What Rights in the Bill of Rights Can be Dispensed with?

[lawrocket 3]

Here in the US, we've got rights guaranteed to us by the Constitution. And yet, there are plenty of circumstances where people think that these rights should be abridged or eliminated outright.

While I could add Privileges and Immunities, I'll limit this to the Bill of Rights (the First Ten Amendments to the U.S. Constitution)

1st Amendment - Protects freedom of religion, speech, peaceable assembly and petition of the federal government. But you've got people trying to pass laws against funeral protestors, and there are innumerable laws and regulations about offensive speech, etc., that run contrary to the spirit of the First Amendment.

2nd Amendment - Protects the right to bear arms. And we see innumerable laws that are contrary to this, and a large and vocal segment of society who believes that all firearms should be banned.

3rd Amendment - Protects the rights of the citizens to disallow quartering of soldiers. This one has almost lost its point.

4th Amendment - Protects against unreasonable searches and seizures. Yet many believe that this should be limited on the basis of security.

5th Amendment - protects due process of law, double jeopardy, self-incrimination, and private property. Yet many people believe that punishment should be swift, or that others should be denied due process, and many others who believe that private property rights should yield to community interests.

6th Amendment - right to speedy trial, jury trial and right to confront accuser and have counsel. Yet many believe that in the interest of security there are some who do not deserve these rights - even to trial, period!

7th Amendment - right to a civil jury trial. Plenty of people are wondering about this, about professional juries, and I've even heard talk about having judges handle this all outright.

8th Amendment - prohibits excessive bail and cruel and unusual punishment. Some people out there still believe in eye-for-an-eye, and others believe the Amendment has been misconstrued.

9th Amendment - There's no consensus on what the heck it gives. My interpretation is that it simply gives Congress the right to enact laws that give further protections. The issue is how useless the 9th Amendment has become.

10th Amendment - gives states the right to give its people rights in addition to those prescribed by the Constitution. With the advent and reach of the commerce clause, the 10th Amendment has been swept under the rug as more of a curiosity, and large segments of the population don't trust states to do the right thing.

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There are people who think that right should be abridged. Which ones?

My wife is hotter than your wife.

[quade 4]

I'll play . . .

We have a LONG legal history based on that concept of "that which is not specifically prohibited is allowed" which in my mind makes the 10th superfluous.

How's that?

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[Channman 2]

Lawrocket,

Just a heads up, on the 1st Amendment there are 5 rights quaranteed to us but you only mentioned 4.

Guess which one it is, hint, they are loathed by many on the Left and Right.

[Andy9o8 3]

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Lawrocket,

Just a heads up, on the 1st Amendment there are 5 rights quaranteed to us but you only mentioned 4.

Guess which one it is, hint, they are loathed by many on the Left and Right.

I'm hard-pressed to think of which one...

[akarunway 1]

WASHINGTON, DC—Flanked by key members of Congress and his administration, President Bush approved Monday a streamlined version of the Bill of Rights that pares its 10 original amendments down to a "tight, no-nonsense" six.
As supporters look on, Bush signs the Bill Of Rights Reduction And Consolidation Act.
A Republican initiative that went unopposed by congressional Democrats, the revised Bill of Rights provides citizens with a "more manageable" set of privacy and due-process rights by eliminating four amendments and condensing and/or restructuring five others. The Second Amendment, which protects the right to keep and bear arms, was the only article left unchanged.

Calling the historic reduction "a victory for America," Bush promised that the new document would do away with "bureaucratic impediments to the flourishing of democracy at home and abroad."

"It is high time we reaffirmed our commitment to this enduring symbol of American ideals," Bush said. "By making the Bill of Rights a tool for progress instead of a hindrance to freedom, we honor the true spirit of our nation's forefathers."

The Fourth Amendment, which long protected citizens' homes against unreasonable search and seizure, was among the eliminated amendments. Also stricken was the Ninth Amendment, which stated that the enumeration of certain Constitutional rights does not result in the abrogation of rights not mentioned.

"Quite honestly, I could never get my head around what the Ninth Amendment meant anyway," said outgoing House Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-TX), one of the leading advocates of the revised Bill of Rights. "So goodbye to that one."

Amendments V through VII, which guaranteed the right to legal counsel in criminal cases, and guarded against double jeopardy, testifying against oneself, biased juries, and drawn-out trials, have been condensed into Super-Amendment V: The One About Trials.

Attorney General John Ashcroft hailed the slimmed-down Bill of Rights as "a positive step."

"Go up to the average citizen and ask them what's in the Bill of Rights," Ashcroft said. "Chances are, they'll have only a vague notion. They just know it's a set of rules put in place to protect their individual freedoms from government intrusion, and they assume that's a good thing."



Bush works on revisions to the Bill of Rights.
Ashcroft responded sharply to critics who charge that the Bill of Rights no longer safeguards certain basic, inalienable rights.

"We're not taking away personal rights; we're increasing personal security," Ashcroft said. "By allowing for greater government control over the particulars of individual liberties, the Bill of Rights will now offer expanded personal freedoms whenever they are deemed appropriate and unobtrusive to the activities necessary to effective operation of the federal government."

Ashcroft added that, thanks to several key additions, the Bill of Rights now offers protections that were previously lacking, including the right to be protected by soldiers quartered in one's home (Amendment III), the guarantee that activities not specifically delegated to the states and people will be carried out by the federal government (Amendment VI), and freedom of Judeo-Christianity and non-combative speech (Amendment I).

According to U.S. Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID), the original Bill of Rights, though well-intentioned, was "seriously outdated."

