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We the people
Ninth Amendment: "The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people."
By Chris Zuppa
Published June 24, 2007
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[Chris Zuppa | Times]
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Photo gallery:
Related links:
- Constitution of the United States U.S. National Archives and Records Administration
- Ninth Amendment " "The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people."
- Sixth Amendment "In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to have the assistance of counsel for his defense."
- First Amendment "Congress shall make no law ... abridging ... the right of the people peaceably to assemble ..."
- First Amendment "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof ..."
- Fourteenth Amendment "No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States ..."
- First Amendment "Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom ... of the press."
- Second Amendment "A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringede."
- Tenth Amendment "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people."
- Eighteenth Amendment: Section 1 "After one year from the ratification of this article the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors ..."
Related links:
- Constitution of the United States U.S. National Archives and Records Administration
- Ninth Amendment " "The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people."
- Sixth Amendment "In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to have the assistance of counsel for his defense."
- First Amendment "Congress shall make no law ... abridging ... the right of the people peaceably to assemble ..."
- First Amendment "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof ..."
- Fourteenth Amendment "No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States ..."
- First Amendment "Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom ... of the press."
- Second Amendment "A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringede."
- Tenth Amendment "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people."
- Eighteenth Amendment: Section 1 "After one year from the ratification of this article the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors ..."
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Tammy Wernet, left, smiled before she playfully smashed wedding cake into her bride's face, and Debra Weisz smiled back. On this pleasant Saturday evening in May, they celebrated their marriage to each other with family and friends at the Church of the Trinity MCC in Sarasota. Wernet, 46, and Weisz, 37, met at Publix over seven years ago while working in the deli deparment.
Both have children from their previous marriages. Both say they were married to abusive husbands. The two women struck up a friendship, then began to date. "We just found each other, " Weisz said. "We had a hard time in the beginning. It took us a while before people accepted us."
Together, they built their ideal home, a two-story house neatly tucked inside a middle-class neighborhood. A perfect place for family gatherings. They know their marriage isn't legal. A constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage was defeated a year ago in the U.S. Senate, but many states, including Florida, have laws against it.
Only Massachusetts has legalized the practice. Still, Wernet and Weisz live their lives as a couple. During a trip to Disney World, Weisz proposed in the pouring rain. "This is our dream of a lifetime, " Wernet said. "We know it's not going to count, but it still counts in our eyes because we belong together." Times researcher John Martin contributed to this column
[Last modified June 23, 2007, 13:02:02]
Share your thoughts on this story
Comments on this article
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by Aimee
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09/12/07 12:26 PM
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Marriage is just a paper, so if straight or gay couples want to sign it, who do we think we are to tell people no to? Homosexuality has happened since ever, and is going to last, so, we better learn how to deal with it, or move out of this planet.
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by Eugene
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06/27/07 05:12 AM
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Homosexuality is just as unnatural now as ever before. I don't care how much exposure it receives. Health care and social security have enough problems without stirring this into the existing equation. I also don't like gay couples adopting children
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by Dan
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06/26/07 01:06 PM
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DM, David, Fred, and Paul - don't you have a cross burning to go to? You disgust me.
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by Paul
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06/26/07 11:32 AM
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Hey Winston wake up. The Bible is the baseist for what this country was founded on. That includes the concept of one man and one woman and nothing else.
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by Winston
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06/25/07 04:39 PM
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Answer to Jeff: Our Constitution guarantees equal rights. The fact that gays violate the teachings of the Bible: So what. We all have the right to equal opportunites, ie, taxes, insurance, etc.
GO GIRLS. I am straight, but a Real Christian.
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by Heath
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06/25/07 03:06 PM
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Their only demand is equality. It isn't about "gay rights", it's about the rights of all citizens--which includes gays, however uncomfortable that may make you. And those rights have everything to do with the Constitution.
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by Paul
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06/25/07 03:02 PM
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So they know the marriage is illegal and doesn't count but it dosen't matter, so why did you do it? Keep trying to cram your disgusting sense of morals into the face of others and it will get you nowhere. Homo's will never be accepted with this act.
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by Fred
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06/25/07 11:43 AM
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The constitution does not protect homosexuals in their believed right to be accepted in society, just like it does not protect murderers. I know being homosexual is not criminal, but it is a sickness that we don't have to accept as OK.
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by David
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06/24/07 01:24 PM
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Perhaps the congress needs to redraft the constitution just for the gay community. The rest of society seems to be bowing down to their every demands.
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by DM
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06/24/07 01:13 PM
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Why was this article published? Is this just a so called gay rights agenda push piece. Pathetic. Gays are not going to gain the acceptance they crave regardless but are going to demand a backlash from others for the militant in your face approach.
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by Jeff
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06/24/07 06:53 AM
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Why the relation to the constitution? Same sex marriage has nothing to do with the U.S. Constitution.
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