florida’s ban on local mask mandates (2021) was a response to perceived overreach, though it faced legal challenges for undermining local governance.
### 3. **Vaccine Mandates**
- **Description**: Federal mandates (e.g., OSHA’s 2021 rule for employers with 100+ employees, CMS mandate for healthcare workers) and state/local requirements (e.g., New York City’s vaccine passport for public venues) required vaccination or testing.
- **Liberties Impacted**:
- **Bodily Autonomy (Ninth Amendment)**: Forcing medical interventions was seen as violating personal autonomy. The Supreme Court struck down OSHA’s mandate in *NFIB v. OSHA* (2022) for exceeding federal authority but upheld the CMS mandate.
- **Freedom of Association (First Amendment)**: Vaccine passports restricted access to public spaces, raising concerns about exclusion based on medical status.
- **Example**: New York City’s “Key to NYC” program (2021) barred unvaccinated individuals from restaurants and gyms, prompting lawsuits over discrimination and privacy.
### 4. **School Closures and Remote Learning Mandates**
- **Description**: Many states and districts (e.g., Chicago, Los Angeles) closed schools for in-person learning, enforcing remote education for extended periods in 2020-2021.
- **Liberties Impacted**:
- **Right to Education (Equal Protection, State Constitutions)**: Unequal access to remote learning tools disproportionately harmed low-income students, raising equal protection concerns.
- **Parental Rights (Fourteenth Amendment, Substantive Due Process)**: Parents argued closures denied their right to direct their children’s education. Lawsuits in states like California cited developmental harm to children.
- **Example**: Virginia’s prolonged school closures led to parent-led lawsuits and a 2021 executive order by Governor Youngkin prioritizing in-person learning.
### 5. **Contact Tracing and Surveillance Programs**
- **Description**: State and local governments implemented contact-tracing apps and data collection (e.g., New York’s Excelsior Pass, California’s exposure notification system).
- **Liberties Impacted**:
- **Right to Privacy (Fourth Amendment, Ninth Amendment)**: Collecting health data raised concerns about government overreach and data misuse, especially without clear opt-out mechanisms.
- **Example**: Posts on X in 2021 highlighted fears that contact-tracing apps could lead to permanent surveillance, though no major federal program was found to have abused data.
### 6. **Emergency Powers and Executive Overreach**
- **Description**: Governors and federal officials invoked emergency powers to enact policies without legislative approval (e.g., Michigan Governor Whitmer’s unilateral orders in 2020).
- **Liberties Impacted**:
- **Separation of Powers (Article I, State Constitutions)**: Prolonged emergency declarations bypassed legislative checks, as seen in Michigan, where the state Supreme Court ruled Whitmer’s orders unconstitutional in 2020.
- **Due Process (Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments)**: Lack of transparent justification for restrictions fueled claims of arbitrary governance.
- **Example**: Pennsylvania’s business closure orders were challenged for lacking clear criteria, leading to federal court rulings limiting the governor’s authority.
### 7. **Censorship and Content Moderation**
- **Description**: Federal agencies (e.g., CDC, FBI) collaborated with social media platforms to flag COVID-related “misinformation,” leading to content removal or account suspensions (revealed in 2022-2023 through lawsuits and X posts).
- **Liberties Impacted**:
- **Freedom of Speech (First Amendment)**: Government-directed content moderation was argued to violate free speech, as seen in *Missouri v. Biden* (2023), where courts found evidence of federal coercion.
- **Example**: X users reported in 2021 that posts questioning vaccine efficacy or lockdown policies were suppressed, raising concerns about public discourse.
