Which amendment to the U. S. Constitution is most important and why?

[Anonymous]

[Anonymous]

I personally think the First Amendment is the most important. The freedom of speech is the foundation for practically every other right.

I also strongly believe in the separation of church and state (which the First Amendment guarantees). Freedom of Press allows people to be informed from non-governmental sources, which is great.

And I like how the First Amendment allows people to peacefully assemble and petition the government. When the people can’t petition their government, they live in a totalitarian state.

I don’t think it was an accident that the First Amendment was placed first, as it serves the basic foundation for all the other amendments.

[jjlm9149]

No single amendment is most important, but The Bill of Rights allows for the others and any future amendments to exist. The purpose is to Bill of Rights was to establish what the Founding Fathers considered God-given or inalienable; those must ALL be held in equal esteem.

[Whatthefluff]

Definitely the first

[OlderAndWiser]

What is more important: food or water?

[Asker]

I think I like my question better!

Obviously all of them are important, but it is interesting to see which one holds the most importance in some people’s eyes. If you aren’t capable of answering that, it’s fine.

[OlderAndWiser]

I understand the amendments very well. I think they are all essential to our culture and the lifestyle that we enjoy in the US. Saying that one is more important suggests that the others are less important.

[Asker]

Agreed. Just a question to throw out there.

[Other_Tommy_Wiseau]

not to be that guy, but you can last significantly longer with water...

[OlderAndWiser]

@Other_Tommy_Wiseau Yes, just like losing one of these amendments may have more immediate consequences than losing others, but ultimately, both food and water are necessary for survival.

[Other_Tommy_Wiseau]

true... i'm all i'm sayin is if i had to choose, i'd rather have water :D... also, not all of them are important. just 26 of them :P

on a semi side note that i don't wanna go down, on a technicality on the grounds i don't actually wanna talk about this and i'm here for the jokes, while all... er, 26 are important, a good 4 or 5 were ignored for at least a solid hunned years :P

[OlderAndWiser]

@Other_Tommy_Wiseau True, we are a work in progress. I was focusing on the Bill of Rights. You are correct. The Eighteenth Amendment is the least important (but it is important that we remember what happens when you try to legislate morality.)

[Meninist]

Don’t live in the US so I don’t know them.

I’m bound to upset some people with this statement but I could see the right to bear arms get dropped. At least ban the semi automatics and deadly weapons being used in mass shootings.

[Asker]

I can’t see it dropped is because this country is filled with gun fanatics. I couldn’t care less about guns personally.

[John806]

What country are you from if you don't mind me asking?

[Meninist]

@John806 U. K.

[WalterRadio]

The 17th Amendment should be repealed.

It was passed in populist hysteria to solve a particular kind of corruption that today rarely exists outside of Illinois, and in all cases, there are other laws to deal with it.

[Immortal_God_King]

None of them are worth jack if you can't defend yourself against someone trying to take them from you. The second makes all the rest possible. Without it, your one despot away from servitude.

An armed man is a citizen. An unarmed man is whatever the government tells him he is.

[vjedi]

The Second because without it the rest of those amendments would quickly unravel and fall apart.

[Asker]

Would they really? Without an army and guns we would have to have slaves and treat minorities like animals? Let’s not inflate the usefulness of the second amendment.

[N192K001]

That's not what he means. Look at the Tiananmen Square Massacre.

The Constitution of the People's Republic of China (in Article Ⅱ: "The Fundamental Rights and Duties of Citizens") promises Chinese citizens may things, the citizenry claimed what was long-promised them and denied, but the politicians saw that the people couldn't do anything other than complain.

Of what value, then, was Article 35: Freedom of speech, press, assembly? How about Article 37: Freedom of person? And Article 41: Right to petition the state?

While civil war is desired by no one and the untrained citizen militias would definitely lose against a professional military, politicians would hesitate more to before massively abusing an armed citizenry.

[Asker]

@N192K001
So we need guns to revolt against our government? I am not trying to simplify your argument or poke holes in it; I am simply trying to understand the obsession with guns in America.

The point I was making in response to his opinion is that you don’t need guns in order to not have a minority group treated like animals and raped, tortured or killed at another citizen’s own accord.

