America’s founding idea was based in part on the Lockean notion that property rights are essential human rights, along with life and liberty. But in today’s America, property rights are not being respected. Lawmakers need to fix this, and they can do it on a bipartisan basis.

This is not the result of a liberal or socialistic scheme to denigrate private ownership. Rather it is a law enforcement procedure by which owners are deprived of their rights, often without ever being convicted or even charged with a crime. To add insult to injury, their property is considered forfeit unless they can prove their innocence, a standard that turns the Constitution’s plain language on its head.