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To: george wythe
That's what the US Supreme Court has said. The Fourteenth Amendment incorporated the First Amendment to the states.

But that's not what the 1st amendment clearly says. REad it again: Congress (not judiciary) shall make no law... Repeat that over and over until you get it thru your head that judges CANNOT MAKE LAWS. Only Congress can establish a religion. Get it? A courthouse in backwater county is not Congress or a State legislature.

245 posted on 11/13/2003 10:43:41 AM PST by exmarine (sic semper tyrannis)
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To: exmarine
That's what the US Supreme Court has said. The Fourteenth Amendment incorporated the First Amendment to the states.

But that's not what the 1st amendment clearly says.

I agree, but I'm not part of the US Supreme Court.

The SCOTUS has been applying the First Amendment to the states since at least 1925. For instance, in Gitlow v New York:

For present purposes we may and do assume that freedom of speech and of the press -- which are protected by the First Amendment from abridgment by Congress -- are among the fundamental personal rights and "liberties" protected by the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment from impairment by the States.

274 posted on 11/13/2003 10:53:18 AM PST by george wythe
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To: exmarine

That's what the US Supreme Court has said. The Fourteenth Amendment incorporated the First Amendment to the states.
-GW-






"But that's not what the 1st amendment clearly says --"
-ex-






The state governments have always been bound by the provisions of the bill of rights. Article VI makes this position clear in the supremacy clause.


During the fight over slavery, states rightists used the 1st amendments restriction on Congress as a talking point to get an erroneous USSC 'ruling' that A1 thru A8 did not apply to states.

This is ludicrous on its face because at the same time in history states were being formed from territories [wherein the feds enforced our BOR's], --- areas which when granted statehood citizens would have LOST the BOR's protection unless it was reiterated in the new states constitution..


Thus, because California omitted a 2nd amendment type RKBA's clause in 1848, its new residents suddenly lost the right to own guns? Ridiculous.

Bet me that this was original intent of the framers..

331 posted on 11/13/2003 11:27:27 AM PST by tpaine (I'm trying to be 'Mr Nice Guy', but FRs flying monkey squad brings out the Rickenbacker in me.)
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