Knowing What a "Right" Is in the United States Can Help You

    ORLANDO, FL, December 05, 2009 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Most people use the term "Rights" incorrectly and the misconceptions do more to hurt us than to help us.

We hear a lot about Rights (big R) these days. The word is usually attached to an emotional issue that is supposedly advancing equality and it is, ironically, usually only for a specific group. An easy one to point out would be "Women's Rights" or "Gay Rights." Another one that seems more innocuous is "Human Rights." Unfortunately, these terms are inaccurate and serve only to muddy the waters of real Rights that protect all of us.

The term "Right," as used in the United States, is meant to characterize fundamental freedoms that we are all endowed with by being born. These are freedoms that the founders of the United States considered to be from the highest authority - not given us by government - and to which government must ultimately stand aside. These Rights include the freedom of religion, freedom of speech, the freedom to pursue life, liberty, and property. The single characteristic of the American definition is that a Right applies to everyone equally. Note: This is not the accepted definition accepted around the world.

When we have a chorus of people calling things Rights that are really legal regulations, rules, or laws, we diminish what a Right is and the protections that it gives us. Gay people want to have the Right to marriage, women want a Right to equal pay, others want the Right to work. These are all very important issues but these are not Rights. No one has a Right to marriage or equal pay or work. Sounds awful - but it really isn't. Rights provide freedoms that allow us to pursue our dreams despite any barriers put up by another or our government. If someone believes they are being discriminated against, i.e., being singled out due to group affiliation, we have laws that allow that person to seek justice through the courts. This is called Due Process - and, guess what, it is a Right we all have.

The clutter of alleged Rights has definitely muddied the waters of freedom. All of the Rights that the founders established held the individual above all government especially when it was the government singling the person out. These Rights include the freedom from warrantless searches, freedom to have an attorney if you are accused, and the freedom to not be required to testify against ones self. Today, however, more people look to government rather than their Rights to protect them. This is a dangerous and hebetudinous trend. Today the press tells us that a person accused by the government is "uncooperative" rather than the person has invoked his Right to remain silent. A person that pleads not guilty when all the facts are seemingly against him draws angry remarks when, in fact, the requirement to have the government prove their accusations beyond any and all reasonable doubt is a Right.

Rights, by definition, apply to all of us. There cannot be a gay Right or a woman's Right. Often the term is misused for a perceived inequality - such as the ability to marry. Marriage is actually a written law at the state level. Changing the law is the real issue and it has nothing to do with Rights. The same goes for the Right to equal pay. No one has such a Right. However, most states have laws that address inequalities/discrimination due to gender and sexual orientation. When perceived discrimination originates from the law then the chant should be to change the law - not that a specific group has an extraordinary Right not to be discriminated against. The issue to be raised is that the law is unfair i.e., the law lacks equality, rather than to dilute the term "Right."

It has become apparent as a criminal defense attorney that we are no longer teaching our children about their Rights. My clients seem to all contort their faces when I explain to them their Rights. Some worry that if they initially plea not guilty they will get in trouble. Some do not realize that they can tell the police "no" if asked to be searched and some police think that it is their job to subvert people's Rights by convincing them to waive them.

Our Rights are very important - no, they are extremely important. Every trampling of any person's Rights here in the United States is a trampling of everyone's Rights in the United States. We must make them a focal point in our early education and they need to be constantly reviewed. We have to stop calling every want or resolution to an unjust law a Right. If you want the law to be changed so that the perceived inequality is removed then you can petition your local, state, or federal government for a redress of those grievances - which just so happens to be your Right.

About Eric J Dirga

Eric J Dirga has practiced law in the Central Florida Area since 1995. He has represented people in bankruptcy court, family law cases, real estate closings, and civil cases but primarily works in the area of criminal law. For more information please call (407) 841-5555 or visit http://www.ejdirga.com.

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