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I would say they are specified well, but the ramifications of those specifications are not politically palatable much of the time. As a current event, look at

by runako 2y ago

I would say they are specified well, but the ramifications of those specifications are not politically palatable much of the time. As a current event, look at the push to reinterpret the Fourteenth Amendment provision on birthright citizenship. That provision is written quite clearly, but people do not like what it says and as a result we may as a country go through a period where we ignore it.

crazygringo 2y ago
No, they are not specified well. They are not specified well because they come into conflict with other rights, and it is not spelled out which rights take precedence in which circumstances. Nor does it have anything to do with "palatability". When the Bill of Rights was passed, they were never understood to be absolute. The first amendment was never understood to make defamation allowed, nor was the second meant to prohibit towns from preventing people from carrying their guns into taverns. All of this is extremely clear from commentary and practice at the time. Birthright citizenship is relatively unambiguous, as it is hard to imagine it in conflict with other rights. This is not the case, however, for many other rights.
- runako 2y ago
  > Nor does it have anything to do with "palatability" Conflicts with other rights is a really good point that I missed. > Birthright citizenship is relatively unambiguous And yet it is currently a topic of debate. It's entirely possible it gets tossed in the coming years, at least until fashion changes again.
  - crazygringo 2y ago
    >> Birthright citizenship is relatively unambiguous > And yet it is currently a topic of debate. Its constitutionality and meaning are not under debate. It is quite clear. There's a debate about repealing it, which would require a new amendment. But there's no serious debate about the existing amendment's interpretation.
    - ANewFormation 2y ago
      There is a debate on the meaning, but one that has not yet made it's way to the Supreme Court who will ultimately decide. The nuance that you run into is that legal opinion defining what 'subject to the jurisdiction of the US' means (from the 14th amendment) was made in 1898, but at that time the border was relatively open. Immigration restrictions started amping up exponentially in the 20th century, especially amidst the world wars. It seems unlikely that the court would have ruled as it did in the context of these new laws.
Redoubts 2y ago
This would not be the first time a whole section of the 14th amendment was just written out by the courts.

by runako 2y ago

crazygringo 2y ago

No, they are not specified well. They are not specified well because they come into conflict with other rights, and it is not spelled out which rights take precedence in which circumstances. Nor does it have anything to do with "palatability". When the Bill of Rights was passed, they were never understood to be absolute. The first amendment was never understood to make defamation allowed, nor was the second meant to prohibit towns from preventing people from carrying their guns into taverns. All of this is extremely clear from commentary and practice at the time. Birthright citizenship is relatively unambiguous, as it is hard to imagine it in conflict with other rights. This is not the case, however, for many other rights.

runako 2y ago
> Nor does it have anything to do with "palatability" Conflicts with other rights is a really good point that I missed. > Birthright citizenship is relatively unambiguous And yet it is currently a topic of debate. It's entirely possible it gets tossed in the coming years, at least until fashion changes again.
- crazygringo 2y ago
  >> Birthright citizenship is relatively unambiguous > And yet it is currently a topic of debate. Its constitutionality and meaning are not under debate. It is quite clear. There's a debate about repealing it, which would require a new amendment. But there's no serious debate about the existing amendment's interpretation.
  - ANewFormation 2y ago
    There is a debate on the meaning, but one that has not yet made it's way to the Supreme Court who will ultimately decide. The nuance that you run into is that legal opinion defining what 'subject to the jurisdiction of the US' means (from the 14th amendment) was made in 1898, but at that time the border was relatively open. Immigration restrictions started amping up exponentially in the 20th century, especially amidst the world wars. It seems unlikely that the court would have ruled as it did in the context of these new laws.

Redoubts 2y ago

This would not be the first time a whole section of the 14th amendment was just written out by the courts.