No "rights" are granted under the Constitution!

Here's the thing...

I frequently hear people say something to this effect: "The Constitution gives us the right to free speech."
-Or the right to assemble.
-Or own a gun.
-Or any of the other rights we enjoy and try so hard to defend.

There is a problem with these statements.

The Constitution doesn't give you the right to do anything, nor does it claim to.

The Constitution (and more specifically, the Bill of Rights) is not a document by government that grants goodies to the subjects.  It is a document formed by representatives of the people to define the role and method of a common (or federal) government.

The Constitution does not grant rights. Instead it is an enumeration of naturally existing rights on which government is not allowed to infringe.

Go back a few years before the Constitution and you will find another document we call "The Declaration of Independence".  In their complaint against the King of England, the representatives of the colonies are accusing the king of being a bully and violating the terms of their charters. He has failed to perform the basic functions of government and has used government as a tool of oppression rather that for the "common good."

The basis for their complaint is found in the following line. It is a line I hope you have committed to memory...

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

There did you see it? Rights are not granted by government. They are granted by a Creator.

Now, back to the Bill of Rights. While the Bill of Rights itself does to specify the origin of rights, it does specify to whom they belong. We are quick to quote the first and second amendments. We all know about freedom of religion, freedom of the press, freedom to lawfully assembly, and the right to keep and bear arms.

Perhaps we should look a little beyond those and commit to memory amendments nine and ten as well. They are not quite as poetic, but they are very important.

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.

Have a great Independence Day!

--Tony