"Steven P. McNicoll" wrote in message
nk.net...

"C J Campbell" wrote in message
...

They left all rights out of the Constitution when they wrote it.


True, but they did try to put some of them back in with amendments.


Actually, they put them all back in.

One of the complaints against the proposed Constitution was it's lack of a
Bill of Rights, such as the Virginia Bill of Rights. James Madison was
opposed to such a Bill of Rights because it was unnecessary and implied
the
people had only the designated rights. It was unnecessary to declare a
right to a free press, for example, because the Constitution did not give
the government the power to control the press. Madison had to concede on
the
issue in order to see the Constitution ratified, but he was then the
driving
force behind the Ninth and Tenth Amendments.


Excellent. Madison didn't want rights named or enumerated because he
thought to do so would limit them to those listed. Thus, the 9th Amendment
was drafted as a curative. Very eloquently it says, "The enumeration in the
Constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage
others retained by the people."

I wouldn't be so optimistic about the practical effect of this fundamental
amendment, however. The Supreme Court hasn't touched it in decades and
appears to be terrified of it.

The ninth may live in the hearts of the men and women of America, but it is
dead in the halls of 1 First St. in Washington, DC.