If I Had Written the Bill of Rights
I will confess to a degree of hypocrisy in writing this
page. If there's one thing I really detest about Congress in general,
and Republicans in particular, it's their constant attempts to meddle with
and even circumvent our Constitution and Bill of Rights. The Republicans
(with the notable exception of Texan Ron Paul) have shown repeatedly that
they view our precious rights as an annoying interference to their proposed
rules of morality and personal conduct. While the Democrats are certainly
no friend of the Second Amendment, conservatives have led an all-out assault
on the First: seeking time and again to obliterate church-state separation,
and legislating to "exempt" any form of expression they don't agree with.
(E.g. flag-burning,
and many forms of expression not just obscene but "harmful to minors" [whatever
the heck that means!] and just plain offensive.) They have also seriously
eroded our Fourth, Fifth, and Eighth
Amendments in the name of our counter-productive War on Drugs.
That said, I too find fault with our Bill of Rights--not
that it interferes with crime fighting or allows "immoral" behavior, but
that it is too full of loopholes and doesn't go far enough in protecting
our rights and freedoms from an overzealous government. I would love
nothing better than to see our Bill of Rights clarified and strengthened
so that it is better able to withstand erosion against an organization
(Congress) that believes it is its full-time job to legislate away our
problems no matter the cost. And so I present to you, for your inspection
and even criticism....
Andrew Trapp's New Bill of Rights
Contents:
And for an excellent total rewrite of the Constitution from
a libertarian, pro-freedom, pro-individual rights perspective, read the
Oceania
Constitution and the Laws
of Oceania from the Oceania web site.
Article I (December
15, 1791)
Current Amendment:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment
of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the
freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably
to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
New Amendment:
Section 1. Congress shall make or allow no law respecting an establishment
of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. In no public
school or other government property shall a person, regardless of age,
be required or coerced into religious participation; nor shall peaceful,
voluntary participation be denied.
Section 2. Congress shall make or allow no law abridging the freedom
of speech, or of peaceful expression, or of the press, or of truthful advertisement,
or of electronic media, or of cryptography; or the right of the people
peaceably to assemble, without fine, curfew, or permit, and to petition
the Government for a redress of grievances.
Article II (December
15, 1791)
Current Amendment:
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security
of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not
be infringed.
New Amendment:
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free
State, the right of the common people to keep and bear Arms in any form,
shall not be infringed at any level of government, with two exceptions:
1. Use and possession of weapons of mass destruction, including but
not limited to chemical or biological weapons, atomic or nuclear explosive
devices; shall be limited to the federal government, or entities authorized
by it, for purposes of research or national defense only, and shall not
be used on United States citizens within the United States, its territories
or possessions.
2. The right to keep and bear Arms shall be revoked for a period of
ten years for any citizen who uses Arms in the commission of a violent
crime not resulting in death. The right to keep and bear Arms shall
be revoked for the lifetime of any citizen who uses Arms in the commission
of a violent crime resulting in death.
Article III (December
15, 1791)
Current Amendment:
No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any
house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner
to be prescribed by law.
New Amendment:
In recognition of the fundamental rights of privacy and property, no
Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the
consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed
by law.
Article IV (December
15, 1791)
Current Amendment:
The right of the people to be secure in their persons,
houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures,
shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause,
supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place
to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
New Amendment:
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers,
communications, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures,
shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon precise probable
cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the
place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. No
exceptions shall be made for civil forfeiture, implied consent, or emminent
domain. No crimes shall be charged except against living human beings.
Any property seized shall be returned to its owner in seized condition
if said person or entity is not charged with a crime within 90 days of
seizure, or immediately upon determination by a Court or the seizers that
the seized property is not evidence in the crime upon which the Warrant
to seize it was issued.
Article V (December
15, 1791)
Current 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; nor shall any person
be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or
limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against
himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process
of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use without just
compensation.
New Amendment:
No person shall be held to answer for a 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; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice
put in jeopardy of life, property, or limb; nor shall be compelled in any
criminal or civil case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived
of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private
property be taken for public use. No exceptions shall be made for
civil law, implied consent, or emminent domain.
