The U.S. Supreme Court has an opportunity this term to reestablish the importance of personal liberty and freedom of expression, as guaranteed by the First Amendment of the Constitution.
But in order to do it, the court is going to have to first grant a petition submitted July 21 by The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, and then strike down a two-decade court decision, according to Mark Rienzi, president and CEO of The Becket Fund.
The Becket Fund is a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit public interest law firm that defends the free expression of all faiths both in the United States and abroad.
It has always been at the point of the spear to protect those rights.
In Vitagliano v. County of Westchester, the New York county banned anyone from coming within eight feet of another within a 100-foot "buffer zone" around an abortion clinic, if they do so for the purpose of providing information or counseling, absent express consent.
Rienzi told Newsmax that the government’s justification for buffer zone laws is "to protect people from obstruction and violence."
However, devout Catholic Debra Vitagliano, like other sidewalk counselors, neither obstructed nor engaged in violence.
Rienzi called buffer zone statutes "unconstitutional laws that actually make it illegal to peacefully approach somebody on a sidewalk and hand them a piece of paper."
He illustrated the absurdity of buffer zone laws when he added, "if you approach someone carrying a baseball bat instead of a leaflet, you wouldn’t violate this law.
"But the fact that you want to speak to somebody — the fact that you want to give information to somebody — the government wants to make that illegal."
Rienzi concluded, "that’s just flagrantly unconstitutional, and I don’t think the Supreme Court is going to allow it. I think it’ll be a 9-0 case to be honest with you."
However, to do it the court will have to overturn a 2000 Supreme Court decision, Hill vs. Colorado, which ruled 6-3 that such buffer zones were constitutionally permissible.
But they arguably end up hurting the very people they’re trying to protect.
"And who does it harm? It harms the women who are going into an abortion clinic, and many of them, otherwise really do wish they had alternatives," Rienzi said.
"But the government is shutting that down and making it illegal to approach people and offer them help."
He concluded, "It’s mean, it’s cruel to the women, and it’s unconstitutional."
This is just one example of government’s attack on people of faith.
Colorado baker Jack Phillips is headed to the state Supreme Court again, this time for refusing to bake and decorate a cake celebrating a customer’s affirmation as a transgender woman. He said doing so would violate his deeply held religious beliefs.
Phillips has been in court repeatedly since 2012 when he initially refusal to create a custom cake to celebrate a same-sex wedding — for the same reason.
Team Ron DeSantis Rapid Response Director Christina Pushaw observed what it all came down to.
"In case it wasn't obvious by now. . . it's not about the cake. It's about the authoritarian Left wanting to force their ideology on everyone and ruthlessly targeting dissenters," she said.
"Colorado is a fairly liberal state with many bakers who would gladly bake a cake to celebrate someone's gender transition. Instead of patronizing such businesses, they attack the ONE who can't do it because of his religion."
She concluded, "Such a pointless drain on society. Even if these activists lose in court, they've still made this man's life miserable and wasted so much of his time when he could otherwise have been working on his small business and creating value for his customers."
In an action similar to Vitagliano’s, devout Catholic Mark Houck was arrested for allegedly assaulting a patient escort at a Philadelphia Planned Parenthood clinic.
A year after the state declined to prosecute, the Department of Justice stepped in.
Dozens of FBI agents, with guns drawn, surrounded his home in an early morning raid, handcuffed him in front of his wife and seven children, and took him into custody. A few months later he was acquitted.
If you’re wondering what happened to the America you grew up in, you’re not alone. These events. and hundreds more, haven’t escaped the attention of filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza, whose latest documentary is titled "Police State."
As for Vitagliano, Rienzi predicts "that the court will take the case and rule in favor of Debra Vitagliano. In other words I think the justices know that the First Amendment doesn’t let the government do that."
With a lawless Justice Department, the White House and Senate under Democratic control, and the House in disarray, thank God for the Supreme Court.
It’s all we have to defy tyranny and promote liberty.
Michael Dorstewitz is a retired lawyer and has been a frequent contributor to Newsmax. He is also a former U.S. Merchant Marine officer and an enthusiastic Second Amendment supporter. Read Michael Dorstewitz's Reports — More Here.
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