I wrote this letter to my Congressman Ken Calvert. Luckily he’s Republican but once the Dems see the outrage I would hope they would be on board, if, for anything, the votes.
Dear Congressman Calvert,
Being a homeowner in your district for 15 years I was appalled at the recent decision by the Supreme Court, which expanded the government’s right to seize private property for “the public good†by selling it to another private entity that will pay higher taxes.
This smacks of totalitarianism and is quite the opposite of what the 5th Amendment guaranteesâ€â€Âthat private property shall not be taken for public use without just compensation. Public use, in this case does not mean shopping malls or high density dwelling… it means roads, bridges, schools, etc.
I urge you to introduce legislation, similar to those found in Utah and Georgia, that basically limits the eminent domain clause to exactly what the Constitution means when it says “Public Useâ€ÂÂ.
It’s a shame that one of the basic rights our for-fathers fought an oppressive government to earn has now been stripped away by the very government they established. It’s a shame we have to deal with this at the state level but I feel there is no other recourse.
Thank you for your time and consideration in this matter.
Sincerely,
Henry Mayer, Corona California
Of course I urge you all to do the same. The fight’s over at the Federal level and we now have to turn to our states’ legislatures to get one of our most important Constitutional rights back. Too bad the Constitution has been diminished in this way… more interpretations like this and it will soon mean nothing.
