The healthcare emergency posed by the Coronavirus, also known as “COVID-19,” has been declared a “national emergency” as well as “emergencies” by numerous governors and municipal officials. Some of these actions are limited and carefully crafted measures designed solely to protect society from a common threat. Others, however, such as those prohibiting exercise of Second Amendment rights, go far beyond reasonable and limited measures to address the public health crisis, and raise serious constitutional problems. As a champion of protecting individual liberty against abuse by governments, Liberty Guard will regularly be highlighting such abuses, so as to better inform the citizenry and hopefully aid in preventing or stopping such abuses.
Stories Impacting Your Liberty:
Coronavirus is proving some in the US like Soviet-style governance
We have entered a time when a Texas official is happy to call on her fellow citizens to indict those who may be doing nothing wrong. Quite extraordinary. What we’re seeing here is an admittedly less serious but still similar version of Soviet and Nazi-style snitch fetishism. CONTINUE READING
One of COVID-19’s unlisted side effects: An increase in police power
As governments across the globe expand mass surveillance programs in the name of public health, activist and whistleblower Edward Snowden warns that we are watching them build “the architecture of oppression.” CONTINUE READING
Freedom Is a Pandemic Casualty in Authoritarian Regimes and Liberal Democracies
It will be months, at least, before we have a full accounting of pandemic casualties. For now, though, you can confidently add to that list a healthy measure of human freedom. Around the world, governments are taking advantage of the public health emergency to tighten the screws on their subjects CONTINUE READING
A Woman Set Up a Little Free Pantry Without a Permit. The County Threatened Criminal Charges.
It started with a bowl of chicken noodle soup and a desire to help the community. It ended with the government threatening criminal charges. CONTINUE READING
Pritzker: Stay-home lawsuit a ‘stunt,’ should be overturned
The statewide stay-at-home order aimed at stemming the spread of the coronavirus remains in place through May 30, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Tuesday, despite a southern Illinois judge’s ruling that the Democrat exceeded his authority with the executive decree. CONTINUE READING
The Dangers of COVID-19 Surveillance Proposals to the Future of Protest
Many of the new surveillance powers now sought by the government to address the COVID-19 crisis would harm our First Amendment rights for years to come. CONTINUE READING
Some Walmart, Costco, Target stores barred from selling nonessential items
Local governments around the US are starting to take more draconian measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus by banning “essential” stores such as grocery chains or big-box retailers from selling nonessential items such as clothing and electronics. CONTINUE READING
The Pandemic, and the Rise of Surveillance Programs Around the World
In an attempt to stem the tide of the coronavirus pandemic, more than 25 governments around the world have instituted temporary or indefinite efforts to single out infected individuals or maintain quarantines. Many of these efforts, in turn, undermine personal privacy. CONTINUE READING
Why Bigger Government Is A Worse Threat To Civil Liberties Than Lockdowns
Our ordinary lives are being upended at great cost by the extraordinary actions of local, state, and federal governments, desperate to control the spread of the novel coronavirus originating in Wuhan, China. Understandably, as businesses are padlocked by state order and our normal freedoms to move about and assemble are radically curtailed, many have raised the civil liberty alarm. They worry that in its haste to fend off the “invisible enemy,” government is chipping away at our fundamental rights. CONTINUE READING
To Track Virus, Governments Weigh Surveillance Tools That Push Privacy Limits
As the country scrambles to control the rapidly spreading coronavirus, government agencies are putting in place or considering a range of tracking and surveillance technologies that test the limits of personal privacy. CONTINUE READING
Fresno's Emergency Declaration allows halt to gun sales, alcohol sales, other broad powers
The City of Fresno has now declared a “state of emergency”, and doing so grants the city wide-ranging powers under its “Emergency Services Ordinance”. CONTINUE READING
Government Tracking How People Move Around in Coronavirus Pandemic
Government officials across the U.S. are using location data from millions of cellphones in a bid to better understand the movements of Americans during the coronavirus pandemic and how they may be affecting the spread of the disease. CONTINUE READING
NRA files lawsuit against California over 'targeting' of gun stores amid coronavirus lockdown
The National Rifle Association (NRA) on Friday filed a federal lawsuit against California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles County Sheriff Alexander Villanueva after the state’s order to close nonessential businesses has affected firearms retailers. CONTINUE READING
Department of Homeland Security names gun makers, retailers essential businesses nationwide
President Trump’s Department of Homeland Security released updated guidelines naming gun manufacturers and retailers as essential on Saturday, which means they are allowed to remain open and operational nationwide during the coronavirus shutdown, Breitbart reported. CONTINUE READING
Real ID Deadline Delayed Until Late 2021 Because of Coronavirus
The Department of Homeland Security has extended the deadline for Real ID enforcement by 12 months because of the Covid-19 pandemic, postponing an already delayed government requirement for enhanced identification to board domestic flights. CONTINUE READING
Pastor arrested for violating rules amid virus outbreak
Florida officials have arrested the pastor of a megachurch after detectives say he held two Sunday services with hundreds of people and violated a safer-at-home order in place to limit the spread of the coronavirus. CONTINUE READING
Murphy: New Jersey gun stores will be allowed to reopen
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said Monday that gun shops are now considered essential businesses and can remain open during the coronavirus pandemic. CONTINUE READING
LA County Sheriff Retracts Orders Closing Gun Stores
Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva Monday retracted previous orders that would temporarily close gun stores in Los Angeles County during the COVID-19 pandemic. CONTINUE READING
Rights advocates worry that crisis has become an excuse to trample freedoms
As the US continues its scrambling response to the coronavirus outbreak, it has closed borders, quarantined some neighborhoods, and shut down businesses in a number of the most populous states. CONTINUE READING
A governor ordered the state police and National Guard to hunt for New Yorkers because of coronavirus fears. It’s a frightening sign of what’s to come during the pandemic.
