View source for People Have Rights. States Have Powers.

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[[Category:Disrupting Arguments]]
[[Category:Law]]
[[Category:States' Rights]]
{{DES | des = An incorrect statement based on an erroneous Constitutional interpretation.  People, US states, and the US federal government all have both rights and powers. | show=}}

First, it is obvious that the US government can have property rights: Article IV Section 3 mentions "property belonging to the United States".  Article I Section 8 uses the term "places purchased".   There is no prohibition of the US or any state having rights, property rights among them.  This idea also conflicts with the ideas of libertarians who are [[States' Rights]] advocates.

Second, according to [[Hohfeld’s typology of rights]], a power is the ability to change legal rights.  Government have those powers, rather obviously, but so do ordinary individuals: every change of ownership is an exercise of a power that is part of the bundle of ownership rights and powers.  The Constitution cannot be faulted for its usages of rights and powers, which predate Hohfeld's standardization of the terms right, privilege, power and immunity.  Modern usages should conform to Hohfeld.
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