Don’t assess guilt by association

By Earle Malkin, Las Vegas

Thursday, July 7, 2016 | 2 a.m.

Under our American system of justice, a person charged with a crime is considered innocent until proven guilty in court beyond a reasonable doubt.

We are hearing that some groups are being found provisionally guilty of crimes that have not occurred. Taken to the extreme, a person who is part of an ethnic or religious group is declared a threat just by being a member or espousing the platform of that group. There are those who swear to uphold the sanctity of the Second Amendment; why not the entire Constitution?

If there is criminal activity, prosecute it under the law and pursuant to the Constitution, not because of a political stance.

After all, each one of us belongs to some ethnic, religious or social group that could wind up being singled out for the type of proposed action suggested in today’s political arena.