Free Republic

What have we learned, in the weeks since the Valentine’s Day massacre in Parkland, Florida? We have seen the same well-intentioned but utterly misguided efforts that we always see after such horrors: a focus on banning one weapon out of many, as if that would make a difference, while closing our eyes to the real perpetrators and the actual causes of vulnerability. But we are used to that. What we are unused to, however, is the removal of the façade that for so long as hidden the Left’s efforts at the banning, and even outright confiscation, of firearms from law-abiding...

In parts 1 through 4 of this series (Scroll to the bottom for more detail about the parts) I have been examining progressivism and its relation (or lack therof) to the 1803 court ruling Marbury vs Madison. Here in part 5, I just want to ask two questions. First, what is the purpose of a bill of rights? We could be talking about the Bill of Rights of the Federal Constitution, or the Bill of Rights that exists in your State constitution. It doesn't matter really, where that bill of rights happens to exist. What is it for: Is it...

This week, retired Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens wrote an op-ed in The New York Times that advocated a position most liberal pundits and activists have been incrementally working toward for a long time: repealing the Second Amendment. And while many liberal columnists argued that Stevens had only given fodder to gun advocates -- because his position is unfeasible right now -- not one whose piece I read argued that Stevens was wrong on the merits. Not one claimed that American citizens do, in fact, have an inherent individual right to protect themselves with firearms. Whether repeal of the...

Rush Limbaugh says Obama's “Nudge Squad” is designed to promote certain behavior. I'm sure he just misspoke. The Nudgers themselves admit they are attempting to do much more than just promote. Government can and already does produce commercials that merely promote an agenda. No, the “Nudge Squad” is not a promotional group. These “behavioral scientists” are charged with steering us into making the “correct” decisions.And who gets to determine what’s the correct decision? Why, the administration. They are the arbiters of right and wrong, good and bad behavior.Do you recall the statement by Bill Clinton, circa 1999? Thanks to the...

Kentucky GOP Sen. Rand Paul on Sunday blasted former CIA Director John Brennan for suggesting that President Trump will be remembered as a “disgraced demagogue,” saying that Brennan spying on Americans while running the agency was disgraceful. “This man had the power to search every American’s records without a warrant,” Paul tweeted Sunday. “What’s disgraceful is attacking the Bill of Rights and the freedom of every American.”

The first 10 changes to the Constitution were easy. Since then, it has been an uphill battle every time, and some of those battles are, at least technically, still undecided. We are speaking of the amendments to the U.S. Constitution, and those first 10 are, of course, better known as the Bill of Rights. They provide some of the most important guarantees of freedom associated with the U.S. Constitution — even though they were added years after the Constitution was first written in the summer of 1787. It wasn't that the framers of the Constitution didn't believe in freedom of...

Subtitle: Continuing the March of Folly. The eight Obama years felt something like a sequel to Barbara Tuchman’s The March of Folly. Didn’t you scream inside every time he usurped or ignored the law and congress did nothing about it? His election and reelection lent credence to the sorry fact that nations often disregard the lessons of history. This wasn’t so with our Framing generation. From history’s offerings they embraced the good and shunned the bad. By a large measure our Constitution is a compilation of dos and don’ts, of lessons learned from England’s Stuart Age (1603-1714). Without a written...

Lucas, from Seymour, has been critical of the media’s coverage of his efforts to repeal a state law that requires a permit to carry a handgun. He has stated reporters, columnists and editorial boards mischaracterize his idea, which is sometimes referred to as “constitutional carry.” “If I was as irresponsible with my handgun as the media has been with their keyboard, I’d probably be in jail,” Lucas said. The proposal would require professional journalists to submit an application with Indiana State Police. They would be fingerprinted and would have to pay $75 for a lifetime license. If journalists have been...

When a woman asked Benjamin Franklin what kind of government had been created by he and the other gathered founders, Franklin famously replied, “A Republic, if you can keep it.” One key to keeping that Republic exists in understanding how the Constitution was designed to function. The Constitution of these United States is not arbitrary. It is a document of standards established to keep the GOVERNMENT from becoming arbitrary. These standards were not invented by the men who created the document. These standards were axiomatic truths that had proven themselves for over a millennium. Many of these truths can be...

About a decade and a half ago, our friend David Horowitz proposed an academic bill of rights for students but back then collegians were a bit more familiar with the original. A recent Brookings Institution survey, for example, found that 44 percent of students believed so-called "hate speech" is not protected by the first amendment while another 16 percent answered "don’t know." Similarly, according to the Brookings web survey, 51 percent of students thought it was okay to shout down a speaker. As you might expect, the study drew detractors from academe. "I must say that from the start I...