Article VI (December
15, 1791)
Current Amendment:
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy
the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State
and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district
shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the
nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witness against
him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and
to have the assistance of Counsel for his defense.
New Amendment:
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to
a speedy and public trial, within 90 days of indictment, by an impartial
jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed,
which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be
informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with
the witness against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses
in his favor, and to have the assistance of Counsel for his defense.
Article VII (December
15, 1791)
Current Amendment:
In suits at common law, where the value in controversy
shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved,
and no fact tried by a jury shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court
of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.
New Amendment:
Section 1. In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall
exceed 100 dollars as of January 1, 2000, the right of trial by jury within
90 days of indictment shall absolutely be preserved, and no fact tried
by a jury shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States,
than according to the rules of the common law.
Section 2. In suits at common law, the value in controversy in order
for Section (1) to apply shall equal 100 dollars as of January 1, 2000.
This amount shall be adjusted once annually to compensate for the effects
of inflation or deflation only.
Article VIII (December
15, 1791)
Current Amendment:
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines
imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
New Amendment:
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed,
nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. No crime in which the
accused is seized prior to trial shall be without bail. No exceptions
shall be made for civil law, implied consent, or emminent domain.
Article IX (December
15, 1791)
Current Amendment:
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights,
shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
New Amendment:
In recognition of strict limits on government power, the enumeration
in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny
or disparage others retained by the people, regardless of race, creed,
gender, age, religious or political beliefs.
Article X (December
15, 1791)
Current Amendment:
The powers not delegated to the United States by the
Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States
respectively, or to the people.
New Amendment:
Section 1. The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution,
nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively,
or to the people.
Section 2. No federal agency excepting Congress shall have power to
pass legislation regulating or prohibiting acts by the people, including
but not limited to commerce, manufacturing, and peaceful, consentual behavior.
Section 3a. All legislation passed and enforceable, which is not included
in the Constitution or Bill of Rights, shall be null and void after a period
of three years after its passage, unless a majority of Congress votes to
renew it for another three years.
Section 3b. Congress must hold a separate and distinct vote for each
piece of legislation to be renewed, and no legislation to be renewed may
be altered from the form in which it was originally passed.
Section 3c. Upon presentation of a bill to Congress for passage or
renewal, the contents of said bill shall be read in its entirety to Congress
before voting, and no member of Congress absent during any part of its
reading may vote for its passage or renewal.
No legislation may be worded to circumvent any provision of this Article.
Article XI (1798)
Current Amendment:
The judicial power of the United States shall not be
construed to extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted
against one of the United States by Citizens of another State, or by Citizens
or Subjects of any Foreign State.
New Amendment:
[No changes needed.]
Article XII (1804)
Current Amendment:
The Electors shall meet in their respective states, and
vote by ballot for President and Vice President, one of whom, at least,
shall not be an inhabitant of the same state with themselves; they shall
name in their ballots the person voted for as President, and in distinct
ballots the person voted for as Vice-President, and they shall make distinct
lists of all persons voted for as President, and of all persons voted for
as Vice-President, and of the number of votes for each, which lists they
shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the government
of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate. The
President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House
of Representatives, open all the certificates and the votes shall then
be counted. The person having the greatest number of votes for President,
shall be the President, if such a number be a majority of the whole number
of Electors appointed; and if no person have such majority, then from the
persons having the highest numbers not exceeding three on the list of those
voted for as President, the House of Representatives shall choose immediately,
by ballot, the President. But in choosing the President, the votes
shall be taken by states, the representation from each state having one
vote; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from
two-thirds of the states, and a majority of all the states shall be necessary
to a choice. And if the House of Representatives shall not choose
a President whenever the right of choice shall devolve upon them, before
the fourth day of March next following, then the Vice-President shall acts
as President, as in the case of death or other constitutional disability
of the President. The person having the greatest number of votes
as Vice-President, shall be Vice-President, if such number be a majority
of the whole number of Electors appointed, and if no person have a majority,
then from the two highest numbers on the list, the Senate shall choose
the Vice-President; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of two-thirds
of the whole number of Senators, and a majority of the whole number shall
be necessary to a choice. But no person constitutionally ineligible
to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President
of the United States.
