Give Up Your Right

[#hamler]

Let's say the US is taken over by some smelly country. They dig the Bill of Rights and all but one Right must go. Ok not the best scenario...which Right (of the Bill of Rights) would be easiest to give up?

The Bill of Rights were part of the compromise that ultimately resulted in the passage of the Constitution. These amendments protect individual rights against government intrusion.

The First Amendment is perhaps the most important. It garentees our right to speak freely, worship the guy next to you while petitioning the government, printing the shit you call an opinion and the right assemble.

The Second Amendment guarantees individual states the right to maintain "a well regulated militia," and citizens the right to "keep and bear arms."

The Third Amendment seems a bit odd nowadays but the right to refuse a soldier's stay in your home without your consent.

The Fourth Amendment says you cannot be searched without a warrent or consent unless a good reason is provided.

The Fifth Amendment assumes everyone is guilty until proven innocent. Or the other wya around... also Due Process. You cannot be jailed or punished without a trial.

The Sixth Amendment - A fair trial in criminal cases. It guarantees a speedy, public trial by an impartial jury in the area where the crime was commetted.

The Seventh Amendment guarantees that Americans will receive a jury trial in civil (as opposed to criminal) cases involving property worth more than $20. Today, however, people do not bring such cases to federal courts unless a much larger sum of money is involved.

The Eighth Amendment has to do with the oh so controversial Cruel and Unusual punishment. As well as protection from having to pay high fines and bails.

The Ninth and Tenth Amendment both address the liberties of citizens and the rights of states. The Ninth Amendment states that the Constitution and the Bill of Rights do not define all of the fundamental rights people have. Such rights exist whether or not they are defined. The Tenth Amendment makes a similar claim concerning the rights of the states. It holds that the states and the people have powers that are set aside and not listed item by item. These powers are called 'reserved powers.' They can be contrasted with'express powers,' which are specifically defined in the Constitution.

Theses rights are often debated here in the United States. These here first ten rights of the Constitution allow change if necessary.

So go for it;

Which rights could you give up? To make it more fun, the SEVENTH is not allowed here. K?

 

[Serious Mozzarella]

Probably the ninth amendment. It would be easy enough to pass laws including the rights not covered in the constitution when the problem presents itself. I mean, problems not specifically covered by the constitution will take a shit load of time to resolve, but at least it's possible.

 

[Dagger Dias]

The second right would be by far the easiest to give up, I can live without the right to hang a pair of bear arms on my wall.

In all seriousness though, I really had to think about this one. Definitely not the first. I'm very opinionated so I could not give up freedom of speech. I'd need to be able to defend myself, so the second stays. I would prefer to know that my belongings can't be searched without a warrant, so the fourth gets to stay. I don't want someone randomly getting to stay at my house, even if it was a soldier, without my permission so not number three. I believe that everyone deserves a chance to have a trial, therefore number five and six stay in. I surely wouldn't want to have to pay huge fines or go through cruel punishments, that saves number eight. Hamler said we can't choose number seven, so it's still in.

It comes down to number 9 and number 10. Both would be easier to give up than the rest, but I would go with losing number 9 because without the 10th ammendment the government would suddenly become too powerful for the people to have any way to be allowed to do anything about it when they do something we do not support. The ninth ammendment is the one that would go in this scenario if you ask me.

 

[bigandpissed]

I'd give up the right to bear arms. I think the world would be a much better place if people were only allowed to carry knives. ****** wouldn't be able to just indiscriminately start shooting from a moving car (thus hitting innocent bystanders), they would have to get their bitch ass out of the car and get within 2 feet of the person they are trying to stab.

unfortunately, there is already a big market for illegal guns and if the amendment was repealed, I'm pretty sure more people would just purchase a gun illegally.

 

[Dwayne_Jason]

Second one, because, sure, I'll get rid of the guns...but it doesn't say anything about bombs...

 

[Cracka Jack]

Wow, this is actually pretty tough to decide. The first, forth, fifth, and sixth are the ones I see as being the most important. I'd like to say free-speech, which is the obvious one, but being innocent until proven guilty is a pretty big deal to me. Being searched without a warrant would suck, but I personally have nothing to hide, so for me I could live without that one. A fair and quick trial is also important, but again, I'm not likely to end up in jail, so I could do without that one to. I guess I'd take the first, since I value the right to say what I want more than most things, and it could maybe be used to incite a revolution of sorts. This is a takeover scenario, right?

 

[Mustang Sally]

The second right would be by far the easiest to give up, I can live without the right to hang a pair of bear arms on my wall.

There used to be a slogan that read: "If guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns."

It's a very nice slogan but it hardly sounds like an encouraging way to live, does it? After all, the bad guys who have guns will have an easy time subjugating the good guys who don't have them because they're illegal. On the other hand, letting everyone have 'em presents a whole different set of problems, doesn't it?

It seems to me that if a person wants to find a way to arm himself, he'll do it. Whether a person has the Constitution-guaranteed right to do it legally is almost beside the point, so if I have to strike an amendment from the Bill of Rights, I'll go with the Second, at least as far as the "right to bear arms" goes.