The Importance Of The Fourth Amendment

Words: 611
Pages: 3

“They that can give up essential liberty to purchase temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” This memorable quote by Benjamin Franklin explains that liberty is far more important than safety. The founders believed in the vital importance of individual liberties in the Bill of Rights. There is a delicate balance between security and liberty, and the question that remains is; how well is our government keeping this balance? The debate of freedom and safety draw heavily on the war on terror. Much of the losses of certain freedoms occurred after 9/11. The fourth amendment is arguably the most violated of all, in the name of safety.

The fourth amendment states that, the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to searched , and the persons or things to be seized. In other words, it protects citizens from improper searches or seizures of bodies, possessions or homes. It requires detailed warrants to search someone,
…show more content…
One example is the growing use of drones, to search people. The FBI recently admitted to using drones to spy on people in difficult cases, but some people are worried that their rights will be infringed on with this new technology. Another case of this is the airport’s TSA, which was implemented soon after 9/11. The TSA cannot legally stop you from leaving the airport or boarding a plane if the unless they have proof that you have broken a law, but many don’t know this, so the TSA is, to some extent, violating the fourth amendment. Many people also have problems with police checkpoints. At these checkpoints the police cannot search you or your possessions without a warrant and if they do it is a violation of the fourth