You know what you really mean - and I probably know what you really mean; but this doesn't express it:
You and I (two consenting adults) decide to rob a bank (a voluntary interaction). Does the state have a right to interfere ?... the state never has any right to interfere in any voluntary interaction between two consenting adults ....
The difficulty in this and other legal areas is to phrase the rule - and allow for its exceptions.
The line of cases from Griswold v Connecticut (the 1965 birth control case), including Lawrence v Texas and Roe v Wade, led us into the alchemy of "umbras", "penumbras" and even "emanations" - a topic worthy of High Gnosticism.
In actual constitutional language, the three general provisions that come closest to securing the citizen from non-specific governmental intrusions are these:
With the notable exception of Justice Thomas re: gun rights, these provisions have not been popular items on the dinner plates at SCOTUS - whatever the ideological slant of the justices.ARTICLE IV, SECTION 2.
The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States.
AMENDMENT XIV, SECTION 1.
... No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States ....
AMENDMENT IX
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
Regards
Mike
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