Jayne Morris Crowther: Our rights subject to 'clear & present danger' exception

To The Daily Sun,

On March 17 there was a letter printed by The Sun authored by a candidate running for the New Hampshire House of Representatives — Mr. Gregg Hough. In the letter, Mr. Hough complained that Governor Sununu had overstepped his authority in closing businesses and Sununu’s actions threatened our constitutional First Amendment rights.

While we all treasure our First Amendment privileges, they are not absolute and this has been upheld by the Supreme Court several times. In 1919 in the Schenck vs. U.S. case Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote for the court’s unanimous decision and stated the “clear and present danger” doctrine. The essence of this doctrine explains that if an individual’s First Amendment rights endanger the American public, the “clear and present” doctrine restricts those rights. That particular case concerned freedom of speech but the principle applies to our other rights as well.

My Dad, a World War II veteran, explained that during the war the country was in peril and everyone simply did what they could to help. Once more, our country is in grave danger and we all need to do what we can to alleviate that danger. I wish Mr. Hough would emulate the spirit of my veteran father and the others of his family, country and generation. My Dad understood that we lived within a larger community and owe loyalty to something greater than ourselves especially at this time.

Jayne Morris Crowther

Laconia