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These are the individual human rights that We The People of Planet Earth Demand for ourselves, against all others. |
The Planetary Bill of Rights |
I should rightfully be a free adult human being. I hereby declare that: I own my own life and therefore I demand self determination regarding how I choose to live it, as long as I don't directly infringe the equal rights of others. From this principle, it derives that: |
The "Litmus Test of Liberty" Article "The basic political principle of the Objectivist ethics is: no man may initiate the use of physical force against others." - Ayn Rand However, do not confuse the non-initiation of force with pacifism. "The necessary consequence of man's right to life is his right to self-defense. In a civilized society, force may be used only in retaliation & only against those who initiate its use. All the reasons which make the initiation of physical force an evil, make the retaliatory use of physical force a moral imperative. If some 'pacifist' society renounced the retaliatory use of force, it would be left helplessly at the mercy of the 1st thug who decided to be immoral. Such a society would achieve the opposite of its intention: instead of abolishing evil, it would encourage & reward it." - Ayn Rand Elaboration: If someone draws back their fist to punch you, you are not initiating force if you stop them, it becomes defensive force. Likewise if a nation has hard proof that another nation or terrorist group is planning to strike them, it is not initiating force to stop them before they do, it is defensive force. Therefore: No individual or government shall initiate the use of physical force, or delegate its initiation. From this principle, it derives that: |
It shall be the right of every Free Adult Individual to have freedom of thought, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press and media, to peaceably assemble in public places, and to petition all others for a redress of grievances. |
Freedom Of Religion No government shall make or keep any laws either establishing or promoting a state religion, or a particular religion, or oppressing the practice of any religion, as long as the religion is not initiating force against others. |
The right of Free Adult Individuals to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, data records and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. |
No one shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land, naval, air or space forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without the due process of laws that conform with this Bill of Rights. |
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for their defense. |
In Suits at common law, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court, than according to the rules of the common law. |
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. |
There shall be no slavery or involuntary servitude. |
No government shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of its citizens; nor shall any government deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of laws that conform with this Bill of Rights. |
The right of a free adult citizen to vote and otherwise participate in governmental processes shall not be infringed in any manner or for any reason. |
If we are to be free People living in a free world, it must be none of the business of religion, or governments, or anyone else, to dictate which consenting adult human being, or how many, another may honestly marry. Therefore: Marriage shall be the sole domain of a private contract between two or more consenting adult humans. |
If we are to be free People living in a free world, it must be none of the business of religion or governments, to dictate what drugs may be legal or which drugs a person may use. |
Each human being shall have not only the inalienable right to own their own life, but also the right to end it, if and when they see fit, providing they are of sound mind. |
The right to privacy. No government, company or individual shall intrude into the home or private affairs of individuals or obtain, transfer, or sell, any private personal or medical information about a person, without either that person's legally written and signed permission or a court order. |
Military conscription is involuntary servitude and slavery. A nation that can't be defended with volunteers, isn't worth defending. Military conscription is contrary to human rights. Therefore: There shall be no military conscription. |
It has long been the practice of governments to devalue money by not basing it on anything of value and constantly expanding it's supply. This robs people of the value of their currency. Therefore: All legal currency must be backed by precious metals, or equivalent value of other materials of value. |
Throughout history, governments and individuals have violated human rights. When governments have done so, it has often been accompanied by passage of laws to enforce such violations, with the authority people allow governments. Examples are the slavery laws in the early U.S. and laws violating the human rights of Jews and others during the period of Nazi Germany. During these, and other such times, there were brave people who realized the immorality of such laws and because the laws violated human rights, they felt no obligation to obey them. Therefore: No one has any moral obligation to obey any law that violates human rights. We resolve that any and all laws that violate human rights should be immediately repealed. |
No law shall be made or kept, abridging freedom of production or trade. ( Paraphrased from "Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand ) |
All governments shall maintain balanced budgets on a yearly basis. |
No government shall have deficit spending. |
No government shall be in debt. |
No troops shall ever be housed or stationed on private property without the permission of the owner(s). |
If we own our own lives, we should have a right to own what we spend our lives to produce, our property. If we own our property, we should not be forced to sell it or give it away, without our permission. Therefore: No free person's property shall be taken or bought, without the owner's permission. There shall be no eminent domain laws. |
Free people should be free. Too often, governments impose additional infringements of liberty on people, after they have been freed from prison, and it extends into rationalization for infringements of the inalienable rights of the rest of us. Therefore: If someone is imprisoned and later set free, all their human rights shall be restored again, including but not limited to, the right to vote and the right to keep and bear arms. |
All free adults shall have the right to vote in their local, state and national elections, but no issue involving the initiation of force shall be on any ballot. |
From the right to own my own life, derives The right to own property "Remember that there is no such dichotomy as 'human rights' versus 'property rights.' No human rights can exist without property rights. Since material goods are produced by the mind and effort of individual men, and are needed to sustain their lives, if the producer does not own the result of his effort, he does not own his life. To deny property rights means to turn men into property owned by the state. Whoever claims the 'right' to 'redistribute' the wealth produced by others is claiming the 'right' to treat human beings as chattel." -- Ayn Rand It shall be the right of every Free Adult Individual to acquire, use, and dispose of, property in any manner that does not harm others or directly infringe their equal rights. No individual, company or government shall sieze or otherwise take private property, without the owner's permission or agreement of sale by the owner, except as punishment for a crime or in collection of an unpaid debt that the owner has voluntarily agreed to use the property as collateral for. From this principle, it derives that: |
"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." - Thomas Jefferson The right of Free Adult Individuals to defend themselves, their families, their property, and their liberty, against any and all forms of tyranny, including, but not limited to, potentially despotic governments and criminal behavior, is a "true, ancient and indubitable" human right, and should be held sacrosanct and inalienable from infringement by governments or other individuals. This is the keystone to defending all other rights. Therefore: The right of Free Adult Individuals to keep and bear arms Shall Not Be Infringed. |
The people who would be most interested in this project would likely be Objectivists ( the Objectivism of Ayn Rand ), libertarians, Jeffersonians ( people interested in the individual rights oriented philosophy of Thomas Jefferson ) or classic Conservatives and various other individualists - people interested in individualism as opposed to coercive collectivism. If you're a compatible individualist, please give this site a link at your web page! Copyright 1995-2007 Planetary Bill of Rights Project. All rights reserved. |