Need some education on IX Amendment; Bill of Rights

[MsMagnificent]

Can anyone point out history of, year/timing, principal's, exact meaning??
Yep I googled but can't make head nor tails out of any of it.

Didn't help I pulled an all-nighter. :(

[beyurslf]

1. It means that the rights listed in the BOR are not an exhaustive list of

rights that we may have. In other words, it does not have to be listed in the Constitution to be a right. Think privacy.

I would suggest another google search. <http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data/constitution/amendment09/>
This was the first hit.

[ulTRAX]

2. we should all LOVE the ninth

It is a radical concept and we don't have to be libertarians to embrace it. It is the basis for landmark civil rights cases like Griswold v Conn. This legalized birth control. Yet it is an ignored amendment. Right wing thugs like Scalia want to reinterpret it to mean only the rights generally accepted when the amendment was drafted.

The Findlaw write up is as good as any... and generally it's the first site I go to on legal matters.

[damntexdem]

3. The first 10 Amendments were all adopted at the same time: 1791.

As I understand it, #9 means that just because certain rights are specifically stated in the Constitution or its amendments, they do not constitute all of the rights that people hold. Just because they're not mentioned doesn't mean that they don't exist.

Say you were listing a bunch of rights you thought should exist. What if you were worried that you'd left something out, that some things were too apparent to even bother listing, that new rights would become clear as conditions changed, whatever? You might well want to put in an escape clause: "other rights exist, I just didn't mention them here."

[MsMagnificent]

5. So it's a loophole for inclusion

is that correct?

My mind is telling me that this is important in re equal rights for both women *AND* GLBT... or am I off the mark?

As you can tell, I'm no legal scholar. :shrug:

TYVM for the help, anyhow -- 'tis much appreciated

Edit:
Thank you ALL very much for the help! :D

[ieoeja]

4. Written to satisfy opponents of the Bill of Rights

One of the big arguments against passage of the Bill of Rights was that in the future some assholes would use the Bill of Rights to claim that we have no rights except those specified in the Constitution.

And, of course, despite the inclusion of the 9th Amendment, today's rightwing still tries making that claim.