I would think that they should not be allowed to express their dissent toward the protectee. Any thoughts?
2006-11-20 04:04:21 · 11 answers · asked by 1/6,833,020,409 5 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
Can anyone quote an article of the Constitution that underlines this? I always believed that Secret Service agents are impartial to the politics and policies of the state.
2006-11-20 04:19:12 · update #1
Like robots. Robots don't have feelings.
2006-11-20 04:20:03 · update #2
Well, the constitution does not have a clause saying that "presidential bodyguards are not allowed to vote". Therefore, it would be unconstitutional to prohibit them from voting.
Now, that does not give them permission to voice their opinions directly to the president or anyone else while they are doing their duty. Their job is to protect the president (plus other officials) and not to voice their opinions. If that happened, I would bet that secret service agent would be reassigned and probably reprimanded. Their position does not give them special status to debate the prez instead of watching out for him. If their political views prevented them from protecting the president, then they should work on catching counterfeiters instead.
NOTE added since asker requested to know where in the constitution it said that citizens have the right to vote.
The constitution does not have an explicit right to vote clause. However, the Supreme Court has decided that there is an implicit right to vote because of the 15th, 19th, and 26th Amendments to the consitution. This implicit right gives every citizen the right to vote within limits passed by the states. The states cannot impose unfair limits, however, such as removing voting rights based on what job you have.
Also, using your same logic, you could argue that nobody in the military should be able to vote. The president is the commander general of the military and a vote against the president could be considered mutiny.
2006-11-20 04:10:59 · answer #1 · answered by A.Mercer 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
They are allowed to vote. Not all Secret Service agents protect the president so why would they be ineligible? And they can feel whatever they want reguarding thier protectee so long as they do their job.
2006-11-20 12:08:55 · answer #2 · answered by JimE 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
All citizens of the US except for felons are allowed to vote, including the President... so why not the Secret Service
2006-11-20 12:07:34 · answer #3 · answered by katjha2005 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes they can vote. They are still citizens. That's one of the reasons we protect the secrecy of the ballot. Expressing dissent is protected by the First Amendment.
2006-11-20 12:09:10 · answer #4 · answered by Tara P 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Every citizen of this country is guaranteed the right to vote by constitution. There are no exception.
2006-11-20 12:08:20 · answer #5 · answered by ramshi 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
yes they can and yes they do. Their beliefs are irrelevent to their job, and they serve the office, not the man. They are honorable people, and deserving of our respect. Besdies, they do more than just body guard work. They also break up counterfiting networks, and investigate piracy on the high seas.
2006-11-20 12:07:06 · answer #6 · answered by lundstroms2004 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Have you stopped to think that they were expressing their support? The Secret Service LIKE this President. They weren't so hot on the Clintons though.
2006-11-20 12:07:20 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
As citizens they are entitled to the right to vote and their vote is confidential like everyone else's.
2006-11-20 12:12:37 · answer #8 · answered by Derek M 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They are still citizens of this Republic. I would not see how they would not be allowed to vote.
2006-11-20 12:06:09 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Just because they work for the President doesn't mean that they like him. Ever have a boss that you didn't like?
2006-11-20 13:18:18 · answer #10 · answered by fromthebrook 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