The Bill of Rights is a document of negative liberties that restricts the government from violating specific rights.
Posted by The Dan Bongino Show, Checked
- Sources
- 4 support1 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 85%
The Dan Bongino ShowOct 19, 2026
Multiple sources, including the National Archives' summary of the Bill of Rights and scholarly/legal analyses (Posner-quoted negative liberties, UChicago and NCCU law reviews), establish that the Bill of Rights restricts government action rather than granting positive entitlements.
What was said
… How do more people not know about this? This guy wants to take away your guns. He wants to transmute the Second Amendment into a right to health care, folks. The reason the Bill of Rights works is because it is a document of negative things the government can't do to your liberty. Let me make it make sense for you. It doesn't give the government a bunch of rights; it gives you a bunch of rights and tells the government what it can't do. You have the right to a free press, the right to assemble, the right to petition your government, the right to bear arms, the right to due process. The government can't violate due process, your right to bear arms. …
The Dan Bongino Show · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Supports. The National Archives describes the Bill of Rights as spelling out Americans' rights in relation to their government, with the First Amendment preventing government from creating or favoring religion and the Third preventing government from quartering soldiers.[1]
Supports. A University of Chicago law review article quotes Judge Posner describing the Constitution as 'a charter of negative rather than positive liberties,' and notes the due process clause is phrased as a prohibition on the states.[2]
Supports. A North Carolina Central Law Review article describes the Bill of Rights as granting freedom by limiting the power of government to act, and calls it a 'charter of negative liberties.'[3]
Supports. PBS's Constitution USA notes the Constitution and Bill of Rights only limit government actions, not private parties.[5]
Context. Some scholarly work (Georgetown 2026) argues negative and positive rights are complementary concepts, and the Bill of Rights includes some positive-leaning ideas; this qualifies rather than contradicts the core claim.[4]
Sources
5 sources: 4 primary, 1 tier 2
- 1The Bill of Rights: What Does it Say?archives.gov · primary source · cited for: supports
- 2Positive and Negative Constitutional Rightschicagounbound.uchicago.edu · primary source · cited for: supports
- 3North Carolina Central Law Reviewarchives.law.nccu.edu · primary source · cited for: supports
- 4Embracing Liberty: A Comprehensive Approach to Life, Liberty ...law.georgetown.edu · primary source · cited for: context
- 5Rights | CONSTITUTION USA with Peter Sagal | PBSpbs.org · tier 2 · cited for: supports
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post