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In America, unalienable rights are those which God gave to man at the Creation, once and for all. This fundamental truth is recognized and enshrined in our nation's birth certificate, the ''Declaration of Independence'':
<blockquote>
"[A]ll men are created equal...[and] are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."</blockquote>
It is important to understand that the very premise of our nation is the fact that these rights are "God-given." If they are not given to us by an Authority higher than human government, then they can be abolished by government. The Founders understood this principle and created a revolution in political theory by enacting, for the first time in history, a government specifically established to protect the rights that had been given to man by God.
<blockquote>
"That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed." </blockquote>
According to the Founders, unalienable belong to each person by virtue of the fact that man is made in God’s image, and is therefore endowed with certain attributes, powers, freedoms, and legal protections as part of his essence. These rights are thus inseparable -- or unalienable -- from each person individually and from the human race in general. They are a gift from the Creator and it is impossible for government to alter or nullify mankind’s divine inheritance. Except in extremely rare and limited circumstances, the unalienable rights of a particular individual, or the population at large, cannot be suspended, abrogated, or diminished by government. When government does take action against a particular right, it may only do so to the extent necessary to address a genuine concern for public safety. (See "Legitimate Exceptions" below.) Unalienable rights automatically belong to each individual at the moment his or her life begins and continue throughout that person’s time on earth.
An exhaustive list of the unalienable rights possessed by man would probably fill several volumes. However, at a minimum they include the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The following items, derived from the American Bill of Rights, expand on these themes:
1. To act in self-defense (personal, family, innocents, nation).
2. To own and carry weapons for self-defense and for ensuring that the nation remains free.
3. To own and control private property (land, money, personal items, intellectual property, etc.)
4. To earn a living and keep the fruit of one’s labor.
5. To freely migrate within the country or to leave the country.
6. To worship -- or not worship -- God in the manner one chooses.
7. To associate with -- or disassociate from -- any person or group.
8. To express any idea through print, voice, banner, or other media.
9. To be secure in one’s home, papers, and person against unwarranted searches and seizures (privacy).
10. To be advised of the charges, in the event of arrest.
11. To have a judge determine if the accused should be held for trial or for punishment.
12. To be tried by a jury of one’s peers and face one’s accuser, in the event of being charged with a crime.
13. To be tried by a jury of one’s peers, in the event of a suit in which the disputed amount is substantive.
14. To suffer no cruel or unusual punishment, if found guilty of a crime.
15. To establish, monitor, control, and petition our servant government to help secure the above rights.
16. To abolish said government, when it becomes destructive of these rights.
==To the Declaration of Independence==
==To the Declaration of Independence==
The great British lawter [[William Blackstone]] explained, "For the principle aim of society is to protect individuals in the enjoyment of those '''absolute rights''', which were vested in them by the immutable laws of nature....The public good is in nothing more essentially interested, than in the protection of every individual's private rights....The principle view of human law is, or ought always to be, to explain, protect, and enforce such rights as are absolute.”
The great British lawyer [[William Blackstone]] explained, "For the principle aim of society is to protect individuals in the enjoyment of those '''absolute rights''', which were vested in them by the immutable laws of nature....The public good is in nothing more essentially interested, than in the protection of every individual's private rights....The principle view of human law is, or ought always to be, to explain, protect, and enforce such rights as are absolute.”
===Lawsuits To Protect the Rights of Others===
===Lawsuits To Protect the Rights of Others===
Although not explicitly stated in the Constitution, it is clear that the exercise of one person’s unalienable rights may not interfere with the exercise of another’s. U.S. Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. is alleged to have said, “The right to swing my fist ends where the other man's nose begins.” In other words, a person is free to exercise his or her unalienable rights without restraint, so long as he harms no other person, nor prevents anyone from exercising their own rights. When conflict does arise, the offended party may sue in a court of law in order to have their rights restored, or to be made financially whole, by legal process.
Although not explicitly stated in the Constitution, it is clear that the exercise of one person’s unalienable rights may not interfere with the exercise of another. U.S. Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. is alleged to have said, “The right to swing my fist ends where the other man's nose begins.” In other words, a person is free to exercise his or her unalienable rights without restraint, so long as he harms no other person, nor prevents anyone from exercising their own rights. When conflict does arise, the offended party may sue in a court of law in order to have their rights restored, or to be made financially whole, by legal process.
===Eminent Domain===
===Eminent Domain===