Government Authority Regarding Natural Rights

By Douglas V. Gibbs
Author, Speaker, Instructor, Radio Host

Benjamin Franklin said that "Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom."

The virtue of a society is tied directly to its definition of natural rights.  The Founding Fathers understood that our rights are God-given, and the greatest threat to our rights is government.  The federal government was not established to be the guarantor or protector of our rights.  In fact, if you read the language of the Bill of Rights, the explicit message is “hands off our rights, do not touch!”

The First Amendment begins, “Congress shall make no law.”  The Second Amendment ends with “shall not be infringed.”  The Third Amendment begins with, “No soldier shall.”  The center of the Fourth Amendment reads, “shall not be violated.”  At no point in reading the Bill of Rights can I come to the conclusion that government has been given the authority to interfere with our natural rights.  In fact, the reality is quite the contrary.

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary