Does Trump’s Would-Be Assassin Justify Border Controls?
Donald Trump’s alleged would-be assassin, Ryan Routh, is an American citizen. Presumably he was born in the United States. He obviously traveled across state lines to get to Florida.
That raises an important question: Should the U.S. Constitution be amended to enable each state to establish border controls around the state to protect the citizenry from violent people from other states?
In other words, given the large number of American citizens who commit acts of violence, why not abolish America’s centuries-old policy of open borders between the states? Wouldn’t that help keep people safe within each state, just as border controls along our Southern border supposedly keep us safe from violent foreign criminals? After all, it is entirely possible that a Florida Border Patrol could have prevented Routh from entering the state to possibly inflict harm on Trump or anyone else. It’s also possible that state Border Patrols in every state could help keep violent Americans from other states from entering the state and doing harm to the citizenry.
Of course, the question arises: Would it be morally right to destroy or infringe the right of freedom of travel of millions of Americans who don’t commit acts of violence against others as a way to protect citizens from the small minority of people who commit acts of violence against others? The answer that statists would give would be the same answer that they use to justify America’s system of border controls along our Southern border — that there is nothing wrong with destroying or infringing the rights of the vast majority of foreign immigrants who do no harm in order to protec
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