U.S. Justice Alito Says Pandemic Has Led To Unimaginable Curbs On Liberty
Source: Reuters
(Reuters) - U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito said the COVID-19 pandemic had led to “previously unimaginable” curbs on individual liberty, singling out restrictions on religious events. The justice, who is seen as a conservative, told a meeting of the Federalist Society late on Thursday he was not underplaying the severity of the crisis or criticizing any officials for their response.
But he added: “We have never before seen restrictions as severe, extensive and prolonged as those experienced for most of 2020.” "The COVID crisis has served as sort of a constitutional stress test," he said during his address over a video link for the conservative organization's annual conference. “Think of worship services! Churches closed on Easter Sunday, synagogues closed for Passover in Yom Kippur”, he said. “It pains me to say this,” Alito added, “but in certain quarters, religious liberty is fast becoming a disfavored right.”
The justice said freedom of speech was also under threat. “Although that freedom is falling out of favor in some circles, we need to do whatever we can to prevent it from becoming a second-tier constitutional right,” he said. Alito’s remarks on free speech echoed his words from 2016 at the same event when he referred to college campus culture that conservatives say stifles free speech to avoid offending political sensibilities on matters such as gender, race and religion.
Social norms had created a list of things that was now unacceptable for students, professors and employees to say, he added on Thursday. “You can’t say that marriage is a union between one man and one woman”, he added. “Until very recently that’s what a vast majority of Americans thought. Now its considered bigotry.”
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-usa-supremecourt/u-s-justice-alito-says-pandemic-has-led-to-unimaginable-curbs-on-liberty-idUSKBN27T0LD
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Generally speaking, they didn’t keep them in place long enough to effectively combat the pandemic. They may have to be re-instituted as a result.
With all due respect, Justice Alito, your concerns are noted.
-Laelth
See: 1918 - 1920 and we're basically doing most of the same things they did back then. Ugh... the stupid hurts! 
To OBSERVE what medical staff are enduring EVERY DAY! 
What a heartless bastard!!!!!
South Korea never had to shut down their businesses because they immediately implemented mass testing, contact tracing and targeted quarantines of the ill. They had a competent national leader, we didn't. 300,000 Americans are about to die because of Trump's malignant negligence.
And you're worried about bans on indoor gatherings without "justification"?
Fuck you Alito!
I'm going to head over to your church on Sunday morning and during the height of the service, march to the front and loudly proclaim you're all a bunch of magical thinking wankers. And then go on a long screed about how your particular brand of magical thinking is destroying the planet and is an existential threat to human survival.
Like I've said before....Freedom? Freedom to do what?
Not too sure he could have made it without his longsuffering missus closeby to work the onlookers:
Let's build a reservation where all the Libertarians can move to so they can run around nude and totally unrestrained, with no laws or regulations and see how long they last.
KY.........
If you don't like the US, move elsewhere, Alito.
