Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire How, exactly, is there a right to privacy here?

Some of the Founding Fathers thought the Bill of Rights was not necessary. As they thought, "we're creating a government of limited powers that only has the powers we give it in the Constitution. Logically, the powers we don't give the government remain with the people. Everybody knows that. Therefore a Bill of Rights is unnecessary."

Others thought, Patrick Henry and George Mason among them, "not so fast. We're creating a much stronger federal government than under the Articles of Confederation. We need to be absolutely clear about a few things as we have recently seen what a strong central government can do to its citizens." Some delegates to the Philadelphia Convention would not sign on to the Constitution without the Bill of Rights. Some colonies would not ratify without at least the assurance that the Bill of Rights would follow in do course.

Wonder of wonders, politicians back then actually did some things they said they would do. Roughly 6 months after the Constitution went into effect (March 4, 1789) our first Congress formally proposed the Bill of Rights on September 25, 1789. Ratification by 3/4's of the states came on December 15, 1791.

No founder was against the rights enumerated in the Bill of Rights. Some merely thought listing them to be unnecessary. Given what the federal government is doing today, personally I am glad some natural rights were enumerated in the Bill of Rights. I'm also glad we have the 10th amendment stating, in effect, any rights we omitted to write down are retained by the states or the people.