In the same week large swaths of the US were under extreme heat warnings, Joe Biden’s Justice Department filed its most recent motion to dismiss a landmark climate case by arguing that nothing in the Constitution guarantees the right to a secure climate.
  • joseph [he/him, they/them]
    ·
    10 months ago

    That phrase is not in the constitution tho. It was a line from the DOI at the start of the revolution and isn’t actually binding to the current American federal government.

    • Optimus_Subprime [he/him, they/them]
      ·
      10 months ago

      "Akshualy" that is somewhat incorrect. Yes, the DOI has that line stating the "right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness", but the 5th and 14th amendments of the US Constitution explicitly protect the right to life and liberty. Not that the Biden DOJ gives a shit anyway.

      https://blogs.cuit.columbia.edu/culr/2016/02/16/constitutional-considerations-of-happiness/

      While the Declaration of Independence recognizes the unalienable rights of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” and the Constitution explicitly protects life and liberty, happiness goes unmentioned in the highest law of the land.[1]

      [1] The Declaration of Independence.

      U.S. Constitution. Amend. V, Amend. XIV.

      EDIT: For those who don't want to look it up...

      5th Amendment:

      The guarantee of due process for all persons requires the government to respect all rights, guarantees, and protections afforded by the U.S. Constitution and all applicable statutes before the government can deprive any person of life, liberty, or property.

      14th Amendment:

      No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

      • silent_water [she/her]
        ·
        10 months ago

        it's worth about as much as toilet paper since this has never meant anything during any part of US history.

      • GarbageShoot [he/him]
        ·
        10 months ago

        This is regarding the State itself not depriving people of life (e.g. by execution) except by due process, not a guarantee that life will be protected in any other sense for any other reason.

        Obviously also bullshit given cops summarily executing people and having qualified immunity, etc., but if we're being pedantic, we should go all the way.