Firearms

[CleanShavenJesus]

@ ShellB, I worded my post wrong. They weren't considered rights, but they were things that American people had the ability to excersise prior to the Bill of Rights, because, as you say, for example, bearing arms was an expected thing.

Yes. But I saw your point as, "even the right to bear arms was an amendment", displaying how they have altered the Constiution over time, correct? But I say that's a poor point due to how quickly the first ten amendments were passed. Right to bear arms, unlawful search and seizure, and many of the first ten amendments were already rights that Americans had, but were not put on paper yet.

Remember, the Constiution was ratified in 1787, but they created a "rough draft" of the Bill of Rights by 1789 (and even then it can be assumed they had been working on it for at least a year prior), so I don't believe you can make the comparison between the first ten amendments and the ones passed there after when talking about how the Constitution has been altered.

This thread is about guns...the right to bear arms was an amendment, which is an example of how the original Constitution has changed. I mean, the word "amendment" kinda means exactly that...

So yes, I think I can make a comparison between the Bill of Rights and the ones passed afterwards. They may have been quickly appended to the Constitution after it was ratified, but they were still amendments, and they go to show that the Constitution wasn't ever a "perfect" document.

I'm not arguing it's a perfect document. In fact, I agree with your initial point. There's a reason we have the ability to pass amendments.

But here's something I think we have to agree to disagree on. I don't think it's fair to compare the Bill of Rights, which were beginning to be penciled almost immediately after the Constitution was ratified, to amendments much later on in history. The original document was not interested so much in addressing the people's rights, but more to establish a strong central government. The Bill of Rights was the government's way in securing the American people's rights.

They're considered "amendments", but hell, there were people and states objecting to even ratifying the Constitution without the promise of a Bill of Rights. They're so close to one another, to compare the Bill of Rights to say, the 20th amendment, is unfair, in my opinion.