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'Retained' Is Key Constitutional WordEditor, Times-Dispatch: Ray McAllister's column, "Helping Vermont Secede," indirectly called attention to an overlooked fact written into the Constitution. The Ninth Amendment says, "The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people." The key word is "retained." The amendment undeniably guaranteed the "retained" rights of the states. In their ordinances ratifying the Constitution of 1787, the states of New York, Virginia, and Rhode Island included language "retaining" certain rights. The states have no retained rights other than those stated in their ordinances of ratification. These ordinances were accepted by the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, and the Ninth Amendment was written into the Bill of Rights specifically to guarantee those "retained" rights. Just what part of the English language, as used by the Founders of this Commonwealth and accepted by the Founders in Philadelphia, was and is not perfectly clear? Dan Coli. Richmond. |
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