2024 Presidential Bill of Rights Scores

Does the candidate acknowledge and support the individual right to own and possess (“keep”) firearms and other weapons, so that they might have access to the necessary tools to defend themselves, others, and the United States of America?

Does the candidate acknowledge and support the individual right to transport and carry (“bear”) firearms and other weapons, openly or concealed, with only the minimal necessary legal restrictions (up to and including ‘shall-issue’ carry permits)?

Does the candidate support federal legislation to establish unrestricted interstate recognition of concealed carry rights, as implied by the ‘Full Faith and Credit’ clause (cf. Article IV, Section 1, Clause 1)?

Does the candidate oppose unnecessary restrictions on firearms, such as ammunition capacity limits and restrictions based on cosmetic or accessory features?

Does the candidate oppose all treaties that purport to restrict the production and trade of small arms, or that purport to restrict the right of any people to keep and bear them?

Does the candidate acknowledge and support the right of every homeowner to be free from the quartering of soldiers in their home without consent, except in a time of war?

Does the candidate acknowledge and support the individual right to be secure in their persons and effects and free from unreasonable searches and seizures?

Does the candidate oppose the administrative seizure of property, commonly known as ‘civil forfeiture,’ unless authorized by warrant or court ruling?

Does the candidate oppose government actions that undermine the right to data security, such as efforts to undermine, break, or outlaw effective electronic encryption systems?

Does the candidate oppose warrantless domestic surveillance programs, such as the NSA phone metadata program, except upon the suspension of the writ of habeus corpus in times of rebellion or invasion (cf. Article I, Section 9, Clause 2)?

Does the candidate oppose ‘implied consent’ warrantless searches that lack probable cause, such as roadside searches of vehicles and persons and unnecessarily invasive airport security scans?

Does the candidate acknowledge the right of every person not to be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, such as a finding by a jury or a defined legal process subject to appeal?

Does the candidate support the grand jury system and the right to not be twice placed in jeopardy for the same offense?

Does the candidate support the individual right not to serve as a witness against oneself, including the right to decline to testify before either the courts or the legislature, and the right not to be compelled to produce evidence that may be used against oneself?

Does the candidate oppose the seizure of private property via ’eminent domain’ for non-public uses, such as stadiums and neighborhood revitalization?

Does the candidate oppose efforts by law enforcement agencies and the courts, in violation of the right not to self-incriminate, to compel suspects to provide decryption codes for their devices?

Does the candidate acknowledge the right of all persons criminally accused, including juveniles, to a speedy and public trial by jury?

Does the candidate acknowledge the right of all persons criminally accused to have competent counsel acting on their behalf, and support the sufficient public funding to provide such counsel for those who cannot afford it?

Does the candidate acknowledge and support the presumption of innocence in all criminal cases, and oppose all laws and regulations (including the administrative seizure of property, commonly known as ‘civil forfeiture’) that presume guilt before it has been affirmed by a jury?

Does the candidate oppose the classification of certain infractions, such as traffic infractions, as civil matters for the purpose of usurping the right to a trial by jury and the presumption of innocence?

Does the candidate affirm the public nature of all court proceedings, including those of the United States Supreme Court, and support unrestricted access to the courts by the press and public, including their use of recording devices, except in special cases?

Does the candidate acknowledge the right of all parties in civil cases to a trial by jury in cases where the value of the case is more than twenty dollars?

Does the candidate acknowledge that no fact tried by a jury may be reexamined by the courts except as permitted under common law?

Does the candidate acknowledge that the government may not require excessive bail, impose excessive fines, or inflict cruel and unusual punishments?

Does the candidate oppose torture, including torture such as ‘waterboarding’ that does not inflict permanent physical harm?

Does the candidate oppose the death penalty, also known as capital punishment, except perhaps in the most extreme of cases?

Does the candidate acknowledge that prisoners, including prisoners of war and captive enemy combatants, are entitled to humane treatment, including food, water, shelter, and competent medical care?

Does the candidate acknowledge that the Bill of Rights is not a comprehensive list of all rights retained by the people?

Does the candidate acknowledge that all human rights spring either from the creator or from our human nature, and that they are not established by law, but only affirmed by it?

Does the candidate acknowledge the fundamental, inalienable human rights upon which the Bill of Rights is predicated, including the rights to life (from conception to natural death), liberty, property, and the pursuit of happiness?

Does the candidate acknowledge that the Bill of Rights includes, in the Ninth Amendment, a ‘presumption of liberty’ and an affirmation of all natural rights, and that individual and collective rights may not be usurped except to the least extent necessary to protect the liberties of others?

Does the candidate acknowledge the right to privacy, as understood in the case law of the United States, except in cases where it conflicts with the higher rights of others?

Does the candidate acknowledge that the powers of the federal government are limited to those expressly enumerated in the U.S. Constitution, and that all other powers are reserved to the states or the people?

Does the candidate oppose laws that misapply federal authority over interstate commerce (cf. Article I, Section 8, Clause 3) to include all activity with economic effects, even if that activity is conducted entirely within the borders of a state?

Does the candidate oppose all federal laws, regulations, and coercive funding offers on matters not enumerated (cf. Article I, Section 8), including those relating to health care, food, medicine, recreational drugs, the environment, marriage, firearms, research, education, and employment, except insofar as they directly intersect with an enumerated power?

Does the candidate acknowledge that all states, and all individuals, have standing to challenge federal laws and regulations that they believe exceed the enumerated powers and usurp the reserved authorities of the states and the people?

Does the candidate acknowledge that the principles of federalism and subsidiarity demand that government action be executed at the smallest and narrowest level possible without rendering it ineffective?