Know Your Rights? Question Authority . . .

Do you know your rights? Do you know when you have firm footing to take and make a stand? Do you know when discretion is the better part of valor? Do you know when you need to fall in line?

Do you know when you have the right to refuse to allow a search of your vehicle? When you have the right to speak? Or not to speak? When you are exercising civil disobedience - or creating a hot bed for yourself?

Do you know the limits on your freedom of speech? (Yes, Virginia, there are limits.) Do you know the limits on your ability to carry a firearm, open carry or otherwise? (Yes, Harry, despite the existence of the Second Amendment, there are limits.) Do you know the limits on your rights to privacy, whether you are out and about or happily ensconced in your castle of a home? You have surmised correctly: there are limits to your privacy.

Ignorance is the bliss you cannot afford in a democracy. Like a frog in a pot of cold water, by the time the water is boiling, you're cooked. Take time to get educated. Learn your rights. Don't be ignorant in the debates about your freedom.

My call to action? I dare you to take the time to sit down to research and answer just one of the above questions this week. Become a lawyer - What is the issue? E.g., against whom does my freedom of speech apply? What is the rule? Look up the First Amendment. Do the analysis - check out current issues on the First Amendment as it applies to your freedom of speech. Then, draw your own conclusion.

And, if you have a question: call an attorney.

John C. Kaspar, Esq., GRAY AND DUNING, (513) 932-2871