On December 15, 1791, the first ten amendments, known as Bill of Rights, were ratified into the Constitution by three-quarters of the states took place. December 15 has been known as Bill of Rights Day since 1941 when President Franklin D. Roosevelt proclaimed it as such.

The Bill of Rights is a compact with the government that guarantee the "rights of free men against tyrants." The first ten amendments to our Constitution are concerned with the following rights:

1. Freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, petition.

2. Right to keep and bear armsx

3. Rights regarding the quartering of soldiers

4. Regulation of search and seizure

5. Protection of persons and their property

6. Rights of persons accused of crime

7. Right of trial by jury

8. Protection against excessive fines, bail, punishment

9. Guarantee of unspecified rights

10. Powers reserved to states and the people

While the above represents an abbreviated form of the Bill of Rights the following is the actual wording of the 9th Amendment, “The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.”

Now I pose a challenge to each of you who is reading this article - what do you consider are the “certain rights” that are “others retained by the people?”

For your guidance the following is an extract from the Declaration of Independence, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Put yourself in this position - you have just been conceived by your parents - what are your “Unalienable Rights” as expressed in the Declaration and the 9th amendment. There is only one rule that you must adhere to: your right cannot infringe upon the rights of another.

Submit your list of those "certain rights" to which the 9th amendment makes reference to the Tribune Progress by Monday, December 8, 2008 at 5 p.m. by mail or by e-mail to newslady01@sbcglobal.net for publication in a future issue.

Henry Naizer

Austin, TX