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December 15, 2000 Loveland, Colorado Essay Winner Jesse Schleiger of Windsor, Colorado
What the Bill of Rights Means to Me
What does the Bill of Rights mean to you? Well it means a lot to me. To me the Bill of Rights guarantees the right to keep and bear arms, to express our opinions freely, protection from the police, rights other than those stated in the Constitution, and one of the most important is the limitation of the government’s power.
One of the things I think is very important in the Bill of Rights is the second Amendment which states, “A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.” The second Amendment is there to protect all the other rights and ensures our right to own military weapons.
The first Amendment allows the people to express their opinions through the printed word and by assembly. It also allows the freedom of religion without government interference. This is a right that many other countries do not have.
Another important Amendment is the ninth Amendment it states, “The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by people.” That basically says that the people have god given rights other than stated in the Bill of Rights or given to them by the government or the Constitution. Another thing that is often overlooked is that the Bill of Rights is there to tell the government what they cannot do. We already have rights. The Bill of Rights is just there to guarantee our basic rights even though we have many more.
Last of the rights, but not the least, is the tenth Amendment. This is important because it limits federal power and protects the people and states rights. The tenth Amendment states “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” This is very important because when the government is not given power by the people or the Constitution, it does not have the right to assume the power or give itself the power.
I think it is safe to say that without the Bill of Rights this country would fall to pieces and the government would rule and not the people. There are important rights other than these. We are also guaranteed the right to a speedy trial by a jury of our peers, protection from unreasonable searches or seizures, and the right to be treated fairly and equally by the government. To me, the Bill of Rights most of all means protection from the government. The Bill of Rights helps the federal government trust the people instead of ruling over them.
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