The United States was founded on the premise that all persons “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.” Our Constitution secures these unalienable rights by proclaiming in the First Amendment that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” The Fifth Amendment also sets out that no person shall “be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.” These same concepts were adopted internationally in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, particularly in Articles 3, 10, 12, 18, 19, and 20.
