Posted on 06/24/2002 4:30:22 PM PDT by eshu
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
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.
A strong case could be made in particular that the 2nd amendment is all but irrelevant now (thanks to Klintoon and the gun-grabbers) as are the 4th amendment (thanks to the "PATRIOT ACT") and the 6th amendment (citizens can now be declared "enemy combatants" and held without charges indefinitely).
In the opinions of my fellow freepers, just what amendments to the Bill of Rights do we actually STILL enjoy the protection of?
P.S. I am new here, so please forgive me if there are any rules or protocols I have overlooked in my haste to address this topic.
So who is stopping you from exercising your religion?
Bear in mind that having it roll down over me from
government exceeds the
bounds of your personal practice.
The states increasingly suck on and are dependent on the federal tit for all sorts of things things they should be deciding for and providing to their own people. They have forgotten their own history as one-time independent nations or territories, and have forgotten that the federal system is a compact an agreement between the states. In neglecting their own sovereign prerogatives and ceding so much of their power to the federal entity, they have destroyed the most significant check on federal power, states rights.
Theoretically, the Civil War settled the question of secession. But the states have acted more like the War not only made it impossible for them to secede, but also made them SUBSERVIENT to the federal government, rather than the other way around. There are numerous delegates to the 1787 Constitutional Convention who never would have signed the Constitution, and many of the 13 original states which never would have ratified it, had they been able to foresee such a turn of events.
Congress shall make no law establishing religion, but shall act as if it did; and shall make no laws abridging the freedom of speech, unless such speech can be construed as "commercial speech" or "irresponsible speech" or "offensive speech", or shall abridge the right of the people to peaceably assemble where and when permitted; or shall abridge the right to petition the government for a redress of grievances, under proper procedures.
It shall be unlawful to cry "Fire!" in a theatre occupied by three or more persons, unless such persons shall belong to a class declared Protected by one or more divisions of Federal, State or Local government, in which case the number of persons shall be one or more.
AMENDMENT II
A well-regulated military force shall be maintained under control of the President, and no political entity within the United States shall maintain a military force beyond Presidential control. The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall be determined by the Congress and the States and the Cities and the Counties and the Towns (and someone named Fred.)
AMENDMENT III
No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house without the consent of the owner, unless such house is believed to have been used, or believed may be used, for some purpose contrary to law or public policy.
AMENDMENT IV
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures may not be suspended except to protect public welfare. Any place or conveyance shall be subject to search by law enforcement forces of any political entity, and any such places or conveyances, or any property within them, may be confiscated without judicial proceeding if believed to be used in a manner contrary to law.
AMENDMENT V
Any person may be held to answer for a crime of any kind upon any suspicion whatever; and may be put in jeopardy of life or liberty by the state courts, by the federal judiciary, and while incarcerated; and may be compelled to be a witness against himself by the forced submission of his body or any portion thereof, and by testimony in proceedings excluding actual trial. Private property forfeited under judicial process shall become the exclusive property of the judicial authority and shall be immune from seizure by injured parties.
AMENDMENT VI
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to avoid prosecution by exhausting the legal process and its practitioners. Failure to succeed shall result in speedy plea-bargaining resulting in lesser charges. Convicted persons shall be entitled to appeal until sentence is completed. It shall be unlawful to bar or deter an incompetent person from service on a jury.
AMENDMENT VII
In civil suits, where a contesting party is a person whose private life may interest the public, the right of trial in the Press shall not be abridged.
AMENDMENT VIII
Sufficient bail may be required to ensure that dangerous persons remain in custody pending trial. There shall be no right of the public to be afforded protection from dangerous persons, and such protection shall be dependent upon incarceration facilities available.
AMENDMENT IX
The enumeration in The Constitution of certain rights shall be construed to deny or discourage others which may from time to time be extended by the branches of Federal, State or Local government, unless such rights shall themselves become enacted by Amendment.
AMENDMENT X
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution shall be deemed to be powers residing in persons holding appointment therein through the Civil Service, and may be delegated to the States and local Governments as determined by the public interest. The public interest shall be determined by the Civil Service.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
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.
Just think what has happened to due process, jury trials, search and seizure. It is getting very scary.
The government can now make people disappear just by saying that they are an enemy combatant (definition?). Imagine if this precedent lasts and then Hillary becomes president.
Wow! Somebody has hit the nail on the head. The inherent rights of the individual were given to the state and the collection of states has made a pact with the federal government. This is the system we were under. The central government is doing what any beast would do, eating and growing.
The reversal of this trend will, alas, not happen. Anyone is welcome to come back to me later and say that I was wrong. I would welcome that.
BUMP!!
The national income tax is actually a federal spoils system. The federal government uses it to continue increasing its power by both bribing the states and putting strings on the way states can use federal monies sent to them. For their part, the state political elites get to rake in huge sums they couldn't otherwise raise from their own populations.
I don't know of a single politician or political party in this country not the Republicans, nor Democrats, nor Libertarians, nor Constitution Party, nor any independent, and certainly not the hard-left Greens that speaks against this double taxation of income.
Here in California, an average person making in the very middle-class range of about $40,000 to $60,000 per year, who is unlucky enough to have none of the handful of deductions the pols have left us, sees 40% of his or her income skimmed off in combined income taxes. That's a tax bill of about $16,000 to $24,000 per year right off the top, before one pays car taxes, sales taxes, gas taxes, and all the other "fees" politicians and bureaucrats can think up.
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