I can somewhat understand your argument in the context of freedom rights, however I would like for you to explain how we need guns in order to treat minorities humanely.

Thanks for your response.

[N192K001]

Then, I'm the wrong demographic to ask. Yes, I'm a U. S. citizen, but a naturalized citizen raised half my life in a county with strict civilian gun-regulations. My reasons for supporting gun regulations are probably not the same as those of Americans born and raised here.

And no, I'm not promoting the actual action of "revolt[ing] against our government" by any means. (Remember the "untrained citizen militias would definitely lose against a professional military" part? Why would we jump to suicide?) What I mean to say is that the very presence of a possibility of retaliation will make the unscrupulous, power-hungry politicians reconsider mistreating the citizenry.

For example, have you ever heard of the Swiss government oppressing its people, who have ≥1 military-grade rifle and ≥1 current/veteran military serviceman per house? Have you ever heard of horrifically-disproportionate killings by police against any Swiss demographic? And when was the last time they revolted?

[N192K001]

Correction: "… to answer." Sorry!

[fluffythepanda]

Depends the subject. The most known is 1st, 2nd and 5th. And few more.

[Asker]

I can’t confirm that the most known are those three, but I just mean in your opinion. If you had to choose which one was the most important, which would you pick?

[fluffythepanda]

I'd say the 1st because it's freedom of speech

[Chaz269]

The first amendment came first for a reason. Without freedom of speech, press and assembly all other freedoms become impossible to earn and maintain. The founding fathers knew this, and I wholeheartedly agree.

[markscott]

The first amendment is most important. Freedom expression and religion. Without freedom of the press, no other amendment is safe.

[Random_Guy_Online]

The first 10 are the most important. 1 and 5 are especially noteworthy.

[JackofSpades]

Without the second we can only hope and pray they don't take them all.

[Asker]

Wow. Really? Do you know all of the amendments? I’m not being sarcastic, honestly. Just want to understand this viewpoint better because someone else also responded that the 2nd is most important.

[JackofSpades]

You're naive if you believe the empire has your best interests in mind.

[JackofSpades]

The second amendment behaves as a power balance between the people and the state.

[Asker]

What? Lol. I guess I am naive for believing that you don’t need guns to allow minorities to be considered people and abolish domestic slavery. That makes sense.

[JackofSpades]

Explain to me how Soviet Russia or feudal Europe was not just one giant slave plantation.

Whoever has the greatest ability to enact violence has the power.

If someone with a gun took away your right to assemble, to speak to drink alcohol, what would you, do ask him nicely to give it back?

[rm_llort]

The part where they say that it should be okay to drink coffee.

[ohiomillennial]

Probably 1, 2, 5, or 10

[Asker]

Although those are obviously very important, not acknowledging the 13-15 amendments would make those four listed simply empty promises.

[ohiomillennial]

Not really.

[Asker]

You don’t think so? Slaves had zero rights so if we only looked at those amendments as being the most important, we would be denying an entire group of people those individual rights. That’s not an empty promise?

If you were denied any of those rights right now, I’m sure you’d be pretty upset.

[ohiomillennial]

The top 10 are definitely more important than any other one. If you can't own weapons or have free speech 13-15 would be empty.

[Asker]

How would slavery being abolished, minorities being treated equally, or blacks having the right to vote make the right to bear arms or freedom of speech empty?

I think you’re using the word incorrectly.

[ohiomillennial]

How would not having free speech, owning guns, misc undeclared rights, or a fair trial not make the others empty? You are using that word improperly.

[Asker]

Because you don’t need those things in order to not have slaves. You need to not have slaves in order for those rights to actually be rights for ALL of the American people.

If slavery was still a thing, those rights would mean nothing to an entire percentage of the population.

[ohiomillennial]

Well if you don't have the right to free speech then literally no one would have free speech, not just slaves, so

[Other_Tommy_Wiseau]

definitely the 18th

[Asker]

Totally.

[Aksamlar]

I'd say 1-27

[Asker]

That’s a good one.

[IGotFlabs]

1, 2, 5, 14

[HLDreM]

Every single one

[dudelife89]

2nd becuz it just is

[Anonymous]

2nd amendment. Best one there is.

[bengivens]

First amendment

[Anonymous]

dont know