New Amendment:
[No real changes needed. However, I would replace the Electoral
College with a direct vote of the citizenry.]
Article XIII (1865)
Current Amendment:
Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude,
except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly
convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to
their jurisdiction.
Section 2. Congress shall have the power to enforce this
article by appropriate legislation.
New Amendment:
Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment
for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist
within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.
Section 2. No products or services produced in part or entirety from
slavery or involuntary servitude, shall be sold or bartered within the
United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.
Section 3. Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by
appropriate legislation.
Article XIV (1868)
Current Amendment:
Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United
States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United
States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make
or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of
citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of
life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any
person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
Section 2. Representatives shall be apportioned among
the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the
whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed.
But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for
President and Vice President of the United States, Representatives in Congress,
the Executive and Judicial officers of a State, or the members of the Legislatures
thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State, being
twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way
abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis
of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the
number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens
twenty-one years of age in such State.
Section 3. No person shall be a Senator or Representative
in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office,
civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having
previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as a member of any
State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State,
to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in
insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to
the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a two-thirds vote of each
House, remove such disability.
Section 4. The validity of the public debt of the United
States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions
and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall
not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any State shall
assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or
rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss of emancipation
of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held
illegal and void.
Section 5. The Congress shall have power to enforce,
by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.
New Amendment:
Section 1a. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and
subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States
and of the State wherein they reside, including those born to non-citizens.
No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges
or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive
any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor
deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the
laws.
Section 1b. Any citizen at least 18 years of age may renounce his/her
United States citizenship, provided he/she is able to obtain citizenship
from a Foreign country. Said person will then lose United States
citizenship, and all status and rights accorded exclusively to United States
citizens, upon attaining alternate citizenship or renouncing United States
citizenship, whichever comes later.
Section 1c. A non-citizen mother may declare a child of hers, if born
into United States citizenry, to be a non-citizen of the United States
and of her same citizenry, provided: That such a declaration is made
withing one year of her child's birth; and that no laws of her Foreign
country prohibit her from doing so.
Section 2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States
according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons
in each State, excluding non-citizens, and citizens incarcerated for State
or federal crimes. The right to vote at any election for the choice
of President and Vice President of the United States, Representatives in
Congress, the Executive and Judicial officers of a State, or the members
of the Legislatures thereof, shall not be denied to any of the inhabitants
of such State, being 18 years of age, and citizens of the United States,
or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other
crime.
Section 3. No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress,
or President, or Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military,
under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken
an oath, as a member of Congress, or as a member of any State legislature,
or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution
and Bill of Rights of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection
or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.
But Congress may by a two-thirds vote of each House, remove such disability.
Section 4. The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized
by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions, shall not be
questioned. But neither the United States nor any State shall assume
or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion
against the United States; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall
be held illegal and void.
Section 5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate
legislation, the provisions of this article.
Article XV (1870)
Current Amendment:
Section 1. The right of the citizens of the United States
to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any
State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this
article by appropriate legislation.
New Amendment:
Section 1. The right of the citizens of the United States, who are
eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged
by the United States or by any State on any account except incarceration
for a federal or State crime at the time of the vote.
Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by
appropriate legislation.
Article XVI (1913)
Current Amendment:
The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes
on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the
several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration.
New Amendment:
The Congress shall have no power to lay and collect taxes on
incomes, from any source derived.
Article XVII (1913)
Current Amendment:
The Senate of the United States shall be composed of
two Senators from each State, elected by the people thereof, for six years;
and each Senator shall have one vote. The electors in each State shall
have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch
of the State Legislatures.
