4 ms·

I agree about it not running afoul of freedom of speech but I do wonder about the jurisprudence around freedom of assembly. Congress shall make no law ...abrid

I agree about it not running afoul of freedom of speech but I do wonder about the jurisprudence around freedom of assembly. Congress shall make no law ...abridging ... the right of the people peaceably to assemble.

wbl 7y ago
The Constitution is not a suicide pact.
- cbm-vic-20 7y ago
  You also have the right to not assemble.
munk-a 7y ago
Freedom of speech is freedom of speech until you yell fire in a crowded theater. Pandemic related quarantines have been established as being constitutional in past rulings.
- tathougies 7y ago
  Actually, it is completely legal to yell fire in a crowded theater. What you are not allowed to I am not sure why people continue to use this tired excuse. What is illegal is wanting to harm people by yelling fire in a crowded theater that is not actually on fire, although it is also illegal to knowingly hide that the theater is on fire. Nevertheless the reference itself comes from a really terrible case where the supreme court wrongly infringed on the rights of a war dissenter. It is not a concept that ought to be continued to be parroted.
paulmd 7y ago
If your interpretation were correct then there could be no regulation of assembly at all. This is not correct and SCOTUS has already supported content-neutral time/place/manner restrictions on assembly, for more than a century iirc. Saying "no gatherings of more than 1000" is facially legal. Plenty of protests have been told it's time to disperse before. Furthermore, SCOTUS typically grants even wider powers in extigent circumstances. It is probably also legal to say "no gatherings at all, everyone back to your houses for the duration of this crisis". An example would be something like the boston bomber crisis, although I don't think it was litigated, that probably would have been found to be legal as well.
- otterley 7y ago
  I would suggest everyone grab their significant other, head to the Winchester, have a nice cold pint, and wait for this whole thing to blow over.

wbl 7y ago

The Constitution is not a suicide pact.

cbm-vic-20 7y ago
You also have the right to not assemble.

munk-a 7y ago

Freedom of speech is freedom of speech until you yell fire in a crowded theater. Pandemic related quarantines have been established as being constitutional in past rulings.

tathougies 7y ago
Actually, it is completely legal to yell fire in a crowded theater. What you are not allowed to I am not sure why people continue to use this tired excuse. What is illegal is wanting to harm people by yelling fire in a crowded theater that is not actually on fire, although it is also illegal to knowingly hide that the theater is on fire. Nevertheless the reference itself comes from a really terrible case where the supreme court wrongly infringed on the rights of a war dissenter. It is not a concept that ought to be continued to be parroted.

paulmd 7y ago

If your interpretation were correct then there could be no regulation of assembly at all. This is not correct and SCOTUS has already supported content-neutral time/place/manner restrictions on assembly, for more than a century iirc. Saying "no gatherings of more than 1000" is facially legal. Plenty of protests have been told it's time to disperse before. Furthermore, SCOTUS typically grants even wider powers in extigent circumstances. It is probably also legal to say "no gatherings at all, everyone back to your houses for the duration of this crisis". An example would be something like the boston bomber crisis, although I don't think it was litigated, that probably would have been found to be legal as well.

otterley 7y ago
I would suggest everyone grab their significant other, head to the Winchester, have a nice cold pint, and wait for this whole thing to blow over.