Defining civil liberties 105be interrogated through torture.^8 Despite these concerns, even the strongest critic of
state-sponsored torture would have to admit that, in some instances, it might be justified.
For example, if a nuclear device were set to detonate in Manhattan in three hours, few
would insist on protecting the civil liberties of someone who knew where the bomb was
hidden. Once we recognize that our freedoms are not absolute, it becomes a question of
how they are balanced against other interests, such as national security.
Other interests that compete with civil liberties include public safety and public
health. For example, members of some Christian fundamentalist churches regularly
handle dangerous snakes in their services, but many states and cities have laws
prohibiting the practice. The courts have upheld those laws, saying that “public
safety is superior to religious practice.”^9 Despite the laws, snake handling in churches
continues to be a problem. In 2013, Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency officials
cited Reverend Andrew Hamblin, co-star of the National Geographic Channel reality
show Snake Salvation, for keeping 53 poisonous snakes and using them in services (an
estimated 125 churches still handle snakes). Hamblin was eventually acquitted by a
grand jury. A couple of months later, his co-star Reverend Jamie Coots died after being
bitten by a rattlesnake in his church and refusing treatment.^10 Similarly, in some states
the Amish are forced to place reflective “slow-moving vehicle” triangles on their horse-
drawn carriages, even if it violates their religious beliefs, because of the paramount
concern for public safety (see the How It Works graphic in this chapter).^11 Yet the Amish
are not forced to send their children to public schools despite a state law requiring all
children to attend school through age 16. In Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972), the Court said
this law presented “a very real threat of undermining the Amish community and
religious practice as it exists today.”^12
These decisions show that balancing interests is never a simple process and involves
deciding whether a specific civil liberty or some competing public interest is more
compelling in a specific case.Drawing Lines
Along with balancing competing interests, court rulings draw the lines defining
the limits of permissible conduct by the government or an individual in the context
of a specific civil liberty. For example, despite the First Amendment protection ofHow can conflicts be resolved between
civil liberties and other legitimate
interests, such as public safety and
public health? Sometimes freedom is
forced to give way. Courts have upheld
bans on the religious practice of snake
handling and laws requiring the Amish
to display reflective triangles when
driving slow-moving buggies on public
roads, despite religious objections to
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