Editorial:
Oaths
and
Allegiances
6/9/00
David Borden, Executive Director, [email protected] To "support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies" and to "bear true faith and allegiance to the same" -- this, the Senators of our great nation do solemnly swear upon taking office. Yet at least three bills with bipartisan support in the Senate right now would strike at the core of that most basic of Constitutionally protected freedoms, freedom of speech. The methamphetamine bill, the ecstasy bill, and equivalent provisions of the bankruptcy bill, would impose up to 10 years in federal prison on persons convicted of providing "information pertaining to... the manufacture, acquisition, or use of a controlled substance, with the intent that the teaching, demonstration, or information be used for, or in furtherance of, an activity that constitutes a crime." It is language that can easily be concealed behind law and order rhetoric: "We want to make it a crime to help people manufacture and traffic in dangerous, illegal drugs." Yet the reality is that the bill goes much further than that. Anyone who discusses the medical value of marijuana, anyone whose web site links to needle exchange schedules or safer injecting techniques, or who helps ecstasy users stay alive by providing information on risk-reduction techniques they can use while taking ecstasy -- any of these compassionate and sensible measures could subject law-abiding Americans to the threat of their lives being ruined by the government. Yes, law abiding, for the Constitution is the law of the land, above all other laws. It is those who promote and sponsor unconstitutional laws who have disregarded rule of law in a more insidious, ultimately more destructive way than any common criminal. The members of Congress supporting this legislation may have spoken the words that make up their oath, but their words were empty, for they have shown greater allegiance to the failed and failing war on drugs than the Constitution of the United States. Perhaps these laws won't stand the test of the courts. But does the right to speak freely truly hold in this country, when those exercising it must brave arrests and court hearings and all the attendant monetary and life costs, with no guarantee of success and the risk of lengthy incarceration if one fails? Let us demand of our leaders their allegiance in more than words, but in actions.
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