Simone Lawson
Civil liberties are guarantees and freedoms that governments commit not to abridge, either by constitution, legislation, or judicial interpretation, without due process. The US Constitution, for example, has a Bill of Rights that comprises the first ten amendments and seeks to limit government power and protect individual liberties. The Fourteenth Amendment, passed in 1868, extended liberties and rights granted by the Bill of Rights to formerly enslaved people. The US Constitution, however, does not explicitly include a right to privacy, and certain liberties, such as sexual freedom, are not mentioned. Other constitutions, such as Japan's post-World War II constitution and the Constitution of the People's Republic of China, also include provisions to protect civil liberties.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Freedom of speech | Protected by the First Amendment |
| Freedom of religion | Protected by the First Amendment |
| Freedom of assembly | Protected by the First Amendment |
| Freedom of the press | Protected by the First Amendment |
| Right to bear arms | Protected by the Second Amendment |
| Right to security | N/A |
| Right to privacy | Not explicitly guaranteed, but inferred from other rights |
| Right to own property | N/A |
| Right to equal treatment under the law | N/A |
| Right to liberty | N/A |
| Right to bodily integrity | N/A |
| Right to due process | Protected by the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments |
| Right to a fair trial | N/A |
| Right to life | N/A |
| Right to vote | Guaranteed by the Twenty-Fourth Amendment |
| Right to parent one's own children | Includes the right to teach children as one sees fit |
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What You'll Learn
Freedom of speech, religion, and the right to bear arms
The Constitution of Liberties, also known as the Bill of Rights, is the first ten amendments to the US Constitution. It prevents the government from abusing its power and outlines the rights of citizens. The Fourth Amendment, for example, protects people from unreasonable searches and seizures.
The First Amendment to the US Constitution guarantees freedom of religion, speech, and the right to bear arms. It states that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." This means that people are free to practice their chosen religion without government interference and that the government cannot establish an official religion. Additionally, citizens have the right to express their opinions and assemble peacefully without fear of government retaliation.
The freedom of speech is a fundamental aspect of a democratic society, allowing open debate and the free flow of ideas. It enables individuals to express themselves creatively, engage in political discourse, and criticize the government and other powerful entities. However, it is important to note that the right to free speech is not absolute and does have limitations, such as when the speech incites imminent lawless action or causes a clear and present danger.
The right to bear arms, as outlined in the Second Amendment, states that "a well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." This amendment protects the right of individuals to possess and carry weapons for self-defence, hunting, and other lawful purposes. However, the interpretation of this amendment has been a subject of debate, with some arguing for stricter gun control regulations.
The 14th Amendment to the US Constitution, passed in 1868, extended the liberties and rights granted by the Bill of Rights to formerly enslaved people. This amendment ensured that all citizens, regardless of race, were guaranteed equal protection under the law and due process of law. It also granted citizenship to "all persons born or naturalized in the United States."
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Right to privacy
The right to privacy is a fundamental element of legal traditions, aiming to prevent government and private entities from threatening individual privacy. Over 185 national constitutions mention the right to privacy. In the US, the Fourth Amendment safeguards citizens' right to be free from unreasonable government intrusion in their homes, requiring a warrant for such searches. The Fifth Amendment also protects citizens from self-incrimination and from being deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process.
The US Constitution's Bill of Rights, strongly influenced by the Virginia Declaration of Rights and English documents such as the Magna Carta, protects individual freedoms and limits government power. The First Amendment, for example, prohibits Congress from making laws that establish a religion or abridge freedom of speech. The right to privacy has been used to justify decisions in civil liberties cases, such as Roe v. Wade, which struck down an abortion law in Texas, and Lawrence v. Texas, which eliminated state powers to enforce laws against sodomy.
The Supreme Court case Griswold v. Connecticut in 1965 found that the US Constitution guarantees a right to privacy against government intrusion. This was considered the first implicit finding of a US stance on the right to privacy, although an article by Warren and Brandeis published in the Harvard Law Review in 1890 is often cited as the first.
In India, the Supreme Court ruled in 2017 that the right to privacy is a fundamental right for citizens, per Article 21 of the Constitution. This ruling clarified that any encroachment on this right must meet the three-pronged test of legality, necessity, and proportionality.
Israel also recognizes privacy protection as a constitutional basic right. The Basic Law, passed in 1958, includes the right to privacy and intimacy, protection from searches relating to private property, body, and possessions, and avoidance of violations of privacy in speech, writings, and notes.
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Right to equal treatment under the law
The right to equal treatment under the law is a fundamental principle in the United States Constitution, articulated in the Fourteenth Amendment, also known as the Equal Protection Clause. This amendment, passed in 1866 and ratified in 1868, was a significant shift in American constitutionalism, extending the liberties and rights granted by the Bill of Rights to formerly enslaved people and guaranteeing equal civil and legal rights to Black citizens.
The Equal Protection Clause mandates that individuals in similar situations be treated equally by the law. It states that "no State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." In other words, it prohibits states from denying any person within their jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws, ensuring that all citizens are equal before the law.
The inclusion of the Equal Protection Clause in the Fourteenth Amendment was motivated by the desire to validate the equality provisions contained in the Civil Rights Act of 1866. This Act guaranteed that all citizens, regardless of race, would have the right to equal protection by law. The Fourteenth Amendment marked a significant departure from the pre-Civil War era, where American law did not extend constitutional rights to Black Americans, and racial discrimination was pervasive.
