The US Constitution is Not Optional

There is a recent kerfuffle in New Mexico where the governor has declared that armed carry will be banned in certain counties where the rate of shootings exceeds a certain threshold.

I could talk about the Second Amendment and how this regulation certainly violates it, in the name of a “public health emergency” no less. Echoes of COVID tyranny, anyone? But I’m not too concerned because I believe this proclamation will be struck down soon enough.

Instead, what struck me was the governor’s press conference, in which she was asked about the conflicts between this order and both the US and New Mexico constitutions. She responded that she didn’t feel that these constitutions should take precedence over good policy. When asked about appearing to act against her oath of office, in which she swore to “protect and defend” the Constitution, she replied that the Constitution was “not intended” to be “absolute” in its authority.

In many ways, this is the worst aspect of recent progressive efforts — they literally are disloyal to the foundational ideas and beliefs of our country. These ideals are the merging of both Judeo-Christian human values and the ideals of the Enlightenment. This Classical Liberalism which was the first philosophy to espouse treating all men equally, while also enshrining individual autonomy, the right to personal property and improving one’s own status through hard work, and fundamental human rights — especially to the poor and politically less powerful minorities.

No other philosophy before or since has provided such a consistent set of personal guarantees which were available to all, if one worked hard enough, and just because those philosophies weren’t always followed by the United States in practice (e.g. the perfidious abomination that was legal slavery in the U.S., which we fought a war to get rid of) does not invalidate these same ideas for all time.

Our country is blessed and unique in the world primarily because of the Constitution, and it is NOT optional. Those who don’t believe in the ideals enshrined in the Constitution shouldn’t expect to rule here. I believe that all politicians should be tightly held to their pledge to “protect and defend the constitution”, and impeached (or otherwise abruptly and lawfully removed from office) wherever this is violated.