Rocky Mount Today

In a letter to Gov. Roy Cooper and other government officials all over the state, nonprofit North Carolina Institute for Constitutional Law (NCICL) offered to assist Cooper in rescinding recent orders that it says unconstitutionally restricts the people's right to free speech and assembly.

NCICL President Jeanette Doran believes that the state government is violating citizen's First Amendment rights.

“We understand the seriousness of the situation, not just in terms of COVID-19 itself but also in terms of how the government is violating the constitution during the crisis,” Doran wrote in the letter.

The First Amendment and the North Carolina Constitution protect the right to free speech and to assemble to petition the government.

“First Amendment rights aren’t absolute, but neither is government power,” Doran wrote. “If Gov. Cooper or local governments want help, NCICL is more than willing to help them revise or rescind their orders to ensure that constitutional rights are respected.”