THE BILL OF RIGHTS Amendments 1-10 of the Constitution

the people

[sopwith]

The Conventions of a number of the States having, at the time of adopting the Constitution, expressed a desire, in order to prevent misconstruction or abuse of its powers, that further declaratory and restrictive clauses should be added, and as extending the ground of public confidence in the Government will best insure the beneficent ends of its institution;

Resolved, by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, two-thirds of both Houses concurring, that the following articles be proposed to the Legislatures of the several States, as amendments to the Constitution of the United States; all or any of which articles, when ratified by three-fourths of the said Legislatures, to be valid to all intents and purposes as part of the said Constitution, namely:

Amendment I Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Amendment II A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.

Amendment III No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

Amendment IV The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Amendment V No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

Amendment VI In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.

Amendment VII In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.

Amendment VIII Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

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

Amendment X The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.

[alloysteel]

Amendment I: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

WAKE UP, AMURRICA!

What part of this guarantee of freedom of religion and speech is NOT under attack and being ignored by courts across the land? And what is not being attacked or ignored, is parsed to impossible limits. Burning of the Flag, despicable an act though it may be, or flipping someone off, is protected as "free speech", yet the Feingold/McCain campaign finance reform is in direct contradiction to the spirit and letter of this Amendment, and not found to be unconstitutional. This issue must be revisited again.

[ovrtaxt]

Dude, you're gonna get arrested for inciting a riot or something. Now be a nice citizen and forget all these grand ideas of 'liberty' and stuff.

[sawyer]

I think we could forget all this money for running for office if we did one thing. Open OUR air waves on radio and TV to the public free of charge 1 hour a day during elections , in prime time, for the people who run. When we give money we may as well just sent it to the TV companies.This is fair if we really are the people who run this country.

[foreverfree]

bump

[spodefly]

Sure, that document looks great, but it'll never hold up in court.

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

it'll never hold up in court. It's obviously unconstitutional . . .

[snopercod]

Thanks for posting these quaint historical documents. At one time in America, they were the supreme law of the land.

• Amendment I - Freedom of speech violated by the Campaign Finance Reform Act of 2002. (You can still assemble to petition your government for a redress of this grievance if you have a permit.)

• Amendment II - Right to keep and bear arms violated by the The Firearms act of 1968, The Brady Handgun Violence Protection Act of 1993, The Aviation and Transportation Security Act of 2001, and many others.

• Amendment III - The only one which hasn't been violated (yet). I haven't heard of any soldiers being quartered in private homes.

• Amendment IV - The right to be secure in our persons, homes, papers and effects violated by numerous "War on Drugs" bills, The Telecommunications Act of 1996, The Aviation and Transportation Security Act of 2001, and The "Patriot Act" of 2002.

• Amendment V - Private property? Just compensation? Due process of law? Violated by the Environmental Protection Act of 1970, numerous "War on Drugs" bills, The Aviation and Transportation Security Act of 2001, and The "Patriot Act" of 2002.

• Amendment VI - Speedy and public jury trial? Violated by The "Patriot Act" of 2002.

• Amendment VII - The government has gotten around this one by holding two trials: One criminal, and one civil. If you can't convict someone beyond a reasonable doubt, then lower the standards to "a preponderance of the evidence" and try again.

• Amendment VIII - Excessive bail is routinely required for "political" crimes. Example: B.B. Nelson had to post $1 million bail for setting off a smoke bomb in the local EPA office in Titusville, FL.

• Amendment IX - Retained rights? - Just about every law that congress passes these days violates this one. For instance, do I have a right to fly? This amendment says I do, but Congress says otherwise. In modern America, "We the People" only have the "rights" that the federal government allows us to have. Rights are now permissions.

• Amendment X - "States Rights" have been null and void since the civil war and the passage of Amendment XIV in 1866.

Feel free to add to this list.

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

http://www.FreeRepublic.com/forum/a3ba20deb5ac5.htm

[snopercod]

Ya' know what makes me sick...

What's that guy's name?

[luigi]

Earl Pitts?

[sopwith]

post 8.
Thats worthy for an op. ed.

[eno_]

Absolutely brilliant summary.

And the sad sad sad thing is some "conservatives" don't even know enough history to know that most of the damage was done in during and post the New Deal.

Rolling back the New Deal used to be the definition of "Republican." Now, even highly educated conservatives like Laura Ingram parrot the government line on atrocities like the Patriot Act.

[orlop9]

great post

[snopercod]

That's HIM! Thank you. http://www.earlpitts.com/

[Grand Old Partisan]

There are eleven, not ten, amendments in the Bill of Rights, the 27th being part of the original twelve passed by Congress as the proposed Bill of Rights.

[Grand Old Partisan]

There are eleven, not ten, amendments in the Bill of Rights, the 27th being part of the original twelve passed by Congress as the proposed Bill of Rights.

[endthematrix]

Old, outdated and not relevant to the dynamic changes of the modern world. I'll shut up know for fear of Rat note takers.

[tpaine]

Amendment X
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.

Amendment X - "States Rights" have been null and void since the civil war and the passage of Amendment XIV in 1866.

  Amendment XIV
Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

________________________________________

There is nothing in the 14th that nullifies/voids the 10th. -- It merely makes clear that states cannot violate our individual rights as outlined in the rest of the constitution.

States have never had the delegated power to infringe upon our enumerated/ unenumerated rights, -- as is made clear by the preamble to the BOR's, -- which states that "when ratified", - it is, - " to be valid for all intents and purposes, as part of said Constitution".
Article VI states that our Constitution: "-- shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound therby; --"

Your ideas about "states rights" are being used by states like CA to violate our 2nd amendment, by prohibiting so-called 'assault weapons'.

[Marauder]

Amendment X was also assaulted by Carter's creation of the Dep't of Education.