User:Wet Walnuts/Needed Constitutional Amendments (Wet Walnuts)
Well, everyone else made a list of these, so here are mine:
Contents |
[edit] Citizenship and equal rights
I propose the following changes to Section One of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution (in bold):
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. For the purposes of this amendment, children born to diplomats, military officers, and other agents of foreign governments, as well as children born to aliens who have entered the United States unlawfully or without proper documentation, shall not be considered citizens of the United States, but shall still be obliged to obey all applicable local laws during their residence in the United States.
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, regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, gender or gender identity, or sexual orientation.
Explanation: This amendment clarifies citizenship of the United States, and further prohibits discrimination based on a number of factors other than race.
[edit] Electoral reforms
The 28th Amendment shall read as follows:
- The Electoral College is hereby abolished. Election of the President and Vice-President of the United States shall be made by allocating electoral votes among the Congressional Districts: Each district shall have one electoral vote which shall go to the slate of candidates for President and Vice-President with the most votes in that district. The slate of candidates with the most popular votes in a state shall receive two additional electoral votes.
- Elections for the Senate and House of Representatives shall henceforth be conducted via instant runoff voting using a preferential vote system.
- Election campaigns shall be publicly funded. Private contributions to candidates' election campaigns, by either individuals or private organizations, are hereby prohibited. Congress shall have the authority to determine the legal requirements for receipt and use of public campaign funds.
- All citizens over the age of eighteen shall retain the right to vote in federal elections. No person shall be disenfranchised, except for those duly convicted of offenses against the United States or the public trust, and such disability shall be effective only for the term of imprisonment itself.
Explanation: This amendment is an attempt to improve the thoroughly corrupt and ineffective American political system. Most of it is fairly self-explanatory. The fourth section attempts to reverse one of the consequences of the prison-industrial complex by allowing convicts to vote unless they have been convicted of crimes against the United States or the public trust (e.g. treason, espionage, electoral fraud, official misconduct, obstruction of justice, terrorist offenses).
[edit] Government services
The 29th Amendment shall read as follows:
- Privatization or contracting out of military, law enforcement, or prison and correctional services, is hereby prohibited.
- This prohibition shall not include services which are ancillary to the public provision of aforementioned services, such as food service or construction of facilities.
Explanation: This amendment forbids the privatization of military services, police/security services, prison/correctional services. These services and those who provide them shall remain under civilian control and accountable to democratically-elected officials. Plus, it will really piss off both libertarians and businesses who live on government contracts!
[edit] Freedom of movement
The 30th Amendment shall read as follows:
- Citizens shall have the right to enter and leave the country and their state of residence with the proper documentation required by law, and the right to change their state or territory of residence.
- Neither the federal nor state governments may prohibit a citizen from traveling via any common carrier without due process of law.
- No provision of this amendment may be restricted in any way except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, or as a condition of bail or pre-trial release.
- Nothing in this amendment shall be construed as creating a right to operate motor vehicle without a license which would otherwise be legally required.
Explanation: This essentially codifies the pre-existing right to travel, and supplements it by eliminating the stupid No-Fly List.
Healthcare:
- Congress has power to legislate healthcare (?)
Privacy: (to be determined) Civil forfeiture: (to be determined)