New York state’s Assembly Bill A416, sponsored by N. Nick Perry (D-NY), is currently under consideration. The bill intends to remove people from their homes who are seen to be “cases, contacts, and carriers of communicable diseases who are potentially dangerous to the public health.”
What the bill says:
- A416, introduced January 6th, would give the New York Governor, Commissioner, or any of their delegates power to detain anyone who “reasonably [has a] specific description of the individuals or group” that is suspected to be a carrier or in contact with someone who has a “communicable disease” when the Governor declares a health emergency due to an epidemic. A reasonable amount of friends and/or family may be contacted on the detainee’s behalf to inform them of the detainee’s detention status.
- The detained person can or will be released once the (Health) Department has determined that they a) do not have the disease or b) are no longer contagious. The detained person can be held for up to three days before they and their court-provided lawyer can be heard, so long as it is not during a weekend or a federal holiday. After the hearing, it will be determined by a court if the detainee needs to stay beyond three days but no more than ninety days without “clear and convincing evidence.”
- If the bill passes and a person becomes a detainee in a medical facility or any other “appropriate” facility, they, according to A416, “shall not conduct himself or herself in a disorderly manner, and shall not leave or attempt to leave such facility or premises until he or she is discharged…”
- In addition to being detained, the detainee has to complete appropriate treatments that can include vaccinations, decontamination if exposed to a toxic amount of radioactive materials, and/or disease therapies. Section thirteen of the bill clarifies that medication can only be prescribed with a court order.
The language of the bill is not gender-inclusive, which could pose an issue, as New York has been at the forefront of the evolving language of gender expression.
Conservative commentator is censored for exposing the bill:
Liz Wheeler, a conservative political commentator, released a Facebook video discussing this bill and then discovered that a Chinese-owned fact-checker gave the video a “Partly False Information” banner; this means Wheeler was given violation warnings and a reduced-reach-distribution penalty.
According to Wheeler, the fact-checkers misquoted her and added to her words to come up with their conclusion.
The fallout:
New York Assembly Bill A416 has, according to critics, the possibility to violate American citizens’ rights to peaceably assemble under the First Amendment of the Constitution, as well as the right to be secure in their houses without unreasonable searches under the Fourth Amendment.
