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Memories of the 28th Century

Equality for All; the Fourteenth Amendment

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by
PeterL
, 09-17-2012 at 02:31 PM (13547 Views)
All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. 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 jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

Equality Before the Law
The first clause of the Fourteenth Amendment (above) is clear and inclusive. It does not allow any discrimination for any reason, and that may have been an oversight. It could have been written less inclusively, but it starts with “all persons”. That makes it pretty clear that it is not for some of the people but not others. No one is excluded. All persons born or naturalized…are citizens of the United States…” Does not exclude any citizen, but it does not include non-citizens. That doesn’t even exclude felons, idiots, or infants.
“No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States…” While the privileges and immunities are not defined, it doesn’t make any difference, because they shall not be abridged. I would suppose that would mean, among other things, the immunity from parking fines. Well, some people are immune from some parking fines, so I must have that immunity, because it exists.
“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”
This also applies to all persons, so it must mean deprivation of any property. Does that mean that they can’t seize a knife at an airport without a hearing? I think that it does, because the knife is property, and it is an agency of the federal government that is doing the seizing. Or maybe the feds are included under the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment? That is of no consequence, since either would require a hearing, and the Fifth would require compensation. I wonder why they are still illegally searching and seizing things at airports.
As a whole, this clause makes it clear that no one can have any privileges or immunities that are not possessed by all citizens. There can’t be valid laws that allow one person's income to be taxed at one rate, while someone else pays at a different rate. There can’t be places set aside for the convenience of some citizens that other citizens can’t use. Some people can’t have legal rights that are not held by all of the people.

There are special laws for a variety of types of people. While the laws restricting brown skinned people have been overturned, there are laws that restrict young people and others. And there are laws that give special privileges to some classes of people, for example disabled people, people who are too young or too old, etc.
We want to get rid of all of the laws that try to give special treatment (good or bad) to any persons or classes of persons.

Updated 10-11-2017 at 07:28 AM by PeterL

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  1. Virgil's Avatar
    Actually they don't seize a knife at an airport, unless it's an illegal knife. I was traveling with someone and he had forgotten his pocketknife in his briefcase and they gave him the opportunity to mail it back. They don't seize it, but you can't pass security with it. So you have a decision to make.

    Nonetheless your points are well taken. I've never seen the constitution trashed as it has the last few years. When the Supreme Court made that horrid decision a couple of months ago, I realized it's just a piece of paper with words to get around.
  2. PeterL's Avatar
    All knives are legal in all places. They are arms, so they are protected under the Second Amendment. Whether they are seized, or someone is penalized for having one is, government agents have transgressed the rights of users of the airport. Such actions are also violations of the Fourth and Fifth Amendments guarantees of freedom from unwarranted search and seizure and of due process, respectively.

    The Consitution is the government's permission to exist. The government cannot do anything that it was not given permission to do.
  3. Virgil's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by PeterL
    All knives are legal in all places.
    Don't know on what basis you make that claim.

    Each American state also has laws that govern the legality of carrying weapons, either concealed or openly, and these laws explicitly or implicitly cover various types of knives. Some states go beyond this, and criminalize mere possession of certain types of knives. Other states prohibit the possession and/or the concealed carrying of knives that feature blade styles or features sufficient to transform them into "dangerous weapons"[73][74] or "deadly weapons", i.e. knives either optimized for lethality against humans or designed for and readily capable of causing death or serious bodily injury.[73][75] These frequently include knives with specific blade styles with a historical connection to violence or assassination, including thrusting knives such as the dirk, poignard, and stiletto, and double-edged knives with crossguards designed for knife fighting such as the dagger.[73][76] Some states make the carrying or possession of any dangerous or deadly weapon with intent to unlawfully harm another a crime.[73]

    In states like Alabama,[77] Mississippi,[78] New Mexico,[79][80] Texas,[73] and Virginia,[73] the carrying on one's person of large and lengthy fighting knives capable of causing grievous wounds such as the Bowie Knife[81] is prohibited by statute,[73][82] originally in the interest of controlling or eliminating the then-common practice of "dueling", a term which had degenerated from a rarely used social custom into a generalized description for any knife or gun fight between two contestants.[76][83] In many jurisdictions, a local tradition of using knives to settle differences or for self-defense[76][84] resulted in the enactment of statutes that restricted the size and length of the knife and particularly, the length of its blade.[76]
    There's a lot more. You can read it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knife_l...tes_of_America

    The Consitution is the government's permission to exist. The government cannot do anything that it was not given permission to do.
    I agree. Unfortunately the reality does not meet the theory. Lawyers create all this mumbo jumbo twisting of language that after that horrid decision of a couple of months ago (where the country can now dictate that you have to buy something) I resigned myself to the fact that the constitution is pretty much meaningless. Other than take up arms against the government and subsequently be annihilated there is nothing we can do. My patriotism to the country as it stands today dropped dramatically a few months ago. The country doesn't feel like a free country any longer. I live here, I earn a salary, I take care of my family, I vote, I certainly don't wish the country any ill will, I even try to push her to what I consider free through my free speech, if they don't take that away. But this isn't any longer the country I grew up in.
  4. PeterL's Avatar
    The Second Amendment clearly states that the right to have and to bear arms shall not be infringed. The main reason for that amendment was to insure that citizens would have the wherewithall to overthrow the government when it became abusive.

    The reality is that the federal government cannot do anything that it does not have the constitutional authority to do. If something passes congress and is signed that is not authorized, then it still is not law. I think it would be more accurate to say that the government has demonstrated that the people should exercise their right to overthrow the government.
    Updated 10-23-2018 at 04:12 PM by PeterL