#constitutional

While 45 of the 50 States have either a State constitutional amendment or a statute that preserves the current definition of marriage, left-wing activist judges and officials at the local levels have struck down State laws protecting marriage. ↗

— John Boehner

#activist #amendment #constitutional #constitutional amendment #current

I've been in the legislative branch and now the executive branch and in each case I felt it was important we use our constitutional responsibilities to the fullest. ↗

— John Engler

#branch #case #constitutional #each #executive

Let there be no reservation or doubt that I believe the Senate should vote on each and every judicial appointment made by the President of the United States and that no rule or procedure should ever stop the Senate from exercising its constitutional responsibility. ↗

— Johnny Isakson

#believe #constitutional #doubt #each #ever

If there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation, it is that no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion, or force citizens to confess by word or act. ↗

— Robert Jackson

#any #citizens #confess #constitutional #fixed

In historical and constitutional terms, the recent political status vote in Puerto Rico was a necessary but obviously not decisive step on the road of self-determination leading to full self-government. ↗

— Dick Thornburgh

#decisive #full #historical #leading #necessary

[T]here is both an intrinsic and instrumental value to privacy. Intrinsically, privacy is precious to the extent that it is a component of a liberty. Part of citizenship in a free society is the expectation that one's personal affairs and physical person are inviolable so long as one remains within the law. A robust concept of freedom includes the freedom from constant and intrusive government surveillance of one's life. From this perspective, Fourth Amendment violations are objectionable for the simple fact that the government is doing something it has no licence to do–that is, invading the privacy of a law-abiding citizen by monitoring her daily activities and laying hands on her person without any evidence of wrongdoing. Privacy is also instrumental in nature. This aspect of the right highlights the pernicious effects, rather than the inherent illegitimacy, of intrusive, suspicionless surveillance. For example, encroachments on individual privacy undermine democratic institutions by chilling free speech. When citizens–especially those espousing unpopular viewpoints–are aware that the intimate details of their personal lives are pervasively monitored by government, or even that they could be singled out for discriminatory treatment by government officials as a result of their First Amendment expressive activities, they are less likely to freely express their dissident views. ↗

— John W. Whitehead

#constitution #constitutional-rights #first-amendment #fourth-amendment #free-speech

As we've seen, our constitutional system requires limits on copyright as a way to assure that copyright holders do not too heavily influence the development and distribution of our culture. ↗

— Lawrence Lessig

#constitutional #copyright #culture #development #distribution

I'm a judge. It seemed to me that it was critical to try to take action to stem the criticism and help people understand that in the constitutional framework, it's terribly important not to have a system of retaliation against decisions people don't like. ↗

— Sandra Day O'Connor

#against #constitutional #critical #criticism #decisions

In an unconstitutional partnership with the state, the church can impose the most irresistible, if covert, controls conceivable. ↗

— Madalyn Murray O'Hair

#conceivable #controls #covert #impose #irresistible

I was appalled and shocked that Bush used the State of the Union to attack same-sex marriages and indicated that he would support a constitutional amendment. ↗

— Jean O'Leary

#appalled #attack #bush #constitutional #constitutional amendment