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Debate Info

12
14
Yup Uhhhh, NO
Debate Score:26
Arguments:33
Total Votes:28
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Argument Ratio

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 Yup (12)
 
 Uhhhh, NO (13)

Debate Creator

excon(18261) pic



Can your RIGHTS be voted OUT??

Hello:

My right wing friend posts a debate about CENSORSHIP, and CENSORED me from participating in it..  But, I wanna argue with him.  So if I can't do it there, I'll do it here..

In terms of religious freedom, I explained to him that our rights CANNOT be voted IN or OUT..  He doesn't believe me.. It seems that's CENTRAL to the debate about religious freedom.. Maybe others of you don't believe that either, so let's debate it..

excon

Yup

Side Score: 12
VS.

Uhhhh, NO

Side Score: 14
1 point

Truth is what we call rights are only as durable as those exercising and enforcing them. What you seem to be asking is:

If enough powerful people decided to, could the rights enshrined in our constitution be effectively abolished?

I hope no one is naive enough to doubt it

Side: Yup
Amarel(5669) Clarified
1 point

Rights are the moral framework on which our laws and government are built. Meaning that people can infringe on your rights, but they are morally incorrect to do so.

This is why most people know that the way Kim Jung Un treats his people is wrong. They have the same natural rights as you and I, and he is stepping all over them. They haven't lost those rights in principle, but neither can they defend them.

Side: Yup
atypican(4875) Clarified
1 point

So, in light of how you are explaining these rights that supposedly exist whether or not they are legislated, I would counter that unless rights are viewed as being by nature fragile then folks might assume they dont need to vigilantly protect them. In my view, rights are not like natural laws that exist whether we honor them or not. They are based entirely on what we value the most or hold sacred.

Side: Yup

Not really the rights, for the only way to remove them for you is to render you incapable of using them (by, say, killing you off).

But they still can be criminalised.

Side: Yup
2 points

I think you need to be more clear about the dispute.

Statutory rights are rights you have merely by virtue of the laws written, such as rights provided by the form of due process. Statutory rights can be changed or even eliminated.

Natural rights cannot, in principle, be abolished by law even if the law says they are abolished. This is because natural rights are the principles upon which laws are made. They are antecedent to the laws, so that even if they are statutorily removed, you have moral high ground. Legal does not necessarily mean moral, nor vice verse.

I don't know how this applies to the argument that sparked this debate, but I hope it helps.

Side: Uhhhh, NO
excon(18261) Clarified
2 points

Hello again, A:

Yeah, I could do a better job.. I'm not talking about statutes and/or amending the Constitution.. I'm talking about the freedoms guaranteed by the Bill of Rights.

Nonetheless, in the body of my question, I did refer to religious freedom, and it's that freedom that I suggest CANNOT be voted out..

excon

Side: Yup
Amarel(5669) Clarified
2 points

You said you aren't talking about amending the Constitution. But an amendment would require a vote and the Bill of Rights are all amendments. Which means the Bill of Rights could theoretically be amended out by vote. But ones relationship with his creator is his to have. It's a natural right. So even if it isn't protected by paper, you still have it.

Side: Yup
1 point

Actually, through the voting process Constitutional Amendments can be added or rendered defunct, which means yes through the voting process your rights can be voted out.

Side: Uhhhh, NO
1 point

I tend to have a little more faith in my fellow citizens than to think they would stand by and passively watch their rights be rendered meaningless via mere vote. I believe (hopefully I'm not being too naive) that to take our rights away it would require violence and brute force.

Side: Uhhhh, NO

My rights come from my Creator. If someone tries to take them away, I will kill them, as is my right.

Side: Uhhhh, NO