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Topic: KnoxNews - Chris Fortner on the Constitution
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KnoxNews - Chris Fortner on the Constitution |
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Posted on: 05/04/03 - 04:13:31 |
http://tinyurl.com/axq9
Constitution secures rights individuals already have
I was interested in replying to a letter on April 27, "Freedom of speech is for everyone."
The writer's other points aside, which I more or less agree with, I wanted to address the statement about guarantees the Constitution supposedly gives us.
It is common for many people, including civil rights activists, journalists and Supreme Court justices, to speak of our First Amendment guarantees of religion, speech, press, assembly and petition. The one time "guarantee" occurs in the Constitution is the guarantee clause (Article IV, Section 4) in which the United States guarantees to every state a republican form of government.
The Constitution simply secures the rights that each individual always had. The Bill of Rights is a limitation on government power. If those rights were privileges, it would result in pastors being required to get a license to preach, journalists getting their stories approved (or maybe not) by a public information minister, or even a group of citizens being required to get approval from a government official to circulate a petition for grievances about legislation or ordinances.
CHRIS FORTNER
Vice Chair
Libertarian Party of Knox County
Knoxville
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Steve Trinward
Guest
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KnoxNews - Chris Fortner on the Constitution |
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Posted on: 05/04/03 - 11:11:27 |
Excellent ... It MAY be that our primary mission right now is to continue to disabuse the general public of the notion that the "Bill of Rights" is about imposing the so-called "French method" of government, whereby all things that are not specifically permitted are therefore forbidden.
We need to keep hammering at this, until folks start to get it: Those amendment WERE indeed enumerated restrictions on actions by Government (i.e., THE STATE), not a list of privileges "granted" by a benevolent King or Queen ...
Contrary to the expressed desires of the various Shrub, Klinton, George II, Raygun (et alia ad nauseum) worshippers in our midst, we HAVE no Royalty, or decrees therefrom, under the American system of social governance ...
Well done, CHris!
- Steve
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