Mayor of Chester, Pennsylvania, Declares "State of Emergency"

There's this thing called the Bill of Rights, you might not have heard of it, Mr. Mayor:

Mayor Wendall N. Butler Jr. said Saturday afternoon he was responding to "an unnerved community reaching out, saying 'Enough is enough.'"

So he has formalized the city's state of emergency until Wednesday, when he expects the full City Council will agree to extend restrictions for 30 more days.

The starkly worded mayoral proclamation says "No person without a legitimate reason is allowed on any public street or in any other public place" between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m.

No more than three people can gather without obtaining a city permit.

I am unfamiliar with the loophole in the Constitution which grants municipal officials the authority to forbid people from being on the streets at certain times of the day or from gathering in groups of four or more. 

Unfortunately, I doubt the ACLU or any other civil liberties group will challenge this on its face, given the politics of public safety. Perhaps if a sympathetic plaintiff is arrested by the Chester police, then they'll decide it's safe to represent that person and knock the "proclamation" out that way.

Comments

[Frank]

"If you get a flat tire in Chester, don't stop to fix it."

That's been the case for many years.

But this is probably not the way to fix the problem.

[philadelphia car accident]

Thank you - all of you - for doing the hard work for the People's Laws, for our *actual* freedoms.

Many Blessings upon all of you, and all of yours, and upon all of America, and indeed, our Planet.