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To: Jacquerie
IMHO, the Natural Rights enumerated are: . . .

Sorry, but I'm a Constitutional literalist. There is no "opinion" about the enumerated rights. They are or they are not listed and explicit. That's what makes them 'enumerated' rights.

Obviously, most of your list can indeed be found in the Constitution, including (as you correctly point out) in the body of the Constitution and not just in the Bill of Rights. But just as you cannot 'create' an enumerated right, so if you are attempting to 'enumerate' them (by saying something like "The . . rights enumerated are:") you can't leave any out . . .unless you're trying to say that things not in your list, though 'enumerated' are not 'Natural' in some way - a distinction that I don't find particulary compelling.

Why go on about something where we agree on the underlying issue that "Governments are instituted among Men . . to secure these Rights"? Because the underlying problem is in the loose and government-serving (rather than serving the people) interpretation of the words as written. Your argument would be stronger, at least to me, if you focused it on what the Constitution says rather than using part of what the Constitution says as justification for something that the Constitution does not, in fact, mention (like "Natural Rights" as a phrase).
26 posted on 11/27/2009 7:30:10 AM PST by Phlyer
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To: Phlyer
As a literalist, what then is the meaning of the Ninth Amendment?
27 posted on 11/27/2009 8:10:50 AM PST by Jacquerie (Support and defend our Beloved Constitution.)
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