by Brianna Lyman at the Federalist
The idea that rights come from God, rather than the state, is neither radical nor foreign. It is the foundational principle of the Republic.
Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va. — who was once nearly a heartbeat away from the presidency — declared Wednesday that if you believe in the Declaration of Independence you’re a terrorist.
“The notion that rights don’t come from laws and don’t come from the government, but come from the Creator — that’s what the Iranian government believes. It’s a theocratic regime that bases its rule on Sharia law and targets Sunnis, Bahá’ís, Jews, Christians and other religious minorities. And they do it because they believe that they understand what natural rights are from their Creator. So the statement that our rights do not come from our laws or our governments is extremely troubling.”
But the idea that rights come from God, the Creator, rather than the state, is neither radical nor foreign. It is the foundational principle of the Republic. The Declaration affirms this:
“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.”
The Founders recognized that all people are born with certain natural rights that are…
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