restrict one’s Constitutional Rights?
Let’s ask Saadiq Long, his wife, and child. Mr. Long is a former US Air Force service member; serving the nation honorably for 10 yrs. But his “problem” is that he is of the Muslim faith and that was enough for an anonymous tip from someone and get the FBI to place him on the Fed’s No Fly and maybe “terrorist” list. No evidence was ever presented that he participated or performed any overt act in support of terror organizations. The List prevented him from flying back to the US from overseas. He and his family were recently arrested entering Turkey for immigration reasons (according to the US consulate there), based on being on The List. He served there while in the Air Force and was exploring a move there.
Adding to the mix, his arrest has been trumpeted by the Right Wing Media…saying that it proves you just can’t trust “them thar A_rabs” and his protestations of innocence were all some nefarious al Queda/Isis/Islamic plot. His name and face, because of The LIST have been smeared all over the Internet, Radio, blogs, etc…
Because of The LIST, he was judged guilty by the government of the United States and a wide swath of the public with NO trial, no way to face his secret accusers, or the nameless, faceless desk sitters who started him on this endless path of trouble.
Now, there are some who want to restrict a Constitutional Right to purchase a firearm based on the same List. Is that wise? The Supreme Court has ruled firearm ownership is a right. Just as it said Obamacare is legal. You can’t accept one ruling and deny another. If you think its wrong, then work to change the Constitution. Until then, to use a secret list to deny that right is a very dangerous step. What happens when some other right causes danger or trouble? Access to the Internet? Cell phone ownership? Use your 1st Amend rights on a blog to express unpopular opinions? Should those rights be suspended or denied?
What if being on The List neutralizes one’s 4th Amend. rights? We have seen erosion of this with the “War on Drugs” and “Patriot Act” What else could be done if you were subject of whispers to the FBI?
This, is a very real sense, what the Revolution was fought for. That we have to continually guard against the Easy Answer (such as using secret lists) to transitory problems is our duty.
Ridge
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See this article about the whole mess and Chris Hayes’ show on MSNBC tonight did a segment.
https:/theintercept.com/2015/12/10/a-muslim-american-air-force-veteran-was-widely-smeared-with-a-fa
bricated-story-about-isis-charges
