(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Freedom of Association [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2024-06-20 Enforcement of our Constitutional right to Freedom of Association could reduce the hatred, misogyny, racism, etc., in America. If just publicly discussed, there could be a change in attitude by some who have chosen to threaten, attack or even kill people because of their race, religion, nationality, sexual orientation, etc. According to FBI data, "Over 11,634 hate crime incidents were reported in 2022, compared with 10,840 the previous year. A majority of hate crimes targeted Black people, with 51.9% of hate crime victims targeted due to anti-Black or African-American bias.” President Joe Biden issued a statement that “Antisemitic hate crimes rose 25% from 2021 to 2022, and anti-semitism accounted for over half of all reported religion-based hate crimes. Anti-LGBTQI+ hate crimes rose 16%, and Muslim-Americans and African-Americans continue to be over-represented among victims.” Since some Americans don't want to associate with certain other people because of their skin color, religion, gender, etc., their right to Freedom of Association should be acknowledged and supported. Consequently, and for their own safety, the focus of their hatred--Blacks, Hispanics, LGBTQI+, Muslims, Jews, Asian-Americans, women, etc., must also have their right to Freedom of Association acknowledged and supported. Therefore, employees who serve the public whose race, religion, etc., has been targeted by extremists have the right to decline serving those customers without being terminated by their employer. Businesses also have the right to Freedom of Association and could post a sign on the wall that reads “We comply with the right to Freedom of Association." According to the International Labour Organization, "In addition to being a right, freedom of association enables workers and employers to join together to protect better not only their own economic interests but also their civil freedoms such as the right to life, to security, to integrity, and to personal and collective freedom.” Therefore, no employee who is a Mexican-American, Black, Muslim, Asian-American, LGBTQI+, woman, etc., has to serve/associate with anyone whom they recognize as hostile or dangerous to them because that customer has engaged in hate speech or belongs to an extremist group, etc.--unless that employee chooses to. Cornell Law School’s Legal Information Institute Overview noted that …"The Supreme Court has expressly recognized that a right to freedom of association and belief is implicit in the First, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendments." Both the haters and the victims of their hatred have the right to associate only with people they don’t fear. Members of hate groups have the right to refuse to allow a Black or Hispanic, etc., person to vaccinate them and those nurses have the same right to refuse to vaccinate them or provide any other medical care—unless they choose to. In order to assure a continuous supply of white nurses and doctors, hate groups might pay the tuition of white medical and nursing school students to assure their Freedom of Association right can be accommodated. Racists might even want to notify their emergency medical services they only want white people to provide their service for them if they ever need an ambulance. They could even have a tattoo or wristband with the inscription “DNRUBWNMC”--Do Not Resuscitate Unless By White NonGay Male Christian. A racist can always leave a restaurant if there are no white wait people and no minority wait person has to serve a known racist or misogynist—unless she or he chooses to. It’s anti-American for anyone to have to live in fear of others because of skin color, religion, sex, etc. It also dishonors the 407,316 killed and 671,278 wounded American men and women reported by the World War II Museum to have fought against such terrorism. No one should dishonor those who gave their lives to protect our freedoms and rights by depriving anyone else of theirs, such as attempted at our Capitol Building. Freedom of Association must be honored, especially since new laws expect doctors to delay health care to a bleeding pregnant woman but not to a man bleeding from a knife wound. That could be considered murder by proxy—homicide committed by one person on orders from another. Anyone may exercise their right to Freedom of Association by refusing to provide their product or service to anyone who voted to restrict a woman's right to health care. The American College of Surgeons reported that "Pregnant women living in states with limited access to abortion face higher levels of intimate partner homicide.” Where abortion is illegal, more women die. Since premeditated murder is "murder planned in advance and carried out willfully,” legislators who voted to criminalize abortion could be considered guilty of murder. The U.S. Senate web site explains: "The Fourteenth Amendment granted citizenship to all persons 'born or naturalized in the United States,' including formerly enslaved people, and provided all citizens with 'equal protection under the laws,' extending the provisions of the Bill of Rights to the states.” It’s clear that a citizen is only someone “born or naturalized”—not unborn. Abigail Adams, wife of John Adams who helped write our Constitution, wrote him “...in the new code of laws...I desire you would remember the ladies and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors. Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the husbands. Remember, all men would be tyrants if they could.” He wrote back, "Depend upon it, We know better than to repeal our Masculine systems,” so women were disregarded and had no right to vote but continued to have the right to abortion. Benjamin Franklin even included a recipe for abortion in his 1748 book. By 1800, no law had been passed against abortion until the movements to allow women to vote, voluntary motherhood and other women's rights—not for religious reasons. Laws are being passed to force birth, which us a United Nations "crime against humanity." Legislators who will never be denied medical care for any reason have voted to deny life-saving medical care to pregnant women. Medical personnel should be protected by the Good Samaritan laws, which "encourage those in health care to provide care during emergencies.” Laws could also be passed that require vasectomies and reduce the need for contraceptives and abortions. It’s the duty of those in power to protect the rights of the powerless. The Democratic Party proposed the Women’s Health Protection Act, which would “re-establish a nationwide right to access abortion.” If misogynistic laws aren’t withdrawn, a national "Call-In Sick Day” from jobs in support of the Women's Health Protection Act and to honor the women who have died because of anti-abortion laws might get the attention of legislators. Some legislators disregarded the Golden Rule--"Do to others as you would have them do to you" (Luke 6:31)--when they voted to let pregnant women die, which is gender hatred—a hate crime. 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