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To: robertpaulsen
We do have certain inalienable, God-given rights, and among them are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
These rights cannot be taken away without individual due process (eg., conviction of murder).

No inalienable right can be "taken away"/ prohibited from Americans by our governments.
They can only be reasonably regulated, using due process of Constitutional law. -- Part of due process is the individuals right to a fair trial, & upon conviction, the individual may lose certain rights. The right remains inalienable for all others.

But we have other natural or fundamental rights which may be regulated by government without individual due process. Free speech, for example. Ownership of arms. Drugs.

Such 'regulation', if it unreasonably infringes on the individuals basic right, is unconstitutional. These questionable infringements are to be decided by juries, not legislators.

Many of our "rights" are regulated and/or attenuated (eg., you must be 16, or 18, or 21 years old) without individual due process, impossible with a God-given right.

True enough, seeing that our rights are not god-given. Rights are the self evident constructs of our nature, our free will.

34 posted on 10/21/2004 8:34:35 AM PDT by tpaine (No man has a natural right to commit aggression on the equal rights of another. - T. Jefferson)
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To: tpaine
"Rights are the self evident constructs of our nature, our free will."

You are attempting to place all "rights" in one basket (call them what you will). But you can't do that -- it's not the way things work.

We may form a government which says, "Your right to drink alcohol is not protected by the state until you are 21". We may not form a governmemnt which says, "Your right to life is not protected by the state until you are 21".

Why not? Your right to life is a God-given (u)inalienable right which cannot be taken away without individual due process. Your fundamental (natural) right to drink alcohol may be regulated -- it can be taken away from (ie., not protected) certain groups of individuals by the state without individual due process, as long as it is applied equally and there is a compelling state interest.

The government cannot do that with (u)inalienable rights.

36 posted on 10/21/2004 8:56:13 AM PDT by robertpaulsen
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