Our View - The facts on People's Rights

The Havre Daily News has received complaints, via Facebook, by telephone and now in an opinion column and a letter, printed on this page, about its coverage of people attending meetings in Havre held by People’s Rights Montana District 1.

The complaints basically say the articles did not give enough credit to false claims made by People’s Rights and at the meeting that directives to slow the spread of COVID-19 are unconstitutional and illegal; the recommended actions don’t work and are harmful; and that the articles made connections between the Havre People’s Rights meetings and antigovernment activist Ammon Bundy.

The first point, in case anyone is saying or thinking this, is that the articles did not “say” anything about People’s Rights or the Havre meetings. The Havre Daily News articles reported facts — what people at the July 28 meeting in Havre said during the meeting or in interviews; information from research including on the peoplesrights.org, and People’s Rights Montana District 1 websites and from Facebook pages; and what people had to say about People’s Rights and its statements and goals.

The facts are these: People’s Rights Montana District 1 is an organization connected to a national group connected to anti-government activist Ammon Bundy that is spreading false information about COVID-19 and government directives.

One of the complaints about the stories is the claim that the meetings aren’t trying to start any action, just educating people about their constitutional and legal rights.

Fact: Havre Daily News reporters said much of the Havre meeting was spent talking about constitutional rights — the false claim that Gov. Steve’ Bullock’s COVID-19 directives violate those rights.

Fact: People’s Rights Montana District 1 has posted on its website a “Petition for Redress of Grievance” which states  directives to reduce the spread of COVID-19 violate the state and U.S. Constitutions and state and federal law. The petition calls for Bullock’s resignation, impeachment or arrest.

Fact: People’s Rights also has offered businesses door signs saying the directives are unconstitutional and giving a number they say officials have to call if they try to enforce the directives.

Fact: Article 3 of the U.S. Constitution sets the U.S. Supreme Court as the top court in the land. It has the final say on issues of whether something is constitutional.

And the U.S. Supreme Court has consistently ruled, since about 1824 in Gibbons v Ogden, that, under the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, state and local governments have the authority to impose quarantines and take actions to protect public health and safety in the state.

During public health emergencies, governors and local governments can restrict rights such as imposing quarantine and isolation, restrict public assembly, restrict access to and from buildings, and so on, to protect public health. Thus, under the U.S. Supreme Court rulings, and under the Montana Constitution and state law, directives issued by Bullock and other governors, both Repulblican and Democrat, are constitutional and legal.

People at the Havre People’s Rights meeting seem to think that — one attendee called the Havre Daily News and said specifically this — because they don’t like the U.S. Supreme Court rulings, Bullock’s actions are unconstitutional.

That is ridiculous.

The People’s Rights attendees cite information put out by a miniscule fraction of the world’s health professionals saying the recommendations to reduce the spread of COVID-19 — like wearing a mask or cloth face covering and social distancing — don’t help.

That flies in the face of the recommendations of almost all health professionals, institutions, organizations and agencies, like the Chief of Medical Staff at Northern Montana Hospital Dr. Kevin Harada, the local county and the state health departments, The Mayo Clinic, the University of Rochester Medical Center, the University of California Stanford Medicine, The American Medical Association, The American Lung Association, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, The World Health Organization and The National Institute of Health including its director, Dr. Anthony Fauci.

People have made hay of the fact that Fauci originally recommended not wearing masks — which was before it was known that people without symptoms could spread the virus and Fauci at that time recommended saving the masks for health professionals.

The People’s Rights supporters seem to be saying that all of these health professionals, institutions, organizations and agencies are conspiring to shut down the tiny fraction of professionals who are presenting the “truth.”

That is ridiculous.

The group also discussed false claims that the recommendations are harmful.

That not only flies in the face of statements by the vast majority of medical professionals, institutes, organizations and agencies, but also the fact that medical professionals have regularly been wearing masks since about 1897, sometimes for hours on end, and, since the pandemic started, some are wearing them almost nonstop.

Fact: The masks are not making them sick.

While recommendations are not to put a mask on children younger than 2 or people who are unconscious or cannot remove the mask if needed, and that people with severe breathing problems should not wear them, generally masks and the other recommendations don’t hurt anyone.

Dozens if not hundreds of articles from top hospitals, universities, departments and agencies have been released debunking that false claim.

Numerous people have complained that The Havre Daily News articles reported that anti-government activist Ammon Bundy is a major player in the national push to create People’s Rights organizations and recruit members.

Fact: Ammon Bundy is a figure behind the drive to recruit members to People’s Rights.

Bundy has put out calls on Facebook recruiting new chapters and people to People’s Rights and has appeared at events and actions with other People’s Rights members.

Kalispell contractor Nicholas Bundy, a Libertarian candidate for the state House of Representatives and a founder of People’s Rights Montana District 4, said in a Northwest Liberty News interview that he has talked with Bundy multiple times and brainstormed ideas.

The people at the Havre meetings may completely believe the claims being put forth by People’s Rights. Most people going to the meetings may not realize the group has any connection with Bundy.

Fact: The meetings in Havre of People’s Rights Montana District 1 are connected to Ammon Bundy; the directives Gov. Bullock has issued are constitutional and legal under the U.S. and Montana constitutions and state and federal law; the recommendations and mandates, other than inconvenience, do not cause problems, and they do slow the spread of COVID-19.

And they save lives.