[MamaTexan]

“The logic of the sentence moves from the value of individual rights to the importance of government as a tool for protecting those rights,” Ms. Allen said.

LOL! the only problem being that any attempt to prostitute punctuation (real or imagined) in the Declaration doesn't change what it IS-

A notification that the Rights of Men are derived from the Laws of Nature....not from other men.

Methinks the only 'tool' here is Miz Allen.

[Godebert]

"LOL! the only problem being that any attempt to prostitute punctuation (real or imagined) in the Declaration doesn't change what it IS- A notification that the Rights of Men are derived from the Laws of Nature....not from other men."

Correct, although most so-called Conservatives here on Freerepublic have no clue what that means.

The Law of Nations or the Principles of Natural Law (1758)

The Laws of Nature and of Nature's God: The True Foundation of American Law