Do you think the Bill of Rights (Amendments I-X) should apply to all states and local governments? If not all?

Question

ten, which ones? Please explain your answer?

Answer 1

They are "supposed" to apply to all state and local governments and you are NOT wrong in asking.

The fact is that every individual in the United States is supposed to be protected by the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of rights ...

HOWEVER! this is not reality, and the abuses are rampant from local authorities up to state officials.

Don't listen to the answers above me. They spend their days reading their horror-scopes.

Answer 2

There are some half-truths here. The Bill of Rights did NOT originally apply to the states... note, for example, that Amendment I states that "Congress shall make no law..." it says nothing about the states. Most, (but not all!) of the rights embodied in the Bill of Rights were "incorporated" to the states after 1865, and the passage of the 14th Amendment (which did apply due process and equal protection rights to the states themselves). Slowly, mostly in the 20th Century, the Supreme Court declared that most of the rights in the Bill of Rights were "necessary for ordered liberty" and thus applied to the states.

There are some rights in the Bill of Rights that do not apply to the states -- they were never "incorporated." through the 14th Amendment. These include the right to a grand jury to indict every felony.
Even today, some justices of the Supreme Court (Justice Thomas) has raised the debate about whether the First Amendment religion clauses (Establishment Clause in particular, which states that congress shall not make any law "respecting an establishment of religion") should be UNINCORPORATED, because, in his view, the Framers only intended that the Federal Government not have an "official" church, even though states at the time still had them (although they were dying away).

And of course Amendment IX and Amendment X already speak to the relationship between the states and the federal government.
But of the remaining, I think the Court got it mostly right -- the fundamental rights to due process, equal protection, free speech, free religion, restrictions on police investigation, excessive force, the right to a jury trial in criminal actions, against cruel and unusual punishment, are all important rights that should apply to states and local governments.

Answer 3

The Constitution & all of its Amendments are the basis for all laws in our country, at every level. They set guidelines concerning the limits & responsibilities between the States & Federal Govt,, defines the functions of the 3 branches, & states the rights of individuals which govt is supposed to respect. That is the purpose they were designed for, so obviously they apply in all legal matters in the US. That is the way it should be. Allowing a State to pick & chose which parts to ignore would lead to anarchy & civil war, which has already happened.

The structure set up to pass an Amendment is designed as a way to reach as much consensus as possible, requiring a super majority for passage. This method requires more time for full discussion & understanding of the Amendment, including possible pros & cons. The different routes to possible passage allows more citizen input into the process than to limit the decision only to Members of Congress.

Answer 4

Good question. The Bill of Rights only limits the jurisdictional power of the federal government. Traditionally state constitutions contain similar instruments. The fourteenth amendment extends an additional level of protection to individuals, limiting states' powers to an additional degree.

Answer 5

The bill of rights should and does apply to all states. They are written for all Americans.

Local governments answer to the states there located in.

Answer 6

They already do apply! And why would you want to limit the rights of certain citizens? To me, this seems like a rediculous question asked by someone with a strange agenda.

Answer 7

They don't apply to governments, they apply to people, regardless of where they live. Are you asking if these governments should have the right to free speech, assembly, bear arms, etc? Your question is ill-formed.

Answer 8

Yeah..... Its the constitution.
Even though most place try to cancel half of it mainly the 2nd

Answer 9

Are you for real? How old are you? 5/6?

Answer 10

um...they already do apply...it's the NATION'S constitution...i don't know why you'd want some to apply but other's to not apply...