The Knoxville News-Sentinel proves my point from last month:
Dr. Patrick Stephen Hackett is a veterinarian — not a terrorist.
Try explaining that in the airport security line.
Hackett, a lifelong resident of the Knoxville-Oak Ridge area, was named Outstanding Practitioner of the Year in 1992 by the Tennessee Veterinary Medical Association. He serves as president of the Humane Society of the Tennessee Valley.
He’s on the no-fly list.
How did he get there? Apparently he has the same name as a real terrorist, one who is missing an arm and a leg from a premature bomb explosion. You’d think that particular identifying characteristic would be enough to get him off the list, but according to the article, he’s been trying to get off the list for 11 years–and can’t. He has a special letter that lets him board airplanes, but is subjected to invasive searches and questioning every time he flies.
Should he be denied his right to buy a gun if he chooses? What other rights should he give up because the government put him on a secret list? Should he be denied the right to tell his story to a newspaper? Should his house and office be subject to random searches? Should we tell him what house of worship he can legally attend?
“Due process” is a central right to which everyone, EVERYONE, is entitled. NO rights should be denied without a thorough and impartial procedure where both sides get to speak and the government is held to a suitably high burden of proof. Giving that up to score political points on guns is disgusting, and anyone advocating for it should be ashamed.
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