You misunderstood me, Kut. I said that the governor has the power to suspend certain rights, not the "right" to do so. Rights come from our Creator, while powers come from government. As a human, he has the *right* of free speech, etc. but no *power* over any fellow human. As the governor, a representative of government, he has the power to order other elements of government to enforce his dictates, but he has not one single right *as a consequence of his office*.
You may think me pedantic and needlessly splitting hairs, but the difference is important. His powers come from the people, and the people can take them away. The peoples' rights are unalienable, and can be taken only by He who gave them. In the face of Northam's order, just as "Tank Man" in the face of the Chinese government in 1989, the rights are not removed, but their use is punished.
Perhaps another analogy would be better suited: If you put handcuffs on someone, you deny him the use of his arms, but you do not remove his arms! Eventually, you have to remove the cuffs, and you'd better hope either that he is a man with respect for the rule of law, that you have treated him decently or that you have a metric
ton of backup. And yes, as noted, traditionally (Katrina comes to mind) the governor has the power to take away peoples' guns (unless forbidden in law, as IIRC was done here in IN (I know it was proposed, don't know if it passed the legislature)) AFTER the disaster. I suppose a case could be made that the election was the disaster, however.
The right of the people to petition their government for redress of grievance has been upheld quit vigorously by SCOTUS, IIRC to the point that even if the appeal is frivolous, the court has an obligation to hear it. I don't recall the specifics of the case I'm referencing as it's been many years since I heard of it, but if you want, I'll see if I can find info. Given that position, though, the governor attempting to curtail the right of the people peaceably to assemble FOR THE PURPOSE of redress of grievance would seem to be not only unConstitutional, but grounds for removal from office.
We have gotten soft as a nation; time was that such an action would be grounds for his literal removal from office, tarring and feathering, and being run out of town on a rail.
Before this is all done, I suspect it may come close to that point again. God help us all.
Blessings,
Bill
