Andy McCarthy: Burden of proof on the government to show justification for coronavirus restrictions
Fox News contributor Andy McCarthy weighs in on the balancing act between safety and economic security.
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Fox News contributor Andy McCarthy said on Monday that while states are lifting coronavirus restrictions, states who are keeping their economies closed for public safety purposes will have to explain their reasoning to residents.
“We seem to get this backwards when we’re outside of the courthouse. When we’re in the courthouse, we know that the government has the burden of proof before they can take your liberty away,” McCarthy told “Fox & Friends.”
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For the last few weeks under stringent coronavirus "stay-at-home" orders, Americans across the nation have taken to the streets to protest what they deem unreasonable measures put in place by their governors to stop the spread of the pandemic.
As the deadly virus has taken the lives of over 50,000 Americans, it has also taken the livelihoods of millions with many warning that the resulting consequences for the U.S. economy – if closed further – could be calamitous.
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Another 4.4 million Americans filed for unemployment claims last week, the Labor Department reported Thursday, bringing job losses since the outbreak started to more than 26 million. The impact has completely erased the entirety of the 22.78 million labor market gains since the Great Recession more than a decade ago.
McCarthy said that when American fundamental rights are at stake, the government has to show that it has a legitimate interest in regulating.
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“We all know that preventing the spread of infectious disease is certainly a legitimate government interest, but if they’re going to burden your fundamental rights, they have to show that they are using the least restrictive legitimate means to do that,” McCarthy said.
“It’s not like you have to prove that your job is essential, they have to prove that there is no safe way of conducting your job before they can regulate it.”
Fox News' Julia Musto contributed to this report.
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