Quotes About Rights

There may be some rights—"natural," "human," or otherwise—that should also be civil rights. But if we desire to give such rights the protection of the law, our recourse is to a legislature or to the amendment procedures of the Constitution. We must not look to politicians, or sociologists—or the courts—to correct the deficiency.

A bedrock principle of religious freedom is that freedom is achieved only if it is achieved for all.

The government is, in fact, urging you to pray. That's simply not government's job.

The purpose of the state is really freedom.

Everyone is by absolute natural right the master of his own thoughts, and thus utter failure will attend any attempt in a commonwealth to force men to speak only as prescribed by the sovereign despite their different and opposing opinions.

Der Endzweck des Staates ist [...] im Grund die Freiheit.

Tyranny is most violent where individual beliefs, which are an inalienable right, are regarded as criminal.

In a democratic state nobody transfers his natural right to another so completely that thereafter he is not to be consulted; he transfers it to the majority of the entire community of which he is part. In this way all men remain equal, as they were before in a state of nature.

In a state of nature nothing can be said to be just or unjust; this is so only in a civil state, where it is decided by common agreement what belongs to this or that man.

Everyone is the defender of his own freedom.

These classes, according to the degree of enlightenment at which they have arrived, may propose to themselves two very different ends, when they thus attempt the attainment of their political rights; either they may wish to put an end to lawful plunder, or they may desire to take part in it.

Our vulnerability is unavoidable (and probably incurable) in a kind of society in which relative equality of political and other rights and formally acknowledged social equality go hand in hand with enormous differences in genuine power, possessions and education; a society in which everyone "has the right" to consider himself equal to everybody else, while in fact being unequal to them.

If political rights are necessary to set social rights in place, social rights are indispensable to make political rights 'real' and keep them in operation. The two rights need each other for their survival; that survival can only be their joint achievement.

In conclusion, you label us as food terrorists, and we call you animal rights lunatics. But I'll concede we have a few lunatics on our side, too!

Efforts to support gay rights by GOP state legislators in several states are real and indicative of an increasing realization that expanding equal opportunity and freedom to gay Americans shouldn't be a partisan issue.

What I will say about crypto and NFTs in general is I really love the idea of creators owning their media and owning their content.

As long as gay people don't have their rights all across America, there's no reason for celebration.

Yes, I believe in equality. But I don't like the word 'feminist,' because it's such a rational belief to think that women are equal to men, and I'm a rational person. You shouldn't be labeled for being reasonable.

How is it reasonable that in a country purporting to be a democracy, I am not permitted to speak freely? Why, as a politician, should I be banned from expressing political opinions? Why, as a student of history, can I not present the facts as I see them, without fear of reprisal?

It's a controversial issue: many feminists reasonably worry that by taking the concentration off gender as an independent locus of oppression, we dilute the strength of a women's movement, or of women's rights advocacy.

Good laws are fair, do not discriminate against any group and are reasonably implementable.

There are good reasons for being in jail - for protesting.

People have a right to violence, to rebel, to fight back.

I recall saying that civil rights organizations, when they demand more than is legitimate, it hurts their position.