General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: David Hogg calls out Bernie [View all]X_Digger
(18,585 posts)That seems to be a fundamental misapprehension about how rights work.
This was one reason that some of the founders were leery of even passing the bill of rights- they thought future generations might perceive them as exhaustive of all rights.
No, rights predate the bill of rights- 'that governments are instituted among men to protect them'.
e.g. The right of free passage (also called the right to travel)- is not mentioned in the constitution or the BoR, but is a right nonetheless.
The right to medical privacy didn't spring up from whole cloth in 1973- it was a pre-existing right that until that point had not been explicitly protected by either the judiciary or the legislature.
It's a 'the government shall not' document, not a 'the people may'. Read the preamble to the BoR:
Abuse of whose powers? Declaratory and restrictive clauses against whom?