Part 1: Foundation of Rights
Knowing your rights as a teenager in the States is very crucial, it could stop you from manipulation and make sure that no one with legal authority takes advantage of you. I went 17 years without knowledge about my rights. So I am here today, one teen to another to let you know about your birthright in a way you will understand. Once you fully understand your rights, you can freely live your life and speak your mind without fear of repercussions. In my writing, I will be taking you through the foundation of rights, personal rights, legal encounters, rights at school, and rights about your voice. What even are rights? Human rights are rights you have for coming out of your mom’s womb. We get these rights thanks to the Constitution. Rights are legal, ethical, and social principles of entitlement and freedom, basic rights and freedom. Our rights here in the States come from our famous Bill of Rights. The United States was built on basic rights because when we were under the rule of our dear friends the British, they would tax us without representation. Which pissed people off, so we broke away to have basic freedoms and rights.
We have three different types of rights; civil, human, and legal. Human rights, are the obvious ones that you’re born with. Civil rights are the rights that protect you against discrimination because of your sex, race, etc. It is your right to receive equal treatment. Civil rights are also personal rights protected by the U.S. Constitution. The right to vote, right to fair trial, right to government services, right to use public facilities, and public education also all fall under civil rights. Lastly, your legal rights are laws and rights put on people by a legal system.
The Constitution lays out our legal rights, and the Bill of Rights is the first of ten amendments. Thank god for the Bill of Rights because that’s what guarantees our civil rights. Now I will go in-depth about what each amendment does because no one wants to do their own research. First off we have the first amendment, this amendment (most Americans’ favorite) guarantees you freedom of expression, assembly, religion, petition, and most importantly freedom of speech. It is freedom of speech and expression. The second amendment, the one republicans love, is the right to bear arms. Short and sweet, it allows you to carry a gun once you are over the age of 18. Our third amendment doesn’t let the government force us to house any soldiers, a pretty simple one. The Fourth Amendment stops unreasonable search and seizure of your belongings. An authority can’t search you without having probable cause. If you get pulled over for speeding and a cop smells weed or can see opened beer cans, that is probable cause and your car can be searched even though you were pulled over for speeding.
The Fourth Amendment is very important because it stops an authority from treating you unfairly. The Fifth Amendment has several aspects first is the right to jury. Second is protection against double jeopardy, this stops you from being prosecuted for the same crime more than once. This is protection against self-incrimination, this aspect stops a criminal from having to testify if in the process it means you’ll rat yourself out. Fourth is the right to a fair trial, your trial has to be held in a reasonable time, you have to be given the relevant information, your trial has to be open to the public, and lastly, you are innocent until you are proven guilty. Fifth is protection against your property being taken away by the government without being compensated. That was a lot, now onto the Sixth Amendment! This amendment is the right to a speedy trial, which means that you can’t get locked up indefinitely, you have to be taken to trial at an appropriate time or in your favor released. Part of the Sixth Amendment is also the right to a public trial, to be informed of criminal charges, and finally trial by an impartial jury. An impartial jury is people judging your case based on evidence and not bias about your innocence. Our seventh amendment is the right to a jury trial, a jury trial is when people hear the case and as a team, they decide if you’re guilty. Imagine your innocence relying on strangers.... scary! Our lovely Eighth Amendment stops excessive bail and fines, as well as cruel and unusual punishment. This beautiful amendment doesn’t let the government put crazy penalties on a criminal, if you shoplift a million-dollar bail can’t be put on you. Our ninth amendment is pretty simple and says that listing out specific rights in the Constitution does not mean we don’t have other rights. Lastly, we have the tenth amendment which states that federal governments only have the power that is in the constitution everything else goes to us people or the states. I hope this helped you understand the Bill of Rights because it’s important for an individual especially a teenager living in the States to be aware of these things.