On Saturday, military police of the National Guard – armed, camouflaged, and clad in flak-jackets – went door to door in Rhode Island where cars with New York license plates, or no plates at all, were parked. CONTINUE READING
Americans Favor Aggressive Coronavirus Measures, Poll Finds
A new survey finds widespread public support for aggressive measures like government cellphone tracking and mandatory health screenings in public places to curb the spread of coronavirus, which has infected more than 180,000 Americans. CONTINUE READING
Coronavirus: Google Releases Location Data To Help Authorities Check Lock-downs
Location data is being released by Google in 131 countries so officials can see if people are obeying self-isolating rule. Alphabet’s Google division has on Thursday published data for 131 countries that shows whether people are obeying self-isolating and quarantine rules. CONTINUE READING
The FDA Is Making It Much, Much Harder for Distilleries To Produce Hand Sanitizer
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, hand sanitizer has become an incredibly scarce resource. It's practically impossible to find any at a grocery or drug store, or to order it online. But in Washington, D.C., at least, anyone who wants a bottle can get one. All you have to do is buy a bottle of booze. CONTINUE READING
Enlisting tech to fight coronavirus sparks surveillance fears
The portable supercomputers people carry around in their pockets may hold the key to stemming the coronavirus pandemic, some public health experts say. CONTINUE READING
Puerto Rico imposes stricter COVID-19 measures amid lawsuit
The ACLU said Sunday it is seeking an injunction to block part of Puerto Rico’s strict curfew against the new coronavirus, arguing that some of its restrictions are unconstitutional as the governor imposed even tighter measures, including requiring anyone entering a business to wear a face mask. CONTINUE READING
‘Too Naive Or Too Stupid To Be CO’: Leaked Speech Transcript Shows Acting Navy Secretary Modly Trashing Fired Carrier Captain To Group Of Sailors
Acting Secretary to the Navy Thomas Modly flew to Guam Monday and delivered a fiery speech to the sailors aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt after their captain was fired over a leaked letter pleading for those infected with coronavirus. CONTINUE READING
Three governors face lawsuits over closure of gun stores and ranges during coronavirus crisis
Three governors, all Democrats, are facing lawsuits over their orders to shutter gun ranges and gun stores in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. New York-based firearms manufacturer and retailer Dark Storm Industries filed a federal civil rights complaint on Monday in U.S. District Court seeking a temporary restraining order and an emergency injunction against New York state to end the state’s forced closure of firearms retailers. CONTINUE READING
MASKED THREAT California sheriff warns he can arrest and fine people $1,000 for not wearing masks in public
The mandate went into effect on Sunday after Riverside University Health System indicated 946 confirmed coronavirus cases in the county. CONTINUE READING
Coronavirus, Location Tracking, and Civil Liberties
To help combat the coronavirus pandemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state and local governments are receiving analyses of people’s movements derived from anonymized cell phone location data held by the mobile advertising industry. CONTINUE READING
Kushner’s team seeks national coronavirus surveillance system
White House senior adviser Jared Kushner’s task force has reached out to a range of health technology companies about creating a national coronavirus surveillance system to give the government a near real-time view of where patients are seeking treatment and for what, and whether hospitals can accommodate them, according to four people with knowledge of the discussions. CONTINUE READING
To Enforce Social Distancing Rules, Cops Fined a Pennsylvania Woman Who Was Driving Alone
Anita Shaffer went for a drive around her neighborhood on Sunday and came home with a $200 fine for violating Pennsylvania’s stay-at-home order that’s meant to contain the spread of COVID-19. CONTINUE READING
