Some commonly unknown principles in the Constitution

In the past year or so I have been studying the Constitution in depth and it has been a very interesting journey so far.  It’s interesting how many principles from the Constitution I frankly had no clue about and did not learn about in school.  I want to share a few of them with you guys in the hopes that if you don’t already know them maybe you’ll learn something.  In the event I’m wrong about something correct me and I’ll learn as well.

1.  The Preamble says “provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare”.  Notice how the framers choose to use the word “provide” when talking about defense but only “promote” when talking about the general welfare.  To promote something is a passive approach while providing something is an active approach.  This obviously points out the idea that government should provide defense but NOT welfare.  Also note the use of the word “general” before welfare.  This means that government should not have programs that target specific individuals or groups but instead only benefit the general population.  For example Social Security benefits a specific group: the elderly.

2.  Freedom of speech, as referenced in the 1st amendment only restricts the Congress and no one else.  The 1st amendment to the Constitution says “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech”.  Note that Congress is the only one that is restricted from abridging speech and literally Congress is the only one that can even violate the 1st amendment.  So when a reporter is fired for “speaking out” or whatever and you hear people say “what about free speech?” remember that as long as Congress didn’t pass a law restricting said speech no violation of free speech has occured.

3.  The Federal government is restricted from doing anything the Constitution does not explicitly authorize them to do.  The 10th amendment to the Constitution says “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.”  So, for example, since the Constitution does not give the Federal government the power to control what an individual can and can’t put in his/her own body they can’t do it.  This means that all Federal drug laws are unconstitutional.

4.  Congress is the only one authorized to decide on going to war through a declaration of war.  Now it is true the Constitution does not specifically say “Congress must declare war before we go to war” but an honest study of the framers intentions combined with some logic will only lead to that conclusion.  ”The constitution supposes, what the History of all Governments demonstrates, that the Executive is the branch of power most interested in war, and most prone to it. It has accordingly with studied care vested the question of war in the Legislature.” – James Madison (“The Father of The Constitution”)  Some may argue that a declaration is simply not required by the Constitution but to this I say then why in the world would the framers specifically give the Congress a power that is not needed at all?  Logic tells us that they would only give them a power if that power needs to be used thus if the Congress is given the power to declare war they must do so.

5.  The Constitution doesn’t give us our rights, we already have them, the Constitution instead restricts the Federal government from violating them.  Many believe that the Bill of Rights lists all the rights we have been given by the Constitution but that is incorrect.  The Declaration of Independence confirms that our rights are given to us by our Creator: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men”.  Government exists to protect our rights, NOT give us our rights.  The 9th amendment further explains: “The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.”  This means that we have more rights than is what is simply listed in the Constitution.

Let us not forget that the Savior declared, “I established the Constitution of this land, by the hands of wise men whom I raised up unto this very purpose” (D&C 101:80)  President Ezra Taft Benson said, “I reverence the Constitution of the United States as a sacred document. To me its words are akin to the revelations of God, for God has placed His stamp of approval on the Constitution of this land. I testify that the God of heaven sent some of His choicest spirits to lay the foundation of this government, and He has sent other choice spirits—even you who read my words—to preserve it.”

I would encourage all of us to study the Constitution and respect it and the rule of law by advocating and voting for leaders and policies that are in harmony with this sacred document.

Does Gun Control Help or Actually Hurt?

The debate of gun control has been going on for hundreds of years.  Some say that more guns = more violence.  Others say that we have a right to have guns no matter the consequences.  So where do I stand?  Suprise suprise I am opposed to gun control and gun regulation.  I oppose gun control for many reasons:

1. It’s unconstitutional.  The Second amendment to the Constitution clearly says “the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”  Yes the Constitution generally only restricts the federal government, not the states, unless expressly stated but the passage of the fourteenth amendment extended the right to keep and bear Arms to the states as well: “No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States.”

Gun control laws simply violate the Constitution and mocks the rule of law.

