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To: JamesP81
Neither does this apparent claim in your argument that what rights we have are defined by the government.

Ah, but I did not say that. I said that the government secures rights by curbing other ones. I would define a right as being anything that the government doesn't forbid you to do. In the state of anarchy, there is no government, so you aren't forbidden from doing anything, so you have the right to do anything you wish. With a government in place, you are forbidden to murder people. Hence, your right to life is secured, even if it is not expressly secured by the government. You are forbidden to steal, hence your right to property is secured.

123 posted on 05/09/2007 9:03:19 AM PDT by psychoknk
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To: psychoknk
I would define a right as being anything that the government doesn't forbid you to do.

Then your definition would be wrong.
126 posted on 05/09/2007 9:06:33 AM PDT by JamesP81 (Isaiah 10:1 - "Woe to those who enact evil statutes")
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To: psychoknk
I would define a right as being anything that the government doesn't forbid you to do.

Whoa! I would define a right as our Founding Fathers understood it... prerogatives endowed in humanity by its Creator. Have you forgotten the Ninth Amendment?

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

Rights, if they are truly rights, can't be taken away by government without grave injustice.

143 posted on 05/09/2007 9:23:04 AM PDT by pgyanke (RUDY GIULIANI 2008 - BECAUSE IF YOU'RE GOING TO COMPROMISE YOUR PRINCIPLES ANYWAY... WHY WAIT?)
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