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To: colorado tanker
You don't think the rights you enjoy as an American citizen come from the Constitution as interpreted by the Supreme Court.

No, the Constitution statutorily protects my inherent, God given rights. It is not the instrument that conveys rights to me.

And I see you're changing your tune now. You're no longer saying our rights are granted by the Constitution.

432 posted on 05/20/2003 2:43:50 PM PDT by tdadams
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To: tdadams
And I see you're changing your tune now. You're no longer saying our rights are granted by the Constitution.

These are views I've held quite a long time, so no I'm not changing my tune. In my view the Constitution is the mechanism Americans have chosen to protect our natural rights. In practice there isn't much difference between the Constitution granting rights and the Constitution protecting natural rights. The biggest example I can think of when the distinction was important was when the Constitution permitted slavery, which is a violation of the slaves' natural rights.

BTW, I'm very much in the minority. Most Americans, including most SCOTUS justices, view the Constitution as a social contract that is the source of our rights, rejecting the theory of natural rights.

441 posted on 05/20/2003 2:54:06 PM PDT by colorado tanker
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