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Unfortunately, I think often the word 'right' is used in legal discussions to seize a certain ground in debate. There are all manner of debates we have over what can or can not be done and what should or should not be done. It doesn't matter the issue, or which end of the political spectrum is promoting the activity and which is for some restrictions, because almost universally, those promoting freedom to do the activity will bring out the word 'right' in one fashion or another, the idea being that therefore anyone advocating limitations is painted in the role of the tyrant, infringing on the others 'rights'.
While this may well be true in some situations (yes there are tyrants out there), since it is so universally used, it loses its 'sting' if you will, which is not good for those times when its appropriate. It's like calling anyone you disagree with a 'nazi' or 'commie'... loses the edge it would normally have if you reserved it for dealing with those who really were.
The problem, like with all terms, is not the term itself, but the pre-programmed reactions we have to it. Take the term genocide, and the gyrations we saw the government go through to determine whether or not Darfur would be called 'genocide'. It wasn't about whether they really cared about the label, but since the term had a defined legal reaction that had to happen if the label was applied, the gyrations were necessary not for the sake of the label but to determine whether the follow-up action would take place. If the supporters could get it labelled genocide, they could get the response they felt was needed, whereas those who avoided the term really were just trying to avoid being forced into a course of action they didn't want to be forced into.
The same thing with 'right'. We kind of have this automated response to the word 'right' that basically equates it to 'shall not be infringed'. Thus, if you can get a person to think of an activity as a 'right', they will be much more skeptical of arguments in favor of any restrictions on that activity. Thus why nearly every cause which supports freedom for some activity, from guns to abortion to dress codes to smoking to...whatever else you want to insert here... almost invariably seeks to have their activity painted as a 'right' to one degree or another.
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