When vacancies happen in the representation of any State
in the Senate, the executive authority of such State shall issue writs
of election to fill such vacancies: Provided, That the Legislature
of any State may empower the executive thereof to make temporary appointments
until the people fill the vacancies by election as the Legislature may
direct.
This amendment shall not be so construed as to affect
the election or term of any Senator chosen before it becomes valid as part
of the Constitution.
New Amendment:
The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from
each State, and one from each territory, and one from Washington, D.C.,
elected by the people thereof, for six years; and each Senator shall have
one vote. The electors in each State shall have the qualifications requisite
for electors of the most numerous branch of the State Legislatures.
When vacancies happen in the representation of any State in the Senate,
the executive authority of such State shall issue writs of election to
fill such vacancies: Provided, That the Legislature of any State
may empower the executive thereof to make temporary appointments until
the people fill the vacancies by election as the Legislature may direct.
This amendment shall not be so construed as to affect the election
or term of any Senator chosen before it becomes valid as part of the Constitution.
Article XVIII (1919)
Current Amendment:
Section 1. After one year from the ratification of this
article the manufacture, sale or transportation of intoxicating liquors
within, the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the
United States and all territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof for
beverage purposes is hereby prohibited.
Section 2. The Congress and the several States shall
have concurrent power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Section 3. This article shall be inoperative unless it
shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures
of the several States, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years
from the date of the submission hereof to the States by the Congress.
New Amendment:
[This Article should never have been ratified in the first place!
At least we got around to repealing it.]
Article XIX (1920)
Current Amendment:
The right of the citizens of the United States to vote
shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on
account of sex.
Congress shall have power to enforce this article by
appropriate legislation.
New Amendment:
[See my new Article XV, which gives the vote to all adult U.S. non-incarcerated
citizens.]
Article XX (1933)
Current Amendment:
Section 1. The terms of the President and Vice President
shall end at noon on the 20th day of January, and the terms of Senators
and Representatives at noon on the 3rd day of January, of the year in which
such terms would have ended if this article had not been ratified; and
the terms of their successors shall then begin.
Section 2. The Congress shall assemble at least once
in every year, and such meeting shall begin at noon on the 3rd day of January,
unless they shall by law appoint a different day.
Section 3. If, at the time fixed for the beginning of
the term of the President, the President elect shall have died, the Vice
President elect shall become President. If a President shall not
have been chosen before the time fixed for the beginning of his term, or
if the President elect shall have failed to qualify, then the Vice President
elect shall act as President until a President shall have qualified; and
the Congress may by law provide for the case wherein neither a President
elect nor a Vice President elect shall have qualified, declaring who shall
then act as President, or the manner in which one who is to act shall be
selected, and such person shall act accordingly until a President or Vice
President shall have qualified.
Section 4. The Congress may by law provide for the case
of death of any of the persons from whom the House of Representatives may
choose a President whenever the right of choice shall have devolved upon
them, and for the case of the death of any of the persons from whom the
Senate may choose a Vice President whenever the right of choice shall have
devolved upon them.
Section 5. Sections 1 and 2 shall take effect on the
15th day of October following the ratification of this article.
Section 6. This article shall be inoperative unless it
shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures
of three-fourths of the several States within seven years from the date
of its submission.
New Amendment:
[Nothing new needed, really.]
Article XXI (1933)
Current Amendment:
Section 1. The eighteenth article of amendment to the
Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed.
Section 2. The transportation or importation into any
State, Territory, or possession of the United States for delivery or use
therein of intoxicating liquors, in violation of the laws thereof, is hereby
prohibited.
Section 3. This article shall be inoperative unless it
shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by conventions
in the several States, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years
from the date of the submission hereof to the States by the Congress.
New Amendment:
Section 1. In recognition that suppression of free trade encourages
crime, and endangers and impoverishes the people, the eighteenth article
of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed.
Section 2. The manufacture, sale, importation, exportation, or transportation
of any substance not intended for use in weaponry of mass destruction within,
into, or from the United States and all territory subject to the jurisdiction
thereof shall not be prohibited.
