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Civil liberties in the united states
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In simple terms, civil liberties mean the basic freedoms all people are guaranteed by law. Whether it be stated in laws and constitutions or interpreted through the years by lawmakers, civil freedoms are those powers that people in society may exercise under civil law. Furthermore, civil liberties provide individuals limited protection from the government. However, some may argue that national security from the government gets in the way of civil liberties at times. Examples of this in the United States would be the Patriot Act or in broader terms, the NSA. Whether sacrificing our civil liberties are means necessary in order to keep us safe, is a question many people have discussed throughout history. In my opinion, I strongly feel some civil liberties need to be hindered or restrained in order to keep people in America safe. First and foremost, when it comes to the Supreme Court on civil liberty cases, they must balance someone’s freedom with what the government thinks is in the best interest for the public good. For instance, because of the war on …show more content…
terrorism, the government must be equal in civil liberties and national security. The NSA, which is the National Security Agency, protects the people of the United States from threats. Because of this, the NSA implements acts, such as the Patriot Act. In simple terms, the Patriot Act means the government can look through citizen’s phones if there is any suspicious activity. This act has been implemented ever since 9/11 and therefore means that the NSA has made more acts and laws regarding security. However, many Americans have been worried that government surveillance invades people’s privacy, which clearly states in Amendment four that people have the right to security from unwarranted searches and seizures. The president who authorized the Patriot Act, President Bush, claimed he had the right and authority to make these calls. Furthermore, another example of civil liberties would be the McDonald v.
Chicago case in 2010 because the court ruled that the handgun band in Chicago was unconstitutional because it went against the 2nd Amendment of right to bear arms. Even though banning guns does go against our civil liberties, we need laws and bans in order to keep the American people safe. Just a few days ago there was the biggest mass shooting in recent American history. I believe if we have stronger laws on guns, things like this would not happen as much. The United States is one of the only first world countries that allows the open carry of guns, which makes sense that the United States has the most mass shootings compared to many countries. Therefore, I do feel that the government should go to measures, such as going through phone records and through private records in order to keep us safe; even if this means hindering our civil
liberties. In conclusion, we are affected by our civil liberties every day, whether it is speaking in public or being free from illegal search warrants by the police. Since civil liberties mean to exercise rights without government interference, defining our civil liberties is a political process. Often this process is limited to the courts, however, on certain issues, like gun control or the Patriot Act, these issues need to be discussed further. This is when I believe that such measures as sacrificing our civil liberties are extremely necessary in order to keep us safe in the United States.
When the rights of the American citizen are on the line than the judiciary should utilize the powers invested in them to protect and enforce what is constitutional. However, in times of controversy, where personal preference or aspects of religious or personal nature are at hand, the judiciary should exercise their power with finesse, thereby acting out judicial restraint. An example of such is in the case of Engel v. Vitale where Mr. Justice Black delivered the opinion of the court directing the School District’s principal to read a prayer at the commencement of each school day. In cases that do not regard whether an action is constitutional or not, the judiciary should suppress their power of judicial review.
Civil liberties can be defined as the basic rights and freedoms of an individual granted to citizens in the United States and the entire world through the national common law or the statute law. The liberties include freedom of association, speech, movement, religious worship, and that from arbitrary arrest. The liberties get to form the roots of democracy in society. In a dictatorial administration, the citizens are denied the rights and freedoms. However, liberties can be described as universal rights and freedoms.
The Constitution guarantees that no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without being taken to court for a fair trial, but that means nothing if the people are not willing to uphold it (Fifth Amendment).
With many recent incidents that involve guns between 2012 and 2013, gun control laws have become a hot topic in America. On one hand, after the horrific incident like the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting at Newtown in 2012, most people wanting to limit guns from getting into the wrong by setting up a rigorous system that control who can and cannot obtain a gun. On the other hand, we have the people who believe that with such rigorous system in place is violated the individual rights that granted and protected by the United States Constitution. They believe that the rigorous system will prevent people from defending themselves and could be a violation of their privacy. Regardless of which side is right, if we want to understand more about our current conflict, we have to look back on how this hold debate started. The District of Columbia v. Heller, the Supreme Court case in 2008 that found the Firearms Control Regulations Act of 1975 unconstitutional, which influence the individual right to keep and bear arms for self-defense by questioning the Second Amendment and laws that restrict a person from acquire guns.
