Quote Originally Posted by Grace View Post
The 9th Amendment to the United States Constitution, adopted December 15, 1791.

This is often referred to as the forgotten Amendment.

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.


I find this extremely interesting.
Nice catch.

Standing alone, the Ninth Amendment does not make any specific law unconstitutional. It is an explanation, not a command -- like the FAQs found on many Web sites. In this case, the Frequently Asked Question is: "The Bill of Rights provides a list of specific rights that are protected from invasion by the federal government. Does this mean that the federal government can violate other rights if they aren't on the list?" The Ninth answers, "No. The Bill of Rights is not complete. Other rights exist, and the federal government must respect them." Indeed, as a supporter of the Constitution pointed out at the Pennsylvania ratification convention, "Our rights are not yet all known," so an enumeration was impossible. While it is true that history often fails to provide clear proof of what the Framers believed, there are exceptions. The Ninth Amendment is one of them.