12/14/2006: "National Bill of Rights Day"

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) would like to remind everyone that The National Bill of Rights Day is December 15, 2006. The local chapter of the ACLU is asking all citizens to reflect upon, to honor, and to express gratitude for the legacy of civil liberties passed down to us from previous generations.

The Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution, was adopted on December 15, 1791. They serve to limit and to define the powers of the government, to remind all members of the government that they serve the citizens, and to state that the citizens hold the right to restrain government.

The Bill of Rights protects our freedoms of speech, of the press, of assembly, of religion, to petition the government, to keep and to bear arms; protects us from unreasonable arrests, searches and seizures, excessive bail, double jeopardy, coerced confessions, cruel and unusual punishment; and secures our rights to probable cause, due process, counsel, jury trials and to defense witnesses.

The ACLU press release also stated that citizens have a continuing obligation to be ever vigilant and to defend vigorously the liberties guaranteed by the Bill of Rights. The lesson of our founding fathers is as true today as was the lesson more than two centuries ago; Liberty depends upon the people, not the government.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) was founded in 1920. The reason for the foundation of the ACLU then and now is that freedom cannot defend itself. The only client of the ACLU then and now is the Bill of Rights. Please join with us in the recognition and celebration of Bill of Rights Day.