2. No one, not even government, has a right to prevent a law-abiding, peacefull, citizen from having a gun.  If you want to have a gun, for whatever reason, why should anyone else, whether it be a friend, a neighbor, an enemy, or a group of politicians, command you “you cannot have a gun”?  Where does anyone derive the moral authority to prevent anyone else from having a gun?  You may not like the idea of someone else having a gun but you have no just authority to prevent someone from doing so.

3. Everyone has a right to there life and self protection including using a gun if necessary to protect your life. The right to keep and bear arms is directly tied to the right to life.  You don’t have a right to your life if you don’t have a right to defend your life.

4. Gun control not only doesn’t work or prevent crime it actually increases violent crime and murder.  You may think that that sounds backwards but it’s actually true and the reason for this is quite simple: A criminal by definition does not follow the law so a law telling a criminal “you can’t have a gun” has no effect on them.  Gun control laws only take guns away from law-abiding citizens, not criminals.

Here is also an excellent video with more information of the harm caused by gun control.

Happy Birthday To America, Freedom, & Liberty

This past weekend we all had the opportunity to celebrate the fourth of July: Independence Day. This holiday means much more to me than a day off from work, time with family, and an opportunity to shoot off fireworks. It’s a time to remember how blessed we are to live in this country. It’s a time to remember the sacrifices made by so many to secure and protect freedom and liberty and it’s a time to think about what freedom and liberty really mean and what we can do for the advancement of these sacred principles.

In my pondering over the weekend I thought of 3 specific freedoms that we are in constant battle for:

1. Freedom from sin. Moses 7:26 reads: “And he beheld Satan; and he had a great chain in his hand, and it veiled the whole face of the earth with darkness; and he looked up and laughed, and his angels rejoiced.” We read many times in the scriptures that Satan’s desire is to make us his slaves which he accomplishes only if we give into temptation and sin. Every time we sin we literally give away a portion of our freedom and liberty to Satan as he tightens the chains to bind us down. Let’s fight for our freedom by following the commandments and choosing the right.

2. Freedom from debt. Debt is a trap that should be avoided at all costs. It’s not always possible to avoid all debt as most of us can’t out right buy a house or even a car but again it should be avoided like the plague. Debt can take over your life and destroy your freedom. Let’s fight for our freedom by living within our means, maintaining a savings account, and buying something only when we have the money to do so.

3. Freedom from abuses of power. Yes, I am mainly talking about abuses of government power and control. Now obviously we all disagree on what constitutes an abuse of government power and control and I’m not going to try to convince everyone of my definition here but the important thing is that we all recognize these abuses do exist. Obviously we can all agree that slavery and tyranny are abuses of power. We should all be involved in anyway we can in putting just and righteous men in government positions to help limit and reduce these abuses of power. A lack of involvement, at least in voting, is literally turning over some freedom and liberty to abuses of power. Let’s fight for our freedom by being involved in our governments, studying candidates, and voting.

It is my hope that we will all remember Independence Day for what it is and use it to remind us of what we can do each and everyday for the advancement of liberty and freedom. I would also encourage everyone to take the time to read The Declaration of Independence again and would like to end my rant with a quote from that document:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government”

Happy birthday America, freedom, and liberty.

Could you pass the latest citizenship test?

A buddy/co-worker of mine is not a U.S. citizen and is in the process of applying for citizenship.  He found this article which has a sample of some of the harder questions on the test.  You can find the article and test here:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25461301/

Now keep in mind this is a collection of the hardest questions so don’t kick yourself if you don’t get them all right or if you don’t pass.  Personally I got a 75% which I am ashamed of…

If you take it do yourself a favor and don’t cheat and look up anything while taking it.

Now for my opinion: Even though I do think all Americans should know all of this I really don’t think anyone should have to know all of this information to enter into our country.  Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want open borders and think we should put more money into protecting our borders with increased technology, more troops, etc.  I just don’t know why anyone should be required by law to know all of this before they enter into our country.  Do you disagree?  Let’s hear it.