OK, let me address (no opinions, only links to articles and laws, quotes from Supreme Court decisions).
The Supreme Court ruled long ago that an emergency does not create new powers, it simply allows governments to enforce powers it already has but may not have used. And states have “police power.” So the question is, what powers do governments already have (but may not use except in an emergency)?
There are numerous Supreme Court cases dealing with this. Here is one, Jacobson v. Massachusetts, 1905:
“The Constitution,” Justice John Marshall Harlan [wrote] for a 7-2 majority, “does not import an absolute right in each person to be, at all times and in all circumstances, wholly freed from restraint.” Instead, “a community has the right to protect itself against an epidemic.” Its members “may at times, under the pressure of great dangers, be subjected to such restraint, to be enforced by reasonable regulations, as the safety of the general public may demand.”
Too long to put on a bumper sticker or a poster, but quite clear: NO absolute rights. Just as freedom of speech does not give you permission to yell “Fire!” in a crowded theater, and freedom of assembly does not give you permission to hold a rock concert in my back yard (or, if you prefer, on the steps of the state capitol).
What emergency powers does the president / federal gov. have? A long, long list, complete with statute numbers, etc.—
States have emergency police power, which is quite broad and includes suspending some usual rights.
https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclop...ing-the-coronavirus-public-health-crisis.html
or, if you prefer a conservative point of view (really, they’re the same…) here’s the Heritage Foundation. It’s actually quite emphatic that states have the legal right to do a wide range of things:
So. Can states tell you to stay at home except for essential trips? Yes. Can states tell you not to congregate in groups despite the right to free assembly? Yes. Can states tell you not to go to church because that endangers public health? Yes. Can states arrest you and throw you in jail if they think you’re a threat to public health? Yes. Basically in this situation states can do whatever they see fit.
The danger–here comes my only opinion–is that these powers are codified OUTSIDE of emergency situations. Or that a state of emergency is prolonged after the emergency has passed. For an example of these dangers, look up “Enabling Act” of 1933 in Germany that essentially handed Hitler complete power. And it was perfectly legal.
