There are limits to our freedoms during a pandemic

I don’t know State Rep. Frank Ryan ... he may be a nice guy, devoted grandfather and he has an impressive resume. Thanks for your military service, Rep. Ryan. With regard to COVID-19, however, he’s wandering aimlessly through the Land of Oz — “Lions and tigers and bears, Oh My!”

In a recent commentary, Rep. Ryan bemoaned the loss of “Freedoms previously taken for granted ...” It’s true, we enjoy more “freedom” than most but that doesn’t mean we may do whatever we want whenever we want. Rep. Ryan, should we wear seatbelts, stop at red lights, respect zoning laws, follow the UCC (which you helped write), prevent teens from buying cigarettes or alcohol? The list goes on.

Before you invoke “due process” yet again, consider your words, “unchecked emergency powers of governors.” COVID-19 is an emergency. How could we have had due process prior to being accosted by this unknown, unprecedented, unanticipated emergency? This circumstance clearly demands emergency powers.

Rep. Ryan drops buzz words (constitutional rights, freedom of religion, self-determination, due process) like so many breadcrumbs along the woodland path of Hansel and Gretel. Nowhere in the Bill of Rights or the 14th Amendment (which he referenced) is viral pandemic mentioned. This is not about personal freedom, it’s about public health.

If you’re really concerned about abuse of power, do something about the leader of your party, a draftdodger who defies the Constitution at every turn, that’s real abuse.

—Robert Sprague,

Douglassville