In the June 27 edition of the Sun, Richard Tracy made a great point about rights protected by the U.S. Constitution. Unfortunately, the editors at the Sun may not fully understand the concept of inalienable rights. The headline of the letter read, “Second Amendment at core gives right to self-defense.”
Note: The Sun updated the headline to read “Second Amendment is right of self defense” -Skip
I can understand how this error came about. A common short cut for stating ‘rights protected by the Constitution is the use of the term ‘Constitutional rights.’ In the latter form, it appears that ‘Rights’ come from a Constitution. Those who understand the U.S and New Hampshire Constitutions are aware that the concept of rights comes from our Creator.
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We should also always remember that the U.S. Constitution, which formed the government of the United States, was the product of the People of the original 13 States. The State of New Hampshire existed before the creation of the U.S Constitution. And before the People of New Hampshire formed their government in Part Second of the New Hampshire Constitution, they made explicit in Part I the rights of the People which could never (legally) be violated.
A more proper headline by the Editors should have read, ‘Second Amendment at core protects the Right of defense.’
The referenced Letter to the Editor:
Richard Tracy: Second Amendment is right of self defense
To The Daily Sun,
Contrary to The AP article The Sun printed on June 24, a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling did not “expand” gun rights. Rather it restored a right (concealed carry) which should never have been mitigated by various state governments in the first place. In short, the Court performed its legitimate function.
We should never forget that the Second Amendment has at its core the right to self defense. Our nation was formed on the premise that each of us has the inalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. If we have an inalienable right to life, do we not also have the inalienable right to defend that life?
