What does it mean to have rights?

Having rights means possessing legal freedoms and protections that government may not take away without due process. In the American constitutional system, rights are powers and immunities held by individuals against the government and, in some cases, against other private actors. They include both negative rights, which prevent government from doing certain things, and positive rights, which entitle people to particular protections or services.

The Bill of Rights, ratified on December 15, 1791, illustrates negative rights with its long list of prohibitions: Congress shall make no law abridging speech, religion, press, assembly, and petition; no soldier shall be quartered in private homes without consent; the people shall be secure against unreasonable searches; no person shall be compelled to be a witness against himself; the accused shall have the right to a speedy and public trial.

The Fourteenth Amendment, ratified on July 9, 1868, extended these protections against state and local governments through the doctrine of incorporation, beginning with Gitlow v. New York (1925) for free speech and continuing through dozens of cases over the next century.

Other rights are positive, requiring government to provide particular benefits or services. The Sixth Amendment right to counsel, applied in Gideon v. Wainwright (1963), requires states to appoint lawyers for indigent criminal defendants. The Fourteenth Amendment right to public education, recognized in Plyler v. Doe (1982), bars states from charging undocumented children for K-12 schooling. Various federal statutes create rights to government benefits, antidiscrimination protection in employment and housing, and equal access to public accommodations.

The American conception of rights is rooted in the Declaration of Independence, which declares that all men are created equal and endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. The Declaration treats rights as inherent rather than granted by government, a view drawn from natural rights theorists such as John Locke. The Constitution and Bill of Rights operationalize this view by limiting government power and providing remedies when rights are violated.

Having rights also implies the responsibility to use them wisely and to respect the rights of others. The First Amendment protects speech, but it does not protect defamation, true threats, or incitement to imminent lawless action. The Second Amendment protects firearms ownership, subject to reasonable regulation. Naturalization candidates should understand rights as legally enforceable claims that come with corresponding duties to use freedom responsibly.