Article XXII (1951)
Current Amendment:
Section 1. No person shall be elected to the office of
the President more than twice, and no person who has held the office of
President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to
which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office
of the President more that once. But this article shall not apply
to any person holding the office of President when this article was proposed
by the Congress, and shall not prevent any person who may be holding the
office of the President, or acting as President, during the term within
this article becomes operative from holding the office of President or
acting as President during the remainder of such term.
Section 2. This article shall be inoperative unless it
shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures
of three-fourths of the several states within seven years from the date
of its submission to the states by the Congress.
New Amendment:
[Again, nothing really critical is needed here. I'm personally
undecided on term limits for Congress, so I won't add that here.]
Article XXIII (1961)
Current Amendment:
Section 1. The District constituting the seat of Government
of the United States shall appoint in such manner as the Congress may direct:
A number of electors of President and Vice President
equal to the whole number of Senators and Representatives in Congress to
which the District would be entitled if it were a State, but in no event
more than the least populous State; they shall be in addition to those
appointed by the States, but they shall be considered, for the purposes
of the election of President and Vice President, to be electors appointed
by a State; and they shall meet in the District and perform such duties
as provided by the twelfth Article of Amendment.
Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this
article by appropriate legislation.
New Amendment:
[Do away with the electoral college. Elect the President and
Vice President by a direct vote of the citizenry. Isn't that what
democracy is all about?]
Article XXIV (1964)
Current Amendment:
Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States
to vote in any primary or other election for President or Vice President,
for electors for President or Vice President, or for Senator or Representative
in Congress, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any
State by reason of failure to pay any poll or other tax.
Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this
article by appropriate legislation.
New Amendment:
[See my new Article XV, which gives the vote to all adult U.S. non-incarcerated
citizens. Failure to pay a "poll tax", pass a reading test, etc.
would be included under the "on any account" provision.]
Article XXV (1967)
Current Amendment:
Section 1. In case of the removal of the President from
office or of his death or resignation, the Vice President shall become
President.
Section 2. Whenever there is a vacancy in the office
of the Vice President, the President shall nominate a Vice President who
shall take the office upon confirmation by a majority vote of both houses
of Congress.
Section 3. Whenever the President transmits to the President
Pro Tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives
his written declaration that he is unable to discharge the powers and duties
of his office, and until he transmits to them a written declaration to
the contrary, such powers and duties shall be discharged by the Vice President
as Acting President.
Section 4. Whenever the Vice President and a majority
of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such
other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President Pro
Tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their
written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers
and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the
powers and duties of the office as Acting President.
Thereafter, when the President transmits to the President
Pro Tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives
his written declaration that no inability exists, he shall resume the powers
and duties of his office unless the Vice President and a majority of either
the principal officers of the executive department or of other such body
as Congress may by law provide, transmit within four days to the President
Pro Tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives
their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the
powers and duties of his office. Thereupon Congress shall decide the issue,
assembling within forty-eight hours for that purpose if not in session.
If the Congress, within twenty-one days after receipt of the latter written
declaration, or, if Congress is not in session, within twenty-one days
after the Congress is required to assemble, determines by two-thirds vote
of both houses that the President is unable to discharge the same as Acting
President; otherwise, the President shall resume the powers and duties
of his office.
New Amendment:
[No changes needed. A bit confusing, but otherwise worded precisely
enough.]
Article XXVI (1971)
Current Amendment:
Section 1. The right of the citizens of the United States,
who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or
abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age.
Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this
article by appropriate legislation.
New Amendment:
[See my new Article XV, which gives the vote to all adult U.S. non-incarcerated
citizens.]
Article XXVII (1992)
Current Amendment:
No Law, varying the compensation for the services of
the Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election
of Representatives shall have intervened.
New Amendment:
Upon ratification of this Article:
The compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives
shall be adjusted once annually to compensate for inflation or deflation.
No new Law, increasing the compensation for the services of the Senators
and Representatives, shall take effect.