"The United States is a different place than it was back in 1791," Craig said. "As visionary as they were, the framers of the Constitution never could have foreseen, for example, that our government would one day need to jail someone indefinitely without judicial review. There was no such thing as suspicious Middle Eastern immigrants back then."

Ashcroft noted that recent FBI efforts to conduct investigations into "unusual activities" were severely hampered by the old Fourth Amendment.

"The Bill of Rights was written more than 200 years ago, long before anyone could even fathom the existence of wiretapping technology or surveillance cameras," Ashcroft said. "Yet through a bizarre fluke, it was still somehow worded in such a way as to restrict use of these devices. Clearly, it had to go before it could do more serious damage in the future."

The president agreed.

"Any machine, no matter how well-built, periodically needs a tune-up to keep it in good working order," Bush said. "Now that we have the bugs worked out of the ol' Constitution, she'll be purring like a kitten when Congress reconvenes in January—just in time to work on a new round of counterterrorism legislation."

"Ten was just too much of a handful," Bush added. "Six civil liberties are more than enough."

I hold it true, whate'er befall;
I feel it, when I sorrow most;
'Tis better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all.

[rehmwa 2]

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1st Amendment - We need to force everyone to the religion of secularism and deny anyone with a stated religion any government benefits at all

2nd Amendment - But, if it only saves one child...

3rd Amendment - Soldiers don't get much pay. We should force anyone that makes over $25K per year (the uber-rich) to add a miniapartment and house and feed them. Or, we can just take their money and do it

4th Amendment - C'mon surely you have nothing to hide. You aren't mixing your plastics and aluminum into you regular garbage are you?

5th Amendment - C'mon, private property? Everything is owned by the government. We need to build schools and Walmarts.

6th Amendment - "Due Process?" what about those criminals you "just know" are guilty but the evidence is weak. You just can't let them go. What about people that just aren't very popular? You want them to go free? They might vote RePUBICan."


7th Amendment - juries suck, laws shouldn't be based on emotional appeal (I think I'm serious on this one)

8th Amendment - What about the "feelings" of the families of the victims. HUH?

9th Amendment - Any amendment with absolutely no teeth is OK in my book. If we pass about 30 more of them, we can talk about how productive the legislative process is - except that's most of our laws. Let's pass another law naming July "National Happy Month"

10th Amendment - Rights are inherent, states shouldn't be "granting" rights, only help protect them. This sounds a lot like "states having the authority to arbitrarily redistribute resources on a whim (I think I'm serious here too)

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There are people who think that right should be abridged. Which ones? I don't really know what "abridged" means

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[Amazon 7]

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There are people who think that right should be abridged. Which ones?

Easy one to answer


Any of them that the Administration thinks gets in their way... do as they want until the SC finally gets off their dead asses and reacts to those in their own party( most of them) that are circumventing that obviously outdated document

[Andy9o8 3]

Hey! you forgot to footnote your source.
You get a D-minus for that.

http://www.theonion.com/content/node/27610

[akarunway 1]

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Hey! you forgot to footnote your source.
You get a D-minus for that.

http://www.theonion.com/content/node/27610

Wanted to see who was the first to get that. You get an A

I hold it true, whate'er befall;
I feel it, when I sorrow most;
'Tis better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all.

[ryoder 1,590]

The depressing thing is this was written all the way back in 2002, and there still hasn't been an impeachment!

"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.

[Andy9o8 3]

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Wanted to see who was the first to get that if someone would catch me just like that 10th grade English teacher with the huge hooters did, which is why I got kicked out of school and spent the rest of my life as a derelict living in a cardboard box.

Fixed it for you.

[jenfly00 0]

Basically, all we have left is God, Guns and the right not to house British troops.

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"O brave new world that has such people in it".

[ExAFO 0]

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... and the right not to house British troops.

But they'd learn about modern dental care....

Illinois needs a CCW Law. NOW.

[hairyjuan 0]

the first ten are the ones that should be available to everyone on the planet! the original 13 th should be brought out of the closet and used to stop the liaryers from subverting the first ten

we are all one consciousness experiencing itself subjectively


wishers never choose, choosers never wish

[ExAFO 0]

Dude. Go away. No one cares to subscribe to your conspiracy theories.

Edited to add: Don't send me PMs either. I promise you I will publish them on the SC and ridicule you and your dumbass Tinfoil Hat Brigade theories to no end.

Illinois needs a CCW Law. NOW.

[popsjumper 2]

"Ashcroft responded sharply to critics who charge that the Bill of Rights no longer safeguards certain basic, inalienable rights.

"We're not taking away personal rights; we're increasing personal security," Ashcroft said. "By allowing for greater government control over the particulars of individual liberties, the Bill of Rights will now offer expanded personal freedoms whenever they are deemed appropriate and unobtrusive to the activities necessary to effective operation of the federal government." "


Does not anyone see a problem here?

"I AM THE GOVERNMENT! You worthless pieces of shit citizens will get what I want you to have WHEN and IF I want you to have it."

Freakin' country going to hell in a hand basket and we idiot American citizens just keep on taking it up the butt. Vote these idiots out even if the only option is another idiot!!!! (up to a point, that is.)

My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239

[Amazon 7]

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Freakin' country going to hell in a hand basket and we idiot American citizens just keep on taking it up the butt. Vote these idiots out even if the only option is another idiot!!!! (up to a point, that is.)

Seems like a significant number of posters here LIKE that sort of thing.. since they defend the current crop of incompetents so vociferously.