In order to fully understand what constitutes as a civil liberty the definition of a civil liberty must first be established. A civil liberty is defined as “Those rights, such as freedom of speech and religion, that are so fundamental that they are outside the authority of government to regulate” ( Schiller, Geer, & Segal, 2013). Essentially meaning that a civil liberty is a basic human right that not even government should be able to interfere with it. Quick examples of these rights are freedom of speech, press, religion,etc.
Schultz, David, and John R. Vile. The Encyclopedia of Civil Liberties in America. 710-712. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Gale Virtual Reference Library, n.d. Web. 18 Mar. 2010. .
To this day, Americans have many rights and privileges. Rights stated in the United States constitution may be simple and to the point, but the rights Americans have may cause debate to whether or not something that happens in society, is completely reasonable. The Texas v. Johnson case created much debate due to a burning of the American Flag. One may say the burning of the flag was tolerable because of the rights citizens of the United States have, another may say it was not acceptable due to what the American flag symbolizes for America. (Brennan and Stevens 1). Johnson was outside of his First Amendment rights, and the burning of the American flag was unjust due to what the flag means to America.
As can be seen in various other Supreme Court rulings, both the United States Constitution and state constitutions affect civil liberties policymaking. As defined in Think: American Government, civil liberties are “the protection of the individual from the unrestricted power of government” (Tannahill 2012). In particular, the constitutional basis for civil liberties in America includes the First Amendment, which reads that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances” (Tannahill 2012). In other words, the First Amendment prohibits the government from adopting laws that
...tee against arbitrary and malicious persecution of individuals by the state; by weakening those protections, the government has opened the doors to new encroachments on the liberties that all residents of the United States rightfully enjoy.
Is the patriot act necessary if it protects but threatens our civil liberates? The patriot act threatens civil liberates. The U.S. is spying without the people’s consent. The patriot act will prevent terrorist attacks on the United States. The patriot act can be used to catch wanted criminals. The patriot act protects the people from danger but jeopardizes their civil rights.
The final clause of the first section of the fourteenth amendment explains, "nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." 2 The 1976 ruling of Gregg v....
Constitutionally, the case at first appears to be a rather one-sided violation of the First Amendment as incorporated through the Fourteenth. The court, however, was of a different opinion: "...
Individuals should not have to give up their personal freedoms for the sake of national security. In this case concerning national security, which seems broad, security can be differentiated into two aspects, internal and external. Internal security pertains more to the people because it represents the government. External security involves state laws and codes that help prevent attacks on the United States, terrorism and potential foreign invasion. Civil rights in the United States are the right of U.S. citizens to have privacy, freedom of speech, peaceful protest, fair trial, personal freedom, and equal protection. Thes...
Throughout American history, our civil liberties as American citizens have evolved immensely. For example, the first ten amendments in the U.S. Constitution are referred to as the “The Bill of Rights,” which contains some of the most cherished civil liberties, such as freedom of speech and religion. These civil liberties however, did not originally apply to state governments or institutions the state established. The Bill of Rights focused solely on what the national government could not do, allowing state governments to do whatever they wanted. For example, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Hampshire supported Congregationalist ministers with tax payer dollars for decades. After the Civil War, civil liberties expanded, because three new amendments were added: the Thirteenth, abolishing slavery, the Fourteenth, which redefined civil liberties and rights, and the Fifteenth, which allowed adult, male citizens to vote. The due process clause (contained in the Fourteenth Amendment) became one of the most important civil liberties, because it applied the language of the Fifth Amendment to state governments, proclaiming that they could not “deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law....
According to the U.S. constitution, fundamental rights hold a special significance under the Fifth and Fourteenth amendments. The Fourteenth amendment states that, “No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without Due Process of law; nor deny to any person within its ju...