Last June, the Supreme Court's decision in the now-infamous Kelo case struck a judicial blow to Americans' constitutional right to own property without fear of government seizure. Reviving the Property Rights Outrage

Last June, the Supreme Court's decision in the now-infamous Kelo case struck a judicial blow to Americans' constitutional right to own property without fear of government seizure.

Recall that the decision validated the notion that a local government could seize private property and hand it over to a private developer with no more justification than the claim that the new development would provide greater tax revenue than the homes, businesses, churches or farms that it might be replacing.

Somehow, the High Court managed to finagle their way around the Constitution's clear command that the government could not seize private property under any circumstances except if the land was being taken for a public use – a road, a bridge, a canal or some other form of infrastructure.

The decision touched off a chorus of criticism of the Court and, as a result, a great deal of legislative attention was focused on the issue.

But now, just nine months later, the outrage that the Kelo decision spawned seems to be largely forgotten, and developers, together with their partners in local governments have quietly renewed their practices.

The legislative efforts to underscore the Constitution's property rights guarantee largely fizzled in Congress and, more important, state legislatures.  Does that matter?  If the Supreme Court could find its way around a clear Constitutional command, it's hard to see a mere statute standing in the way of government greed.

The issue has also largely faded from the media's ever-wavering gaze (or perhaps, its never-wavering navel gazing).

Columnist George Will is doing his part to make sure that we don't forget. In this week's Newsweek, Will chronicles the tale of Carl and Joy Gamble, who are losing the home they lived in for more than 35 years because their local government – at the behest of a developer – "needed" a new strip mall, and their house happened to be inconveniently in the way.

Given that the U.S. Supreme Court has already sided with the developers and against the Gamble's private property rights, the couple is putting their fate in the hands of the Ohio Supreme Court, hoping that their state justices will protect their rights in spite of the federal court system's failing.

Will reports that some progress is being made. BB&T, the ninth largest bank in the nation, is refusing to finance development projects that rely on eminent domain seizures. Congress is still considering legislation that would prohibit the use of federal funds for projects that involve eminent domain seizures.

But when it comes to outrage, Americans have a short attention span.

The vigorous condemnations of the Court's decision have faded. The effort to seize Justice Souter's home in rural New Hampshire to make way for an aptly named Liberty Inn predictably failed.

Unfortunately, forgetting our outrage only increases the likelihood of further court or legislative-mandated paring of our individual rights in the future. We've got to keep taking a stand – pushing our elected officials to do what they can through statute to protect our rights and supporting the groups who are now working to give the Supreme Court a chance to reconsider its decision.

It's a very different court now than it was last summer, and we might find that recapturing some of the steam we generated during the hot summer would serve us well as we come to spring.

April 20, 2006
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