The Supreme Court has played a pivotal role in interpreting and enforcing the right to equal treatment under the law. In the case of Romer v. Evans (1996), the Court struck down a Colorado constitutional amendment that aimed to deny homosexuals specific protections and rights. The Court's decision reaffirmed the principle of equal protection, rejecting the argument that the amendment would merely prevent "special treatment" for homosexuals. In another case, Lawrence v. Texas (2003), the Court invalidated a Texas statute prohibiting homosexual sodomy on substantive due process grounds, further extending equal protection to the LGBTQ+ community.
The Fourteenth Amendment and the Equal Protection Clause have had a profound impact on American society, challenging racial discrimination and ensuring that all citizens are treated equally under the law. It has empowered individuals to pursue their full potential and engage in the pursuit of happiness on equal terms in various spheres of life, including education and the marketplace. The right to equal treatment under the law remains a cornerstone of American democracy, continuously shaping the nation's understanding of liberty, justice, and equality.
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Right to freedom of assembly
The right to freedom of assembly, sometimes used interchangeably with the freedom of association, is the individual right or ability of individuals to assemble peacefully and collectively express, promote, pursue, and defend their ideas. The right to freedom of assembly is recognised as a human right, a political right, and a civil liberty. The terms "freedom of assembly" and "freedom of association" may be used to distinguish between the freedom to assemble in public places and the freedom to join an association. Freedom of assembly is often used in the context of the right to protest, while freedom of association is used in the context of labour rights.
The First Amendment of the United States Constitution is interpreted to mean both the freedom to assemble and the freedom to join an association. The First Amendment states that "Congress shall make no law [...] abridging [...] the right of the people peaceably to assemble". The right to freedom of assembly is also recognised in other national constitutions, including those of Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, France, Ireland, Russia, and Taiwan.
Freedom of assembly is an essential component of democracy, allowing people to hold meetings, sit-ins, strikes, rallies, events, or protests, both offline and online. It serves as a vehicle for the exercise of many other rights guaranteed under international law, including the rights to freedom of expression and to take part in the conduct of public affairs. The right to freedom of assembly is protected by Article 20 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the UN Human Rights has a mandate to promote and protect this right.
The right to freedom of assembly has been interpreted to include the use of streets and public places for communication and assembly, as long as it is exercised in a peaceful and orderly manner and does not infringe on the rights and liberties of others. In Knight First Amendment Institute v. Trump (2019), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held that President Trump had used his Twitter account to conduct official government business and, therefore, could not block Twitter followers as that would be a content-based restriction on speech and unconstitutional.
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Right to vote
The right to vote in the US has been a contested issue since the nation's founding. Surprisingly, the original US Constitution and the Bill of Rights do not explicitly mention that citizens have the right to vote in elections. Instead, it states that anyone eligible to vote for the largest house of a state's legislature is also eligible to vote for members of the House of Representatives from that state.
The first ten amendments to the Constitution make up the Bill of Rights, which was added to limit government power and protect individual liberties. While the Bill of Rights does not explicitly mention the right to vote, it does include protections for other freedoms, such as freedom of speech, religion, and the right to bear arms.
Following the Civil War, a series of constitutional amendments were added to extend protections to the right to vote. The 14th Amendment, passed in 1868, extended citizenship to all natural-born or naturalized Americans, regardless of race, and guaranteed that rights of citizenship, like voting, could not be restricted by the states. The 15th Amendment, ratified in 1870, prohibits restricting the right to vote due to race and grants all male citizens the right to vote, regardless of their ethnicity or prior slave status. However, the Supreme Court interpreted this relatively narrowly, and discriminatory practices, such as poll taxes and literacy tests, prevented many African Americans from exercising their right to vote.
Subsequent amendments further expanded voting rights. The 19th Amendment extended voting rights to women, and the 26th Amendment lowered the voting age to 18 for all elections. The 24th Amendment banned poll taxes, which had been used to disenfranchise low-income citizens and minorities. These amendments empower Congress and the federal government to enforce the protection of voting rights through legislation.
Federal laws, such as the Civil Rights Acts and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, also play a crucial role in protecting voting rights by prohibiting voter discrimination based on race, colour, or membership in a language minority group. The Help America Vote Act of 2002 authorized federal funding for elections and established the US Election Assistance Commission to help states improve voter education, registration, and ballot standards.
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Frequently asked questions
The US Constitution defines civil liberties such as the freedom of speech, religion, the right to bear arms, freedom of assembly, the right to security and liberty, and the right to privacy. The first ten amendments to the Constitution make up the Bill of Rights, which was added to limit government power and protect individual liberties.
Liberties that are not defined in the US Constitution include sexual freedoms such as sexual expression, sexual choices, sexual education, reproductive justice, and sexual health. While the right to privacy has been inferred from the penumbras of rights that are enumerated, it is not explicitly guaranteed in the Constitution.
The extent of civil liberties and the percentage of the US population who had access to these liberties have expanded over time. For example, the original text did not define who was eligible to vote, allowing each state to determine eligibility. The 14th Amendment, passed in 1868, extended liberties and rights granted by the Bill of Rights to formerly enslaved people.