If you feel like your First Amendment rights as an American are being trampled on, it might be because a staggering number of people don’t know what they are. According to a recent survey by the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania, a mind-boggling 37 percent of respondents either didn’t know or couldn’t name any of the five First Amendment rights guaranteed to all Americans by the Constitution: speech, religion, press, assembly and petition. The survey was conducted August 9-13 among a group of 1,013 U.S. adults who were 18 years old and older. Respondents were from...

Wife unit and I just completed painting our childrens rooms. Theme should be between K-3 , boy and girl. What posters/themes centered on education and religion would you put in their room? Below is a small list I have brainstormed, and I am interested in things that just ARENT taught as much anymore or not emphasized enough. When I was growing up my room was filled with posters to keep my mind going......most were hand made by mom. I'm sure there are nice ones that homeschoolers and teachers use that maybe I'm not thinking of. Thanks! FReegards!

The Ninth Amendment, also known as the “silent” Amendment, says “The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.” What does this mean? What makes the Ninth Amendment unique is that it guarantees protection of all our rights even though they may not be specifically mentioned in the Constitution. Just because the document is silent on some natural rights does not mean they do not exist. The Ninth Amendment closes the loophole. James Madison was concerned that any attempt to enumerate fundamental liberties would be incomplete and might...

An Orthodox Jewish mother of six who was barred from speaking with her own children because she insisted on raising them in a religious home has been thrown in jail because she lacked the financial means to reimburse her wealthy ex-husband $10,000 in court costs as order by an Ohio judge. Julie Goffstein and her husband Peter Goffstein had been raising their boys as members of the Chabad community in Cincinnati when Peter Goffstein decided that he no longer wanted to live a religious lifestyle. Given an ultimatum of choosing between her religion and her marriage, Julie chose to continue...

When you wade through a sea of textbooks and lectures that mangle American history, finding one that doesn't makes an impression. Into this category falls The Bill of Rights in Translation: What It Really Means by Amie Jane Leavitt. To see how accurate it is, just look at how this entry in the Kids' Translations series from Capstone Press handles what is arguably currently the most controversial amendment to the U. S. Constitution, particularly in an era of gun-free zones. "To protect the country, citizens sometimes must serve as soldiers," Leavitt explains. "Citizens also have a right to protect themselves."...

Sen. Rand Paul has long taken the lead in calling for the reform of civil asset forfeiture laws, a controversial police practice in which authorities basically steal the property of citizens without due process and little recourse. Billions have been seized from citizens by the police based on nothing more than suspicion, which many see as a direct violation of the Fifth Amendment. It’s state-sanctioned theft. “Under civil forfeiture laws, your property is guilty until you prove it innocent,” says the Institute for Justice’s Scott Bullock. On Thursday, Sen. Paul reintroduced FAIR (Fifth Amendment Integrity Restoration) Act, which specifically addresses...

Burns Chronicles #54 Though I have posted the Preamble to the Bill of Rights a number of times, people still ask if there really is a Preamble to the Bill of Rights. A preamble sets forth the purpose of the document, as the Preamble to the Constitution sets forth its purpose. It is not a part of the document, rather an explanation as to why the document was created. When Congress approved, and sent the Bill of Rights to the States, as required by Article V of the Constitution, the first paragraph explained why the Joint Resolution was passed. It...

When Thomas Jefferson crafted the Declaration of Independence, he pointed to “certain unalienable rights” with which we were endowed by our “Creator.” What did he mean when he wrote the phrase “unalienable rights,” and what rights are “unalienable”? Jefferson understood “unalienable rights” as fixed rights given to us by our Creator rather than by government. The emphasis on our Creator is crucial, because it shows that the rights are permanent just as the Creator is permanent. Jefferson’s thought on the source of these rights was impacted by Oxford’s William Blackstone, who described “unalienable rights” as “absolute” rights–showing that they were...

Today marks the 225th Anniversary of the passing of the Bill of Rights, Dec 15, 1791. The Founding Fathers originally intended the Bill of Rights to be an additional shield against federal tyranny reinforcing the clear limits that the Constitution already had put in place. Like Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings when he proclaimed to the ancient demon “You Shall Not Pass”, the Bill of Rights was to be an instrument that States and individuals would use to proclaim the same message to the national government, “You Shall Not Pass!” The Constitution itself could have served this purpose...

President Barack Obama affirmed this week that the Declaration of Independence recognizes that “individual human beings” have “God-given rights.” Yet, he insisted this was a “radical idea” at the time of the founding. […] “So I recognize a traditional society may value unity and cohesion more than a diverse country like my own,” he said, “which was founded upon what, at the time, was a radical idea — the idea of the liberty of individual human beings endowed with certain God-given rights.” What would Alexander Hamilton say to that? Or Thomas Jefferson? Or Cicero? Writing in February 1775, a young...