Constitutional right
A constitutional right is a right or freedom which is guaranteed to citizens by that country's constitution.[1] In the United States constitutional rights are guaranteed by the United States Constitution. Most of these rights are contained in the Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments to the US constitution.[2]
For example, nearly half of all the countries in the world have some form of guaranteed right to health care protected by their country's constitution.[3] However, a right to health care is not a constitutional right in the United States.[3] Besides the US, Guatemala, Haiti, Mexico, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Colombia, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Liberia are among those countries where citizens all have a constitutional right to own firearms.[4] But only Guatemala's rights are as broad as the Second Amendment's rights in the United States.[5] The constitutions of about 182 countries guarantee some form of Freedom of religion.[6] The constitutional rights granted by the First Amendment, including freedom of the press, freedom of speech, the right to petition and the freedom of assembly, are almost unique to the United States.[7]
References
[change | change source]- ↑ "constitutional right - Legal Definition". Your Dictionary. Retrieved 27 February 2016.
- ↑ "constitutional rights". Law.com. Retrieved 27 February 2016.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Most Of The World Has A Constitutional Right To Health Care, But Not The US, Even With Obamacare On The Way". IBT Media Inc. Retrieved 27 February 2016.
- ↑ Ty McCormack (5 April 2013). "blog_passport_full11 How many countries have gun rights enshrined in their constitutions?". ForeignPolicy.com. Retrieved 27 February 2016.
- ↑ Brian Palmer. "Have Gun, Want To Travel". Slate. Retrieved 27 February 2016.
- ↑ "Freedom of Religion". Constitute. Retrieved 27 February 2016.
- ↑ Alli Kolick; Tyler Dehague; Amber Leick, 'Countries Without First Amendment Rights', Uhuru, Vol. 10, Issue 1, Article 8 (2012), p. 2
