Change the Constitution

I was just wondering if anyone wanted to change any parts of the Constitution or Bill of Rights.



One of my changes would be to water down the Second Amendment so it would specifically outlaw anything above and including an automatic machinegun.

I would also try to make the first amendment more specific to validate what can be considered violations of expression that are illegal.

Also, I would really like if it emphysized the 10th amendment to make it very clear the congress can't have any more enumerated powers except for the ones that are listed. I mean, we can easily just add thing for popular federal programs such as SS and health regulations.

and for the rest of the Constitution

I would really like it if the states had to give their ellectoral college votes for president depending on the percentage of vote that each candidate got.

term limits for the house and senate would also be great.

Not to mention a way for states to susceed legally... It would have to involve some specific guildlines though, maybe there needs to be a 2/3 majority in the state's leglislature.


and of course, get rid of the income tax in the federal government and replace it with a sales tax

I lost interest at "water down the Second Amendment".

No, I have no desire to change the Constitution and neither should anyone.

I'd mostly like to change the constitution to use more clear and precise language. A lot of issues stem from a lack of clarity on exactly what the constitution means. The other main issue would be to deal with modern technology that obviously the founders couldn't have included.

I'd like to see an Amendment banning stupid Amendments.

I think we should simply follow it the way it is. Problems solved.

Anyone mucking with the Bill of Rights, especially to restrict freedom, as you're doing here . . . well, I have words for that.

The *only* change I've ever seen which I would favor, ironically, something which was in the Confederate constitution -- that any bill passed by Congress can concern only one subject at a time, and it must form part of the name of the bill. So, no riders, no ambiguous titles.

Why, the constitution recognizes rights, it does not grant rights. The rights are unalienable.

What's the point in changing a legal document that noone considers legally binding, anyway?

Still, if I were to undertake such an effort:

• I would clarify and expand the scope of the 2nd Amendment to make clear that it includes military weapons comparable to those which are issued to the Infantry. I would also include a clear definition of "well regulated militia" within the text of the Amendment itself, and quite possibly include mandatory training in said militia.
• I would abolish term limits and adopt the use of Condorcet method vote counting for all elected offices. I would also strike age restrictions, except that elected officers must be adult citizens.
• I'd adopt the amendment from the Confederate Constitution as suggested by Harshaw.
• I would re-write the 8th Amendment to specifically define what constitutes "cruel and unusual." Corporal and capital punishment would specifically not be forbidden. I would also specify that every non-capital punishment would include mandatory participation in appropriate rehabilitative programs.
• I would change the 16th Amendment so that only the children of American citizens automatically become American citizens upon birth. I am tempted to limit this further, by requiring satisfactory completion of national service. Or at least passing the same naturalization exam expected of immigrants.
• I would include an amendment that requires that laws must apply equally to citizens of all ages, except laws which specifically pertain to children. (In other words, adults are adults.) Of course, if citizenship cannot be obtained until adulthood, I'd simply state that laws may not apply unequally on the basis of age.
• I would combine the 15th and 19th Amendments and include that the right to vote may not be denied to citizens (or adult citizens) for any other reason, including conviction of felony.
• I would change the majority of references to "persons" in the Constitution to "citizens".

There are a few more changes I would have liked to have seen in the Constitution, but it's a little too late for them now.

I'd just like to see one addition to the Constitution: Every single Federal law that's ever passed should have a 20-year sunset clause. If Congress has to pass the laws again, then:

1. It puts pressure on Congress to simplify the laws to make their own jobs easier.
2. More importantly, it allows for tyrannical laws to be naturally overturned because they can simply expire without enough support for re-instatement.

Harshaw said:

The *only* change I've ever seen which I would favor, ironically, something which was in the Confederate constitution -- that any bill passed by Congress can concern only one subject at a time, and it must form part of the name of the bill. So, no riders, no ambiguous titles.

Click to expand...

I really like that idea.

EgoffTib said:

I really like that idea.

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wow, that is a good idea.

With out lazy congress that would really reduce their randome spending measures.

Binary_Digit said:

I'd just like to see one addition to the Constitution: Every single Federal law that's ever passed should have a 20-year sunset clause. If Congress has to pass the laws again, then:

1. It puts pressure on Congress to simplify the laws to make their own jobs easier.
2. More importantly, it allows for tyrannical laws to be naturally overturned because they can simply expire without enough support for re-instatement.

Click to expand...

Jefferson argued for this, I thought it would be cool. But I think what would happen in reality is that the government would just pass omnibus legislation and hide some really nasty stuff in thousands of pages of bill.

Ikari said:

Jefferson argued for this, I thought it would be cool. But I think what would happen in reality is that the government would just pass omnibus legislation and hide some really nasty stuff in thousands of pages of bill.

Click to expand...

That happens anyway, except that now the trash hardens into dogma and remains law until someone finally submits a bill to overturn it, whenever that might be.

Hm, Goshin gets to re-write the Constitution? Muwhahahahaha....:devil:

All new Amendments will be titled Amendment 1, so there's no confusion about which is more important.

Amendment 1: No more voting; you're doing it wrong. Chuck Norris will pick who runs the country.
Amendment 1: Any President, Senator or Congressman who is doing a crappy job or abusing their position, will be removed from office by Chuck Norris, who will administer a ceremonial :spank: ***-kicking on the way out.
Amendment 1: All people except Rosie O'Donnel and Jimmy Carter can carry whatever freaking weapons they want.
Amendment 1: If self-defense is claimed, the burden of proof is on the prosecution to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that it wasn't.
Amendment 1: "He needed killing" will be an acceptible defense for homicide, provided the jury (or Chuck Norris) agrees that the subject needed killin'. If the subject was a politician, lawyer, or lobbyist, it will be assumed that he DID need killin', and the burden of proving he didn't need killin' will be on the prosecution.
Amendment 1: Each individual Bill in Congress must not exceed one page of text, and the title must reflect the actual purpose of the bill. Any Congressman voting for a bill he hasn't read will get his *** kicked by Chuck Norris.
Amendment 1: The government is not allowed to spend more than it takes in.
Amendment 1: No new tax or tax increase may be approved, unless a caucus is held and a supermajority of the citizens who will be affected by the tax vote in favor of it.
Amendment 1: The entire government will be thrown out of office every four years, and Chuck Norris will pick a whole new crew.
Amendment 1: In the event that Chuck Norris is unable to perform his Constitutional functions, or needs a week off, Goshin will fill in for him.

That should do it.

G.

If we opened up the constitution to a full revision, I think the primary goal should be to clear up misconceptions.

I would start by adding a preface to the Bill of Rights that states that the United States recognizes that the core foundation of freedom is the principle of Self Ownership.

I would add an amendment that clearly stated in no uncertain terms that there was a wall of separation between church and state and that no public institution could be used to promote, endorse, or compel religious beliefs.

I would not require the government to spend only what it took in as I think this could be very dangerous in times of severe economic contraction or war. However, I would require that every third year the federal budget would be subject to a zero-based budgeting requirement. Therefore, incremental budgeting could only be used for 2 consecutive years and on the third year, everything would have to be justified in complete detail starting from a budget of zero.

I would put a constitutional requirement for the government to protect and preserve public lands, wilderness, and inventoried roadless areas. I would require the government to submit all management for public lands for public comment prior to approval.

I would state in the fourth amendment as clearly as possible that individuals on U.S. soil have a fundamental right to privacy.

I would state that federal constitutional protections extend to all levels of government. For example, you have a right to privacy, it would not just restrict the powers of the federal government to invade your privacy, but to the state and local governments as well.

I am sure I will think of more, but thats a start.