Barton: It's wrong to say housing is a 'right'

God is the giver of human and fundamental rights – not Bernie Sanders or any other Democratic presidential candidate. But a Christian historian says that's not stopping them from disputing that fact in their quest for voters' support.

This morning, President Donald Trump delivered a speech on religious freedom at the United Nations, stating that peoples' rights come not from government but from God. Yet the list of "fundamental rights" and "human rights" seems to be expanding on the Democratic campaign trail. Several candidates have jumped on the "Medicare for All" bandwagon that's been pushed by Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders (pictured) since 2017:

Sanders (recent statement): "If we believe in Medicare for All as a human right, we must take on the power of the insurance industry."

Now the self-described Democratic socialist has added his $2.5 trillion "Housing for All" plan:

Sanders: "In the richest country in the history of the world, every American must have a safe, decent, accessible, and affordable home as a fundamental right."

Other Democratic hopefuls have said such things as education, same-sex "marriage," abortion, and even childcare are fundamental or human rights. One candidate – Andrew Yang – thinks a "universal basic income" is a human right and is willing to back it up with a thousand dollars every month to every American over 18 … amounting to more than $3 trillion a year. Yang calls it the "Freedom Dividend" and says it will be the first thing he implements when elected president.

Historian David Barton with WallBuilders spoke with OneNewsNow about Yang's proposal.

"He's in a political position with a microphone and that's a way to say, 'Here's my desire, I want this to be an agenda, so I'll actually help make it stronger by saying that it's a human right.' Well, it's not," Barton emphasizes.

Human/fundamental rights come from God, the historian argues. "The way we defined rights, traditionally for thousands of years – and I don't mean just in American history, I mean globally … – was [to ask] is it a right that the Creator God gave to every individual simply because they were human."

He says life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness quickly come to mind – but housing?

"There's nothing in nature, there's nothing in God that gives me an inalienable, God-given right to housing," Barton states bluntly.

Sanders clearly disagrees, promising among other things that if elected he will make rent affordable, end homelessness in America, and build millions of affordable housing units – with a price tag in the trillions of dollars.