Quote:
Originally Posted by donfey
It's not RIGHTS that are "clearly enumerated" but powers/functions of the federal government. We DO NOT get our rights from the government. The Bill of Rights do not grant anything. Rather, they RESTRICT the government from limiting, or infringing against what the framers saw as unalienable rights. They are meant to PROTECT us from an overreaching government. Sadly, they have not been as effective as hoped since the government has worked diligently to "get around them."
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I misspoke, and apologize.
But, the use of the term Rights does not mean you can do anything you want to do.
Laws restrict or regulate what you can do. Even fundamental rights can be limited. There is no limit to the regulation or restriction of "rights" that have not been determined to be fundamental.
So, I guess my point is, that a right that is not guaranteed to be allowed is a right in name only - ie., not really a right.
My use of the term rights is referring to fundamental rights, which I am allowed to do unless the government has a very good reason (that the Supreme Court agrees with) to limit or restrict.
For example, I have a right to own guns, but there can be restrictions to that right. Those restrictions however are very limited, and the Supreme Court will often rule against state-imposed limits.
Your right to punch me in the face is not a fundamental right, no matter how much some people on here may want to. So there are very few limits to the government's ability to prohibit punching each other in the face.