Eliot Engel Quotes

National security is the first duty of government but we are also committed to reversing the substantial erosion of civil liberties.

In addition, as citizens, we must fight in their incipient stages all movements by government or party or pressure groups that seek to limit the legitimate liberties of any of our fellow citizens.

The people shall not be deprived or abridged of their right to speak, or to publish their sentiments; and the freedom of the press, as one of the great bulwarks of liberty, shall be inviolable.

Free speech is the cornerstone to every right we have.

Americans need to understand the significance of having their civil liberties dismantled. It doesn't just affect terrorists and foreigners, it affects us all.

Freedom is fragile and must be protected. To sacrifice it, even as a temporary measure, is to betray it.

And a democracy can't exist without free speech and the right to assemble. And that's what Americans tend to forget. And they're born into a culture where they take all of their freedoms for granted.

I think that, as Americans, we should never forget that when we tamper with freedom of speech, it is a very sensitive issue that affects all of our constitutional rights and privileges.

This is America. Anyone is free to protest about anything they want.

It is without doubt that freedoms of the press and speech need to be protected, but there are undisputed limits to these freedoms, limits that often come into play when national security is threatened.

As long as our government is administered for the good of the people, and is regulated by their will; as long as it secures to us the rights of persons and of property, liberty of conscience and of the press, it will be worth defending.

If a jerk burns the flag, America is not threatened, democracy is not under siege, freedom is not at risk.

By international standards, many of the U.K.'s policies for civil society are exemplary. However, there are concerns about constraints on civil liberties - particularly restrictions on free assembly and about the rising tide of everyday regulation has seriously impeded community activity - from organising street parties to helping children.

Two things form the bedrock of any open society - freedom of expression and rule of law. If you don't have those things, you don't have a free country.

Privacy is a right, but as in any democratic society, it is not an absolute right.

We must erase bin Laden's ugly legacy, not extend it: by ending the Patriot Act's erosion of our civil liberties, we can protect the freedoms that make America worth fighting for.

One of the functions of government is to act as a safeguard not just of property but of our liberties.

We cannot accept that democratic freedoms need to be abrogated to protect Islam.

Men may die, but the fabric of free institutions remain unshaken.

The Constitution is a delusion and a snare if the weakest and humblest man in the land cannot be defended in his right to speak and his right to think as much as the strongest in the land.

Shame! Shame on this House! A civilized society does not stifle opposition. It meets it.

Free speech, free press, free religion, the right of free assembly, yes, the right of petition—well, they are still radical ideas.

It is ingrained into our national life that the rule of law makes us free.

The right of peaceable assembly and of petition ... is the constitutional substitute for revolution.

If there is liberty, if there is democracy, in this country, it will stand or fall with the right of the minority to express to the full force of language its opposition in public to the policies of the government. And it will stand or fall with the courage of the minority so to express itself.