Judges, government officials, bureaucrats, and the professional class usually hold people in disdain who insist upon their “constitutional rights.” They consider the Constitution as some kind of “static interference” in doing their job. People should “go with the flow,” or in other words: give up their rights so that they can be “ruled” by their betters.
Our local officials in Benewah County think they are the good guys because they “allow” us to have more freedom than in other counties. Their codes are less restrictive. While Bonner County might require a $600 permit to set-up a fenced corral to run your horses, Benewah County doesn’t care. How nice of them!
It rarely occurs to anyone that these restrictions are unconstitutional restrictions upon your liberties.
Not only does the U.S. Constitution protect your liberties and your property rights, so does the Idaho State Constitution. You should read them.
And you should carefully read the Idaho Statutes by which your local officials claim their authority. Closer inspections reveal their abuse of discretion, if not outright fraud.
To get around these constitutional limitations, government officials are increasingly relying upon “emergency decrees.” Idaho’s Governor has appropriated martial law powers by Executive Order #2022-04 for “All Hazards prevention and preparedness.” Idaho’s bureaucrats have learned that you cannot sue them for violating your rights if they operate under a “State of Emergency.”
In the 2024 Legislative Session, your legislators went along with this plan for an Executive power grab. Every legislation contained the word “emergency” and none contained a “severability clause.” That’s how you can prove your legislator is lying to you when he/she says that an emergency clause is included just to move forward the implementation date. How clever they are!
Expect more of the same in the 2025 Session, unless you speak up. The time to do it is now.
— JWS, 1/8/25
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