Some Good New Amendments
There have been some other good amendments proposed by others,
ones that are not simply variations or rewrites of our present ones but
completely new and for the purpose of further protecting and solidifying
our freedoms. Below are some I would agree with enough to vote for.
And for an excellent total rewrite of the Constitution
from a libertarian, pro-freedom, pro-individual rights perspective, read
the Oceania
Constitution and the Laws
of Oceania from the Oceania web site.
The possession or peaceful noncoercive use of any substance,
object, image, or information by any person 18 years of age or older shall
not be a crime under the laws of the United States or any State.
-- David Nolan, Mission Viejo, California
[Comments: I would also add "non-stolen" between "any" and
"substance," and would also include territories & possessions of the
U.S.]
"Neither Congress nor any State shall make or enforce
any law proscribing consensual acts among adult citizens." With one
sentence we could abolish laws banning gambling, prostitution, drug use,
birth control, pornography, sodomy, ticket-scalping, and working for less
than the minimum wage. Let cops fight real criminals!
-- Jim Klann, Glendale Heights, Illinois
No Congressman may vote on a bill supported by a lobbyist
from whom he has received a campaign contribution.
-- Richard D. Fuerle, Grand Island, New York
[Comments: Getting lobbyists to say that they specifically
support a bill could be tricky. Also, there's not much to simply
prevent somone other than the lobbyist himself from making the campaign
contribution. Besides, if this law worked, Congress might be passing
bills with total votes of 2 to 1!]
Every new law enacted by Congress and signed by the President
shall remain in force for a period not to exceed seven years from the time
the President signs it into law, following which the law is null and void.
This provision applies also to all regulations promulgated by Federal agencies
as part of any law's implementation.
-- Ed Macke, St. Louis, Missouri
[Comments: I really like this one. I'd already written
a more stringent version of it. See my new Article
X, above.]
"The IRS cannot seize assets, and the government cannot
seize property under the War on Drugs." Our government has forgotten
that "innocent until proven guilty" was a basic premise in founding our
country.
-- Kathleen A. McNelis, Landrum, South Carolina
[Comments: I would word this a bit more concisely, and replace
"the War on Drugs" with "civil forfeiture." Such an amendment would
be popular with a lot of people, who like me, are horrified to see the
bald-faced greed, corruption, and malice caused by our government's overzealous
and extremely abusive use of civil forfeiture laws, which in themselves
are very communistic and un-American in nature. I expect that most
politicians and law enforcement would be very much against such an amendment,
which is why it will likely never see the light of day.]
All non-defense spending bills, and bills which increase
revenue, shall require a two-thirds vote of Congress before they are presented
to the President.
-- Charles Maloney, Apple Valley, Minnesota
[Comments: This bill is good in intention but would require
more specific language to avoid the inevitable loopholes. Otherwise
you'll have all sorts of pork projects added to defense spending, and all
sorts of accounting tricks used to skirt either requirement.]
No regulation promulgated by an agency of the executive
department shall take effect until approved by both houses of Congress.
-- Steve Evans, Huntsville, Alabama
[Comments: Another good diamond in the rough. See my
new Article X, Section 2.]
I would specifically require that any Congressman voting
on any Bill or Amendments would have to personally read the Bill or Amendments
that he or she is voting on.
-- Mark Cross, Kissimmee, Florida
[Comments: I got yer amendment right here. Article
X, Section 3c.]
"The government shall make no law abridging the commerce
of the people." I don't think there needs to be much explanation.
It explains itself.
-- Michael H. Wilson, Portland, Oregon
[Comments: I would make an exception for weapons of mass destruction,
and would clarify that littering and environmental dumping are forms of
tresspass. Other than that, I like it.]
The right of all individuals to do as they wish with their
bodies, money, and property, to the extent that they do not engage in acts
of force or fraud, nor interfere with the equal rights of others to do
the same, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States nor by and
State.
-- Nancy O'Brien, Allen Park, Michigan
[Comments: This is an agreeable amendment, albeit perhaps
a bit too libertarian for mainstream America at this time. I wouldn't
want to water it down too much, though.]
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