Post by TomLine on Apr 16, 2017 19:17:15 GMT -5
CONGRESS SHALL MAKE NO LAW
by Tom Lineaweaver
by Tom Lineaweaver
This is what most people believe about the First Amendment, "The First Amendment guarantees freedoms concerning religion, expression, assembly, and the right to petition. It forbids Congress from both promoting one religion over others and also restricting an individual’s religious practices. It guarantees freedom of expression by prohibiting Congress from restricting the press or the rights of individuals to speak freely. It also guarantees the right of citizens to assemble peaceably and to petition their government. " www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/first_amendment
Now listen to this guy....
For the longest time I agreed with the definition given by Cornell University Law School. Now, I am in total agreement with Tony Alexander, the man in the video.
Just look at the First Amendment very carefully. The first words are, "Congress shall make no law." The First Amendment does not establish a bunch of freedom. It simply gives a restraint on Congress. Congress shall make no law, which means the President shall carry out no law, and the Supreme Court shall adjudicate no law, because there would be no law to execute or adjudicate.
The First Amendment simply establishes a specific power not granted to Congress. That means it's Tenth Amendment time. "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." What Congress cannot do does not mean the States or the people cannot. There are Constitutional prohibitions upon the States, but not on the People.
So, the First Amendment did not grant freedom of religion, or of the press, etc. The First Amendment coupled with the Tenth Amendment simply reserves those issues to the States, or to the People. If the State of Pennsylvania wanted to be a Quaker State, they could be. If Maryland wanted to be a Catholic State, they could be. The States could be anything within what was understood as Christianity at the time. Now why do I say that? Because the word "religion" in the First Amendment meant Christianity. You can see that at an article here: theroadtoconcord.com/americas-christian-foundation/the-first-amendment-was-intended-to-protect-all-denominations-of-christianity/
So it is Congress that is prohibited to pass any law about a national church, or the free exercise of the churches. States do not have the same prohibition.
To get an idea of the attitudes of our founders were about religion was, take a look at the Pennsylvania Constitution of 1776 here: www.duq.edu/academics/gumberg-library/pa-constitution/texts-of-the-constitution/1776
The preamble says in part, "We, the representatives of the freemen of Pennsylvania, in general convention met, for the express purpose of framing such a government, confessing the goodness of the great Governor of the universe..."
Chapter 1, Paragraph 2 states, "That all men have a natural and unalienable right to worship almighty God according to the dictates of their own consciences and understanding: And that no man ought or of right can be compelled to attend any religious worship, or erect or support any place of worship, or maintain any ministry, contrary to, or against, his own free will and consent: Nor can any man, who acknowledges the being of God, be justly deprived or abridged of any civil right as a citizen, on account of his religious sentiments or peculiar mode of religious worship: And that no authority can or ought to be vested in, or assumed by any power whatever, that shall in any case interfere with, or in any manner controul, the right of conscience in the free exercise of religious worship."
Pennsylvania was at the center of the founding of the United States of America. I believe the 1776 Constitution of Pennsylvania is a good barometer of what our founder's attitudes about religion were.
Notice, "great Governor of the universe." And, "right to worship almighty God." How could the word "religion" in the First Amendment mean anything else but Christianity? So, the First Amendment is a guarantee that Congress will make no law making any denomination of Christianity a national religion, nor prohibiting the free exercise of those denominations. Again, I must repeat, this is not a prohibition upon the States.
If you are in a State that seems to be accepting Sharia, and you don't like it, go to the Legislature of your State and tell them you want them to pass a law declaring your State to be a Christian State.
Most people believe in a watered down freedom of religion because they believe that is what the Constitution says. But, it doesn't. Nor does it guarantee freedom of speech. It just states that Congress may not pass a law about it. The same is true for freedom of the press. Or to peaceably assemble, or for a redress of grievances. But, because Congress is prohibited from making any law on these subjects, as far as the Federal Government is concerned we do have these freedoms. But you might not have these same freedoms in the States.
See this article... www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2017-04-12/washington-is-a-problem-let-the-states-have-more-power
If you agree...
LET US MAKE STATES FREE FROM FEDERAL INTRUSION
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