Slide 1

Slide 2 You Need Civil Liberties to Protect Our Human and Earth Rights Alex Landon Attorney At Law Slide 3 Slide 4 Only 25% of Americans can name more than one of the 5 freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment. But more than half can name at least 2 members of the Simpsons family. Slide 5 Slide 6 Slide 7 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwDOlLFCZuk Stratford High School Goose Creek, SC Slide 8 Slide 9 Slide 10 A punishment that is by its severity degrading to human dignity ( torture ) Obviously inflicted in a wholly arbitrary fashion Clearly and totally rejected throughout society Patently unnecessary Slide 11 Photo of Protestors Simulating Water-Boarding Slide 12 Slide 13 Slide 14 In 1958, it was a crime in Virginia and 15 other states for a white person to marry a black person. Richard and Mildred Loving married in Washington, D.C. and tried to return to their home state of Virginia. They were arrested and sentenced to 1 year in jail for getting married if they stayed in Virginia. The ACLU took their case. In 1967, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled the law was unconstitutional. Slide 15 Slide 16 Slide 17 Slide 18 Slide 19 All 27 amendments, including the Bill of Rights have been added through the first method of Congress proposing amendments. The Constitution has never been amended using the second process of the states proposing amendments. While over 10,000 have been proposed, only 17 amendments to the Constitution have been adopted since final ratification of the Bill of Rights. Slide 20 Why is it so difficult to add an amendment? Should it be easier? What amendment would you add? What do you think?