It's taken me awhile to find the words, but basically, with the Bill of Rights being dismantled a piece at a time and the nation's attention drawn to the Second Amendment, the gender issues and new marital definition may serve to be the fatal blow to the First Amendment, using the Tenth Amendment. The First Amendment has been in critical condition for some time now, as well as the Tenth as the federal government has become more empirilized. I now see that our government has just about circumvented every freedom mentioned in the first ten amendments, citing the Constitution . . . or safety.
This situation in Kentucky brought to my attention, the "interpretation" of the first amendment, to completely override the tenth. When we are griping about a particular politician not upholding the Constitution, we need to keep in mind, the Bill of Rights are not really protected by the Constitution. The Constitution was written to protect the rights of a sovereign nation and establish a government apart from the rest of the sovereign nations and governments. The Bill of Rights was specifically written to protect the people from an overreaching sovereign federal government.
Second 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.
Third 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
Fourth 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.
Fifth 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
Sixth 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.
Seventh 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 re-examined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.
Eighth Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
Ninth The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
Tenth 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.
Third 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
Fourth 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.
Fifth 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
Sixth 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.
Seventh 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 re-examined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.
Eighth Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
Ninth The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
Tenth 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.
I read the Bill of Rights, again and again; and I can't help but wonder if they were compiled as a sort of "Ten Commandments" of we the people, to our government. The fact that they have been undermined in apparent randomness has made the loss less obvious. Figuring inflation alone, in our self serving society, the seventh amendment went directly to countless lawsuits and a rise in legal careers, with many of those lawsuits being quite frivolous. This of course, began the immense backlog of the civil judicial system. The prison industry has led to the sixth amendment becoming a mere technicality when the defendant has no defense. A speedy trial is completely a relative term, with the courts across this land now even conducting trials on Sabbath, in some cases.
The eighth amendment is open to debate regarding bail and excessive fines, but the last portion of the amendment seems to be used primarily in the final appeal in cases of capital punishment, which affects a very small portion of our society. The first portion of the eighth amendment which would impact more of our society, seems to be arbitrarily applied with no actual standard at all.
The ninth amendment is stated to elude to the protection of privacy which doesn't appear in the Constitution and is not directly stated here in the Bill of Rights, so American's protection of privacy is really just an inference that is tossed around with no legal substance. Thus, our current Big Brother state. According to our current society, the ninth amendment is just a vague generalized comment with little meaning.
On to the meatier amendments. The fifth amendment covers everything from no self-incrimination to eminent domain. I'm not sure who determines which crimes are infamous and which crimes are not, but the number of felony offenses has skyrocketed with the war on drugs and the rise of the prison industry. The fifth amendment is the inspiration for the reading of one's miranda rights when arrested, as well as testifying under oath. Eminent domain has been around long before SCOTUS made it official. As a Native American, it seems eminent domain is how this country was actually formed, but that's a topic for another day. Most Native American tribes did not believe the land was to be owned, so removing us from the equation, eminent domain is really the "politically correct" term for "taking private property for public use." Eminent domain has certainly been a part of this country since the Interstate Highway was built in the 50's . . .
No knock warrants, another "weapon" in the war on drugs has of course completely eradicated the protection of the fourth amendment, and has even gotten folks killed. Elderly Atlanta resident, 92 year old Kathryn Johnston's death was a direct result of the "legal" disregard for the fourth amendment.
A state of continual war nullifies the purpose of the third amendment, automatically. This year, Operation Jade Helm 15 had given clear indication, what the military does in our own cities on our own soil, is none of our business, except that we should cooperate, and caused anyone with raised eyebrows to be labeled as paranoid or fear-mongering. The nullification of this particular amendment could become quite troubling if "illegal immigrant amnesty for military service" becomes law. No way to really know who will have the right to just move in! We may see, shortly.
The second amendment gets all the attention, usually, and seems to always be in the "crosshairs" of the anti-gun folks. For now the NRA is financially powerful and most citizens are intelligent enough to know, the criminals already don't worry about laws, so gun laws won't make any difference, either. Disarming law abiding citizens is a clear attack on our freedom. There's just not enough political spin to get around that fact. One concern I have, is again the tenth amendment may be being used to erode the second amendment. All the states that are offering permits for conceal and carry or even open carry may technically have already infringed upon the rights afforded in the second amendment, and relegated gun "control" to the individual states. In all this confusion, I'm guessing state gun control laws will override the second amendment, but SCOTUS interpretation of marriage will override state laws . . . Well played, federal government!
And now, in memory of my favorite amendment. Although according to the first amendment, Congress can make no law regarding religion, but . . . the SCOTUS can interpret any case they choose to "hear" and according to this last week's news, "it becomes the law of the land." No need for Congress to make new laws, when everything can simply be reinterpreted. We also have learned that "free exercise thereof" of religion has no place on the job or in the public square. We'll see if other religions are held to the same standard Judaism and Christianity have been held. You are still free to speak, but you are not free from being monitored and you are not free from surveillance. Freedom of the press was openly rejected in the Operation Jade Helm 15 exercises, on American soil. People can peaceably assemble to petition the government, which is to protest, as long as they stay in the "first amendment zone" a.k.a. "free speech cage." "Free speech cage" has to be the ultimate oxymoron!
As these Ten Amendments have been reduced to illusion, the Ten Commandments were etched in stone.
But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of YHWH thy Elohim, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee: Torah of Holy Scripture
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