Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

To: robertpaulsen
robertpaulsen said: The first amendment doesn’t limit the protection of speech or the press or religion. It does limit the protection of the right to assemble to “the people”.

You have noticed a difference in the wording of the protections of these rights and you assert that the difference constitutes a "limitation" in the case of the right to assembly.

Perhaps you would be kind enough to point out the various ways in which this perceived "limitation" is evident.

How would or nation's laws be different if the First Amendment had included "Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of peacable assembly"?

264 posted on 11/21/2007 1:50:57 PM PST by William Tell (RKBA for California (rkba.members.sonic.net) - Volunteer by contacting Dave at rkba@sonic.net)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 239 | View Replies ]


To: William Tell; robertpaulsen
Perhaps you would be kind enough to point out the various ways in which this perceived "limitation" is evident.

What I got out of robertpaulsen's reply was that the right to peaceably assemble only applied to rich property owners as they constituted in his mind "the people". Yet in the history course I took on women's rights from the Republic's inception women assembled for a redress of grievances for all kinds of political causes including suffrage, temperance laws, and greater spousal rights. There is absolutely no case law that I know of where they were denied this basic constitutional right on the grounds they didn't qualify or were not considered as being part of "the people".

266 posted on 11/21/2007 2:13:42 PM PST by Reaganwuzthebest
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 264 | View Replies ]

To: William Tell
"You have noticed a difference in the wording of the protections of these rights and you assert that the difference constitutes a "limitation" in the case of the right to assembly."

You didn't notice that?

"Perhaps you would be kind enough to point out the various ways in which this perceived "limitation" is evident."

The real limitation is evident by the wording. Kind like Article I, Section 2 that refers to "the people" electing house members. It doesn't say "persons" or "citizens" does it? Probably because not all persons are allowed to vote. Not even all citizens are allowed to vote, are they?

So, by inserting the phrase "the people", there's a very real limitation, isn't there?

Do words mean things to you, or do you just stick in your own definition to fit your preconceived notion of what you think the Founders really meant?

"How would or nation's laws be different if the First Amendment had included "Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of peacable assembly"?

You sure do re-word the Constitution alot. I'm going to stick with commenting on the original wording.

268 posted on 11/21/2007 3:43:45 PM PST by robertpaulsen
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 264 | View Replies ]

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article


FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson