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Civil Liberties And Civil Rights

Decent Essays

Civil liberties and civil rights are very commonly used statements, which can be carelessly misused. Both statements are similar to some degree, but do hold different meanings. These statements may seem exactly the same, but by true definitions, the difference between both is unmistakable. Civil liberties are the protections against government actions. Civil rights, however, is positive actions of government should take to create equal conditions for all Americans. Civil liberties are rights for freedom of speech and religion, that are so significant that are outside government’s authority to regulate. Defined as protected laws allowing everyone to have freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of the press, abortion rights, and other right’s stated in the first 10 amendments, which are better known as the Bill of Rights. The majority of court determinations that define American liberties come from the Bill of Rights, being first ten amendments added in the Constitution in 1791. Civil liberties protected in the Bill of Rights can be divided into two broad areas, which are freedoms and rights guaranteed in the First Amendment, and liberties and rights relating to crime and due process. Civil rights on the other hand are certain rights centered on the concept of equal treatment that the government is obligated to protect. Rights relating to the duties of citizenship based on the expectation of equality under the law. An important example of civil rights is the right

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