Rights Of The People

The Preamble spells out the specific Rights of The People.  The Rights of The People were not contained in the original Constitution but were added as the first ten Amendments to the Constitution four years after the original Constitution was published.  The ten Amendments, known as the Bill Of Rights, is really a mix of Rights and processes.  Approximately twenty-two Rights of The People were crammed into these ten Amendments.  I have included a list of these same Rights and processes in the Preamble because they are really part of the foundation of our nation, not an afterthought.  I also include the right to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” up front since they were the founding rights in the Declaration Of Independence.

In creating a list of the Rights of The People from the Bill Of Rights, I realized the Bill Of Rights really contained two types of Rights – those fundamental Rights each person has at birth as if no government existed, and those Rights that every person has when society and organized government are formed.  It could be argued that certain Rights be moved from one group to the other, but that is for more knowledgeable people than I to ponder.  Splitting the Rights into the two groups, Basic Rights and Legal Rights, also makes the list of 36 Rights easier to read and comprehend – one group of 36 Rights is tough to get through.  Also note this important distinction: The Basic Rights of the Individual take precedence over the Legal Rights of society.

You will also note that I have added some Rights which were not specified in the original Constitution nor in its Amendments.  These additional rights include:

1.      The Right to die

This should be obvious, but too many people are forced through a torturous death process by others in ignorance of this Right.

2.      The Right to produce or not produce children

The government cannot dictate this. Note the phrase “or not produce” is not in the current version but will be added to the next version.

3.      The Right to use mind or body altering substances by Competent Adults

Yes, this does legalize “drugs” and puts the emphasis on educating and helping people rather than penalizing people and putting them in prison.

4.      The Right to freedom of sexual preference

Self explanatory although many people would contest this as a Right.

5.      The Right to any private sexual actions among consenting Competent Adults

Self explanatory although many people would contest this as a Right.

6.      The Right to make decisions about their own mind and body by Competent Adults.

Self explanatory although many people would contest this as a Right.  Note the term “Competent” is not in the current version be will be added in the next version.

The Rights Of The People is the basis for our whole framework of government.

Next: Responsibilities Of The People