Government - Bill Of Rights (Amendments)

Amendment 1 - Freedom, Petitions, Assembly

You have the right to follow any religion (or none at all), to say what you think, to write and share your ideas, to gather peacefully with others, and to ask the government to fix problems—without the government getting in your way.

Amendment 2 - Right to bear arms

People have the right to own and carry weapons, because a well-prepared group (militia) is important for keeping the country safe, and that right shouldn't be taken away.

Amendment 3 - Quartering of Soldiers

The government can’t force you to let soldiers live in your house, unless you agree—and even during war, it has to follow the law.

Amendment 4 - Search and Arrest

You have the right to privacy—police can't search you or your stuff, or take anything from you, unless they have a good reason, and a warrant that clearly says what they're looking for and where.

Amendment 5 - Rights in criminal cases

You can't be put on trial for a serious crime unless a grand jury says there's enough evidence. You can't be tried twice for the same crime, forced to testify against yourself, or punished without a fair trial. If the government takes your property for public use, they have to pay you fairly for it.

Amendment 6 - right to a fair trial

If you're accused of a crime, you have the right to a quick and public trial with a fair jury where the crime happened. You must be told what you're being accused of, can see and question the witnesses against you, bring in your own witnesses, and have a lawyer to help defend you.

Amendment 7 - Right in civil cases

If you're in a civil case (not a criminal one) involving more than $20, you have the right to a jury trial, and once the jury decides the facts, a higher court can’t change their decision unless the law allows it.

Amendment 8 - Bails, fines, punishment

The government can’t charge huge bail or fines, and it can’t punish people in cruel or unusual ways.

Amendment 9 - Rights retained by the people 

Just because certain rights are listed in the Constitution doesn't mean people don't have other rights too. "You have more rights than just the ones written down."

Amendment 10 - States’ rights

Any power the Constitution doesn’t give to the federal government, and doesn’t stop the states from having, belongs to the states or the people. “If the government can’t do it, the states or the people can.”