The State of Wisconsin has an unqualified, immutable interest in and duty to protect the Life and Liberty of its citizens. Article I, Section 1 of the Wisconsin State Constitution states: “All people are born equally free and independent, and have certain inherent rights; among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; to securethese rights, governments are instituted, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” That interest and duty is to be carried out by state employees and all elected officials.
The founders of our state knew that placing that affirmative duty and responsibility on state actors to protect both life and liberty was the only way for the citizenry to remain safe from a tyrannical government. (See my companion article in this online issue “When the State Kills” for more information on this topic.) For this very important reason, our state legislators, executive branch employees, including the governor and the state judiciary all have a constitutionally mandated duty and responsibility to protect both the life and liberty of each person, above all other concerns. Regardless of their party affiliation each of these state actors took an oath to uphold both the state and federal constitutional principles. Conservative legislators have the additional task o ...
