Colin Hanna's misinterpretation of the Constitution ("Undeserved protections", Jan. 24) regarding criminal trials for terrorists like bombing suspect Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab is stunning in its audacity.

Conservatives like Mr. Hanna usually bill themselves as strict constructionists, adhering to the plain words of the document when the Second Amendment is in question. I invite Mr. Hanna and others of similar persuasion to apply the same standard to the rest of the Bill of Rights.

Mr. Hanna states that the Fifth, Sixth, and Eighth Amendments apply only to U.S. citizens. Yet the Bill of Rights does not contain the words "citizen" or "citizens" anywhere -- its protections apply to "the people" or "persons," i.e., everyone within the jurisdiction of the United States. The exception is explicitly listed in the Fifth Amendment: "No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger." Thus, the idea that everyone within the U.S. border is protected by these rights -- whether they deserve them or not -- is exactly correct.

The Constitution is in many ways an inconvenient document, giving rights to people who in many cases are unworthy of them. But once we start picking and choosing to whom the document applies, we undercut what our country stands for and hand the terrorists a bigger victory than they can even imagine.

George Kaplan, Colora

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