Quote:
Originally posted by librasoul22
I might be misunderstanding this question, but in my opinion, our rights as Americans seem to be GIVEN to us by this country's founders and carried out by our present leaders. Do I agree with this system? No. But again, as long as I am GIVEN the freedom to voice a dissenting opinion, I will.
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Thanks for your post, librasoul. I, for one, found it very thought provoking. Being a lawyer, however, I have to pick one nit.
I would have to say that the rights in question were not given by someone, but that the citizens of this country (and yes I recognize that in the late 1700's that meant the white, male, land-owning citizens of this country) secured these rights for themselves. They did this as a result of having been denied these rights by the British crown. The Bill of Rights was not originally part of the constitution, but a few states (North Carolina and Rhode Island particularly) refused to ratify the constitution, and therefore refused to enter into the Union, until the Bill of Rights, with all of the freedoms that it guarantees, was adopted. In essence, the citizens (same disclaimer) of NC and RI, through their elected representatives, forced the adoption of the Bill of Rights.
FWIW.
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