The right to be secure at home is always under attack

The right to be safe at home is a sacred right.

The United States Constitution is unique in the world because the 4th Amendment provides that the government can't enter your home without a warrant, your permission, or probable cause that a crime is ongoing and must be stopped immediately to avoid disaster.

Most people take this right for granted, just like the sun rising and setting each day. Everyone is safe in their own home, right?

Not always.

Military governments and dictatorships often abolish this right as soon as they take power. It's a way to instill fear and compliance. Many police states -- think East Germany and the Soviet Union -- used a vast network of secret police who could just burst into a home and begin searching and questioning the inhabitants.

It's not ancient history.

Let's look at Ukraine, right now -- today.

Military servicemen and law enforcers in Donbas, in the security zones adjacent to the military operations area, can enter the housing of citizens and, if the owners agree, use their vehicles to ensure Ukraine’s national security and repel Russia’s armed aggression. Get that? "...if the owners agree..." Who is going to say no to a guy with a machine gun who says, "I'm taking your car."

The respective provisions are contained in the law on the peculiarities of the state policy on ensuring Ukraine’s state sovereignty over temporarily occupied territories in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, which was published on February 23 and came into force on February 24.

The law introduces a special order in security zones, which grants special powers to security and defense sector bodies and other state bodies.

According to Article 12 of the law, servicemen, law enforcers and other persons involved in measures to repel Russian aggression in security zones adjacent to the military operations area can penetrate into residential buildings and other premises owned by citizens, into the territory of enterprises and institutions, as well as check vehicles.

In addition, they can use communications means and vehicles of citizens by their consent, as well as vehicles belonging to enterprises and organizations, with the exception of diplomatic vehicles.

They also have the authority to temporarily restrict or ban the movement of vehicles and pedestrians on the roads, not to give them access to certain areas and facilities.

Military servicemen and law enforcers can inspect citizens, their belongings and vehicles, check identity documents, and, in case of their absence, detain them for identification.

It's just the old Cold War days. The bursting into homes and demanding to see a person's ID is typical police state stuff.

Police and law enforcement advocates are always trying to weaken the 4th Amendment in the name of "safety and security." That's the same argument the dictators use. It's up to all of us -- everyone -- to make the cops get a warrant and refuse to consent to an invasion of the home.

So, remember how lucky you are if you live in the USA. The cops have to get a warrant. A person residing in a home, even temporarily, can tell a cop "go get a warrant."

It's what protects us all from living in a police state.