Quotes About Rights

Bad people will find a way to do harm, whether it's homemade explosives, illegal weapons, or flying planes into buildings. Restricting law-abiding citizens' right to bear arms is not the answer.

Semi-automatic weapons have no socially redeeming purpose.

I've had people say to me, 'Well, I enjoy going to the firing range and using the assault weapons.' But the pleasure derived from that compared to the horrendous damage that it can do, we believe that the damage warrants banning assault weapons.

Reasonable regulations regarding the ownership of weapons are appropriate.

In 1791, the right to bear arms to defend against an over-reaching government wasn't theoretical. Today, it's hard to imagine physical weapons serving the same purpose. But it's easy to see how hacktivists might - especially if you broaden the opponents to include hate groups and rapacious multinationals.

Illinois has commonsense regulations on concealed carry permits. For example, if you had two or more D.U.I.'s within five years, within the past five years, you do not have the right in Illinois to obtain a concealed weapons permit.

Freedom meant for me to wear earrings, not freedom of speech.

Electorally, the number of women who want to wear a burka is insignificant, yet it is important to defend such a minority against the tyranny of the majority.

It is unBritish to start telling women what they can and can't wear. It would immediately create a group who want to be martyrs, and this would turn into the most colossal waste of police time.

Every religion curbs women rights to some extent. Some countries acted against religions and put a ban on wearing hijab, which was also a violation of human rights.

I think that when you look at our founding principles, it was based on America as a nation committed to universal human rights and a nation that was weary of foreign entanglements and foreign alliances that did not keep us safe or promote our interests.

The most important thing is, we really want to make sure the American people are able to get to any Web site they'd like to get to.

A free and rooted society ought to consist of a web of moral obligations. We have the right to ignore them, but we ought to be actually obliged not to let other people starve or to let them lapse into destitution.

I'd hesitated to have a wedding because my gay and lesbian friends don't have that right.

Prop 8 did something that no other state in the history of this country has done. It took away the rights of people that already were legally affirmed. Imagine someone putting something on the ballot saying your wedding, your marriage is no longer valid.

I'm a married gay man, so you might think that I appreciate the government forcing a Christian baker or photographer or florist to act against their religion in order to cater, photograph, or decorate my wedding. But you'd be wrong. A government that can force Christians to violate their conscience can force me to violate mine.

I am happy that Poland is returning to the road of pluralism and democracy.

Have you ever heard of Irish, Poles, Germans, Italians and Jews being integrated? They go anywhere and just enjoy their rights. Why call it integration when black folks do the same thing? It's a con job.

I wouldn't want to have the thought police going to people's homes, dictating what they teach their children. I don't want to be Big Brotherish. I would hate that.

There is no reason for anyone in this country, anyone except a police officer or a military person, to buy, to own, to have, to use a handgun... and the only way to do that is to change the Constitution.

As I came to the lime light, the media asked me many questions. A lot many moral policing... 'Wear this, wear that, why a T-shirt?' Everybody has the right to form their opinions, and I have the right to ignore them.

We know that when people are civically engaged, when they understand what their rights are, when they understand that in a democracy you can challenge governments, you can challenge policymakers, and you can... actually shape and form future policy, I think it changes the perception that a lot of young people have about where power is.

That really important freedom in my life, the freedom to marry, came about because of choices that were made by policymakers who had power over me and millions of others.

Everyone here has a right to their own political beliefs and everybody has the right to stand by what they believe in. That's what makes us American.