FrostyCool

and what I find frusturating

There are all these GOP candidates who keep pushing the idea that somehow a) states have the power to pass laws restricting peoples rights and b) the US Federal Government in general and Supreme Court in particular have no right to stop them. 

I am thinking specifically of Rick Santorum and his “birth control can be outlawed by states” and “sodomy can be outlawed by states”, but other examples abound.

I have no idea where these notions come from. The only place I can think of is Amendment 10 of the bill of rights which states (sic) “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” 

From which I must assume the logic follows: Powers not given directly to the federal govt are the states powers—>birth control/sodomy not mentioned—>states have right to outlaw such things. 

The flaw in this o so brilliant logic comes from the previous amendment, (sic): “The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.” which is essentially saying that, HEY, just cause the constitution only mentions X rights, doesn’t mean that you can say Y right is not one of X rights and therefore invalid. No. Not allowed. So ie, just because a woman’s right to control her own body isn’t in the constitution, or because a persons rights to their sexuality aren’t mentioned, doesn’t mean you get to pretend they aren’t rights. 

So the constitution allows for more rights than it specifically mentions. It also grants the power to protect and interpret the constitution to the Supreme Court, including the Bill of Rights. Therefore, the Supreme Court has every right, is in fact constitutionally obliged, to overturn bans on sodomy. And the state of Mississippi is in the Constitutional wrong to attempt to restrict anyone’s right to control their own body. 

this isn’t an incredibly well written argument but I am loopy on pain meds.