There are 10 fundamental guarantees in our Bill of Rights that are essential
to a free democracy. The Bill of Rights confirmed the intent contained in the
Declaration of Indepencence and guarantees that citizens are protected
from government. It limits government intrusion and control of our lives;
it is our guarantee of Freedom and Liberty; it confirms rights that many
people perilously take for granted.
If you think government should
do everything for you; tell you what to think and say, what you can and
can't do, what you can or cannot possess; should fight crime and provide for your
personal safety by prying into your life; should be an ever present Big Brother;
then you don't need or want the Bill of Rights.
The FIRST AMENDMENT guarantees
freedom of religion; freedom of speech and of the press; right
to peaceably assemble and to petition government for redress of
grievances.
The SECOND AMENDMENT guarantees
the right of the PEOPLE to keep and bear Arms
[1].
The THIRD AMENDMENT prohibits
the military from commandeering your home for its own quarters.
The FOURTH AMENDMENT protects
you against unreasonable searches and seizures and against warrants
issued without probable cause - it protects your right to privacy.
The FIFTH AMENDMENT guarantees
protection against self-incrimination; from being deprived of
life, liberty or property without due process; and prevents government
from taking your property without just compensation.
The SIXTH AMENTDMENT guarantees
a speedy trial by a jury of your peers; the right to face your
accusers; the right to know the charges against you; and the right
to be represented by counsel.
The SEVENTH AMENDMENT
guarantees the right to a jury trial and protection against double
jeopardy.
The EIGHTH AMENDMENT guarantees
against excessive bail and cruel and unusual punishment.
The NINETH AMENDMENT guarantees
that rights under the Constitution shall not be used to deny other
rights retained by the PEOPLE.
The TENTH AMENDMENT limits the power and scope of
the Federal Government; other than as specifically
granted in the Constitution reserves powers to the
States and to the PEOPLE.
The Bill Of Rights
The first 10 amendments to the
Constitution were proposed by the Congress on Sept. 25, 1789.
They were ratified by the following states, and the notifications
of the ratification by the governors thereof were successively
communicated by the President to the Congress: New Jersey, Nov.
20, 1789; Maryland, Dec. 19, 1789; North Carolina, Dec. 22, 1789;
South Carolina, Jan. 19, 1790; New Hampshire, Jan. 25, 1790; Delaware,
Jan. 28, 1790; New York, Feb. 4, 1790; Pennsylvania, March 10,
1790; Rhode Island, June 7, 1790; Vermont, Nov. 3, 1791; and Virginia,
Dec. 15, 1791. Ratification was completed on Dec. 15, 1791.
The amendments were subsequently
ratified by Massachusetts, March 2, 1939; Georgia, March 18, 1939;
and Connecticut, April 19, 1939.
Two other amendments were concurrently
proposed in 1789. One failed of ratification. The other (Amendment
XXVII) was not ratified until May 7, 1992, when the Michigan legislature
gave it the required number of state approvals.
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 offence 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 defence.
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.
The Second Amendment
While all of the Bill of Rights
is important, I believe the most overlooked in importance is the SECOND AMENDMENT.
It guarantees the individual right to keep and bear arms. Why?
Because our Founding Fathers knew that without firearms, the PEOPLE
could not protect themselves against civil, foreign or
domestic tyranny. They understood that without firearms the PEOPLE would
have no way to preserve the Freedom and Liberty guaranteed by
our Constitution and Bill of Rights.
The SECONDAMENDMENT is not about
duck hunting; it's not about target shooting; it's not about gun
collecting; it's about the right of the PEOPLE to keep and bear
arms to protect themselves, their families and their Freedom. It preserves a right
without which we Americans would never have fought the Revolutionary
War, won our Freedom, and formed an independent nation. The battles
of Lexington and Concord were initiated because a government in
England ordered the confiscation of civilian owned firearms.
When politicians tell you that
government needs to ban certain firearms for public safety, you
are losing your Freedom. If you don't care that they ban your
friend's semi-automatic firearm, labeling it an "assault
weapon," or your brother's small handgun, labeling it a "Saturday
Night Special" or your neighbor's inexpensive handgun, labeling
it a "junk gun", because nobody needs to own or possess
that type of firearm, you have been lulled into complacency. Make no mistake, if
we do not change the present course of events your shotgun and
hunting rifle will surely be on a ban list in the near future.
More than 200 years ago our Founding
Fathers understood that the fundamental rights confirmed in the
Bill of Rights could never be entrusted to government. That is
why our Founders preserved them for all the PEOPLE through passage of the
Bill of Rights. When our government tells the honest and law abiding
citizen they must give up their arms, using the actions of criminals
as an excuse, you should heed the warning of our forefathers.
William Pitt, in a speech in 1783, said "Necessity is
the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument
of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves." In 1759, Benjamin Franklin cautioned; "They that can give
up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve
neither liberty nor safety." And, in 1788, James Madison in
a speech at the Virginia Convention, said "I believe there
are more instances of the abridgement of the freedom
of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of
those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations."
Today, it is our duty to protect these rights else our
heritage, our Freedoms, and our Liberty will be lost.
1. There is controversy over the meaning of the SECOND AMENDMENT.
The argument put forward by those who advocate a ban on private ownership
of arms (AKA 'gun control') is that the second amendment is applicable only to a State
National Guard. Those who are cognizant of history and understand the
concerns of our founding fathers know this is not correct.
The
SECOND AMENDMENT is comprised to two
parts; the second and primary part reads "the right of the people to keep and
bear Arms, shall not be infringed"; the first and ancillary part reads "A well
regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State" is an
explanation as to why the amendment exists. What it means is that the people
have an absolute right to keep and bear arms because a State will only remain
free when the whole body of the people possess arms and are skilled in
their use.
The SECOND AMENDMENT may only be correctly interpreted if one understands
the meaning of the words and terms 'well regulated', 'militia', 'bear' and 'arms'.
in the language of the period it was written; to wit:
well regulated
to have a high degree of order - skill - method - capability - uniformity
militia
the body of armed civilians which is comprised of the people as a whole
bear
to carry on one's person - convey
arms
military weapons - especially firearms
Of course, one would hope that the terms
'right of the people to keep' and
'shall not be infringed' would be
fully and honestly comprehended. But, by gun prohibition advocates, even the
meaning of these phrases are questioned.
Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, in his book A Matter of
Interpretation: Federal Courts and the Law says that the
founders "were right when they feared that some future generation
might wish to abandon liberties that they considered essential, and
so sought to protect those liberties in a Bill of Rights." Some
people today may "like the abridgement of property rights and
like the elimination of the right to bear arms, but let us not
pretend that these are not reductions of rights."
To those revisionist who assert that the right to bear arms "is
limited to musketry in the National Guard," Justice Scalia
answers: "It would ... be strange to find in the midst of a
catalog of the rights of individuals a provision securing
to the states the right to maintain a designated 'Militia'.
Dispasionate scholarship suggests quite strongly that the right of the people
to keep and bear arms meant just that. There is no need to deceive
ourselves as to what the Second Amendment said and meant."
-
Scottish Highland Cattle - Iredell, Texas 
There are 10 fundamental guarantees in our Bill of Rights that are essential
to a free democracy. The Bill of Rights confirmed the intent contained in the
Declaration of Indepencence and guarantees that citizens are protected
from government. It limits government intrusion and control of our lives;
it is our guarantee of Freedom and Liberty; it confirms rights that many
people perilously take for granted.
