{"id":498,"date":"2020-09-11T15:39:54","date_gmt":"2020-09-11T15:39:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/?p=498"},"modified":"2020-09-11T20:04:31","modified_gmt":"2020-09-11T20:04:31","slug":"i-plead-the-5th","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/2020\/09\/11\/i-plead-the-5th\/","title":{"rendered":"I Plead the 5th"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

We are all pretty tired of covid. We\u2019ve seen rises in depression, anxiety<\/a>, domestic abuse<\/a>, child abuse<\/a>, as well as drug and alcohol abuse<\/a> as a result of being quarantined; quarantined whether you\u2019re healthy or not. The debate began. \u201cFor the love of humanity, wear a mask!\u201d And in the same breath, \u201cBut let me go to work!\u201d Unfortunately, the two issues fall under the same umbrella, individual liberty. We either give it up entirely and accept that the government mandates and forces by law that we are all wearing masks and closing businesses OR we all open businesses as WE (the people) see fit and wear masks if WE (the people) are concerned; individual liberty and choice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To dive a little deeper into this, we have to understand the\nUS constitution, and in my personal case, the Tennessee constitution. First, masks.\nCan the government mandate that the public wear masks? Well, ask yourself this\nquestion, can the government mandate that you wear a seat belt? The answer to\nthat is obviously yes. But there\u2019s one HUGE distinction: the legislative branch\nproposed a bill requiring seat belts be worn that, after traveling through the\nproper channels, was voted on and passed into law. The law mandating masks\nbeing worn in public hasn\u2019t had that opportunity. There has been no involvement\nfrom the legislative branch on masks in any government in the US. Again, we\u2019re\nback to the constitution. Let\u2019s see what it says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Article II, section 2 of the Tennessee constitution says this, \u201cNo person<\/strong> or persons belonging to one of these departments shall exercise any of the powers properly belonging to either of the others<\/strong>, except in the cases herein directed or permitted<\/em>.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Article II, section 3 says this, \u201cThe legislative authority of this state shall be<\/strong> vested in a General Assembly, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives, both dependent on the people<\/strong><\/em>.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Article II, section 18 says this, \u201cA bill shall become law when<\/strong> it has been considered and passed<\/strong> on three different days in each House<\/strong> and on third and final consideration has received the assent of a majority of all the members<\/strong> to which each House is entitled under this Constitution, when the respective speakers have signed the bill<\/strong> with the date of such signing appearing in the journal, and when the bill has been approved by the governor<\/strong> or otherwise passed under the provisions of this Constitution<\/em>.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Based solely on these three articles, it is unconstitutional\nfor ANY branch of government to exercise authority over another branch. In the\nmask controversy, the executive branch exercised authority over the legislative\nbranch by enacting a law without that branch. Look up \u201cseparation of powers\u201d or\n\u201cChecks and balances\u201d. But what does this have to do with businesses? Glad you\nasked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The constitution was designed to limit the government, never\nthe people. So let\u2019s return to the constitution. The US constitution, Amendment\nV<\/strong> states, \u201cNo person shall be held to answer\nfor a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or\nindictment of a Grand Jury\u2026 nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property,\nwithout due process of law<\/strong>\u2026<\/em>\u201d\nYour business is \u201cproperty\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

More succinctly, in the case of Tennesseans, the TN constitution states in Article I, section 21, \u201cThat no man’s<\/strong> particular services shall be<\/strong> demanded, or property taken<\/strong>, or applied to public use, without the consent of his representatives, or without just compensation<\/strong> being made therefore.<\/em>\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Based solely on the US constitution and the TN constitution,\nit would be unconstitutional to mandate a business closure without \u201cdue process\nof law\u201d. In the midst of this \u201cpandemic\u201d, businesses were forced to close, due\nto no fault of their own, without due process of any kind. Sports industries\nhave been shut down\u2026 without due process of any kind. The entertainment\nindustry (bars, concerts) which is close to my heart, has been shut down\u2026\nwithout due process of any kind. Both the US and the TN constitution limit\nactivity. But wait, it\u2019s a state of emergency. That changes things. Possibly\u2026\nlet\u2019s look.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Emergency management codes were all designed to \u201csuspend\u201d laws in order to expedite resources needed to help recover quickly from an emergency. For instance, laws that require multi-level approval for funding can be suspended during a state of emergency in order to expedite the funds. Another suspension of laws includes liability. If a first responder administers treatment because of an emergency, that responder is free from liability during a state of emergency. Laws were never meant to be created and\/or enacted during this time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the pandemic, the federal government issued\nsuggestions of safety. They gave recommendations. The states, however, began\nissuing mandates across the country (all except South Dakota). In TN, in\nparticular, my home state, the governor began issuing mandated businesses\nclosures and mask mandates which transferred authority to mayors throughout the\nstate. The only basis on which he was able to act was one code. T.C.A. \u00a7\n58-2-107. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

T.C.A. \u00a7 58-2-107 Part (a)(1) says, \u201cIn the\nevent of an emergency beyond local control, the governor\u2026 may assume direct\noperational control\u2026 and such person has the power through proper process of\nlaw to carry out the provisions of this chapter. The governor is authorized to\ndelegate such powers as the governor may deem prudent<\/em>.\u201d  Part (a)(2) says, \u201c\u2026the governor may issue executive orders. Such executive\norders, proclamations, and rules have the force and effect of law.\u201d<\/em> This code is strictly unconstitutional, per the above text\nfrom both the US constitution and the TN constitution. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is hope. Take a look at an example HERE<\/a> where the supreme court overruled a president for attempting to issue an executive order that, in the supreme court\u2019s opinion, was unconstitutional. In Tennessee, there is an organization taking a stand against the unconstitutional code that gives the Governor too much power. Click HERE<\/a> to read more. There\u2019s also a petition to get the Tennessee house and senate\u2019s attention. Click HERE<\/a> for that. So, when it comes down to the bottom line on whether businesses should be forced to close or we should be forced to wear a mask in public, ask the simple question, did anyone vote on this? If the answer is no, then a king must be involved. As for me\u2026 I plead the 5th<\/sup> (Amendment). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stay Classy GP!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grainger<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We are all pretty tired of covid. We\u2019ve seen rises in depression, anxiety, domestic abuse, child abuse, as well as drug and alcohol abuse as a result of being quarantined; quarantined whether you\u2019re healthy or not. The debate began. \u201cFor the love of humanity, wear a mask!\u201d And in the same breath, \u201cBut let me … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “I Plead the 5th”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0},"categories":[72],"tags":[91,90,92,53,86,87,88,89],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/498"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=498"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/498\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":503,"href":"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/498\/revisions\/503"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=498"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=498"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=498"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}