Did the President just kill Habeas Corpus?: an update

Remember when I told you that the Bush Administration suspended habeas corpus? Well, the Attorney General just gave the rationale for that "suspension," and according to him, the American people never really had habeas corpus to begin with.

You see, in response to questioning from Senator Arlen Specter during the recent Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, U.S. Attorney General, Alberto Gonzales, filled us on in on the writ of habeas corpus:

Gonzales: "There is no expressed grant of habeas in the Constitution; there’s a prohibition against taking it away..."

Specter: "Wait a minute, the Constitution says you can’t take it away except in case of rebellion or invasion. Doesn’t that mean you have the right of habeas corpus unless there’s a rebellion or invasion?

Gonzales: "The Constitution doesn’t say every individual in the United States or citizen is hereby granted or assured the right of habeas corpus. It doesn’t say that. It simply says 'the right shall not be suspended' except in cases of rebellion or invasion."

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you our top federal lawyer, a man who says that if the Constitution doesn't explicitly state that a right does exist, then that right doesn't really exist in the first place. As Consortiumnews.com notes, "applying Gonzales’s reasoning, one could argue that the First Amendment doesn’t explicitly say Americans have the right to worship as they choose, speak as they wish or assemble peacefully. The amendment simply bars the government, i.e. Congress, from passing laws that would impinge on these rights."

While no one is saying that the administration is currently planning on restricting freedom of speech, religion, peacefully assemble, etc, the suspension of habeas corpus sets a scary precedent. Don't get me wrong, I'm certainly in support of protecting America from those who want to harm it, but the methods and logic used by the administration to protect us gives me pause--and a little concern for our future.