This may seem like a small nitpick to some, but I think it's extremely important that people remember that, at least in the US, rights are reserved for The People; the government, by definition, does not have rights, only authority (explicit and implicit).
It's not even a nitpick as much as a distraction from what's being talked about. In the sense that I used the word "right", it can be exchanged for the word "power" and have the exact same meaning. In fact, I make that exchange in my comment. What exactly is your point?
My point is that terms like 'right', 'power', and 'authority' are not interchangeable, they mean different things. There are other tangential points, but this entire thread is essentially about people objecting to government exercising power without authority in a way that violates rights. I hope that illustrates both the differences between these terms and why it's important to use the correct language in this discussion.
