Thank you for the excellent story by Alex Newman [[“Vowing to Protect Rights, NY County Goes ‘Constitutional,'” published on Sept. 8] and the inspiring actions of [the Cattaraugus County] legislature. However, as we all know, words count. In the newly adopted version of their mission statement, they say “the liberties endowed to the people by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.” Our rights do not come from a constitution or from any government. As sovereign beings, our rights come from the divine. Both the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution acknowledge this and stress that the government exists to protect our divinely endowed rights. Again, thank you for running this story. The reportage is excellent, and such positive legislators are exactly what we need in other counties across America.   Mary Uhrbrock North Carolina