On Amending our US Constitution
On Amending our US Constitution
By Curt Wikstrom
The US Supreme Court and a number of State high courts
have usurped power that is rightly the province of state legislatures or the
people, and they have failed to protect freedom of thought and association, the
free exercise of religion, and our right to a decent and civil society. So a
number of people have considered constitutional amendments to reign in the
courts. We should not support any amendments, however, unless they follow the
example and wisdom of the first ten amendments to our constitution.
The first 10 amendments do not grant any rights. Our
forefathers did not believe that our rights came from the government. Our
rights come from God. The purpose of the first 10 amendments is to limit the
power and scope of the federal government so that it would not infringe on
rights that we already have. The only way to assure that the true meaning of
these amendments is adhered to and honored by the Supreme Court is to add
explanatory language so crystal clear that the Supreme Court cannot misinterpret
or misrepresent them.
It will do no good to have the House of
Representatives try to remove justices if they stray from the true meaning of
the words in our Bill of Rights as they exist now. The House of Representatives
is itself a very imperfect institution. There is no reason to believe that a
majority of its members could ever agree as to the true meaning or
interpretation of our Bill of Rights. Many of them want to read things into the
Constitution to get their way. It is just as likely that the Representatives
would remove our best justices as it is that they would remove our worst ones.
It is true that human progress in these United States
has come about largely as a consequence of the fact that it has been a Christian
nation, and that Christian principles were taught in our public schools and
Sunday schools until the past few decades. However, it would be inappropriate
to either establish or recognize Christianity as either the official or
preferred faith as a matter of law in this country. The Christian founders of
this country did not want to do that for very good reasons. They understood
that a free society is primarily a voluntary society. Education and faith are,
or should be, part of the voluntary sector of our society, and government should
not interfere with them or try to control them. It is true that our faith and
training provide us with the principles that we need to address the issues of
justice and order. But the institutions of faith and learning must not be
controlled or prevented by governments, but must be independent from the
government. Any words put into our Constitution should be to advance that
freedom and independence.
Government is the agent of force in our society. It
is necessary for us to use force in a number of situations, from national
defense to traffic control. The purpose of a constitution is not only to define
the government and set out how it should operate, but also to limit the use of
force to those instances where it is appropriate to do so, to limit the power
and scope of government, and to provide for checks and balances. The use of
force must be justifiable. Our faith and learning provide us with the knowledge
and insight to decide and judge what is justifiable. Those who make these
decisions cannot separate their faith and learning from the decision making
process. They could not be just and wise without them. But it is that faith
and learning that we bring to bear on the institution of government, not the
other way around. In fact it is precisely because the agent of force in our
society has come to interfere with, dominate, and prevail over the institutions
of faith and learning that we have begun to lose our freedoms, our decent and
civil society, and our moral compass.
To prevent the courts, and the legislatures, and
executive powers, from misinterpreting and misusing our Constitution and Bill of
Rights, we need to add a few words to make things very clear. That is the only
effective way to restrain the courts. If they ignore what is very clear, they
would also violate the rule of good behavior which already exists. What we need
in effect is a second bill of rights, which protects us from abuse by the
courts, as well as from legislatures and executive powers.
It is very likely that there will be violent
opposition to almost every provision of this second bill of rights. However,
the effect of these provisions would be to restore the constitution to a place
that the writers intended it to be. For example, those who wrote and approved
our constitution and bill of rights intended it to preclude a national church,
but did not intend for faith to be thrown out of the public square. Nor did
they ever imagined that the institution of marriage would be invaded by those
who commit unseemly acts, or that the truth would be excluded from criminal
trials because law enforcement officers erred, and so forth. The sad fact is
that our original bill of rights, plus the 13th, 14th, 15th
would also meet violent opposition today.
A second bill of rights:
Amendment XXVII. This amendment further enumerates
the rights of the people to a free, just, decent, and civil society. This
further enumeration of our God given rights, shall not be construed to deny or
disparage others retained by the people.
The right of the people to decent and civil behavior
in the public square and on the public airwaves shall not be abridged by the
courts. The liberty of individuals is not infringed when they are held to
standards of decency and civility in the public square or over the public
airwaves. Pornography, profane language, or indecent behavior, whether in the
public view or over the public airwaves, is not protected by this Constitution.
Laws intended to permit transfer of such material over publicly interceptable
media shall not expect or require persons to protect themselves, but shall
expect and require those persons who intercept such material to purchase the
tools necessary to un-encrypt the material.
In conjunction with our freedom of expression, we have
a right not to listen, a right not to participate, a right not to be assaulted
or deluged with unwanted expression, and a right to associate with those of our
own choosing.
Marriage is the union of one man and one woman, and
the institution of marriage shall not be denigrated or abridged by the courts,
nor by rule or law. Nor shall the traditional legal privileges or immunities of
married couples be assigned to persons who are not married. However, this shall
not be interpreted to abridge the freedom of association between individuals who
are not husband and wife, nor to abridge the freedom of contract between
individuals, nor to affect the assignment of powers that are otherwise unrelated
to the sexual behavior of a person.
The freedom of association and freedom of thought
enjoyed by the people at the time of the adoption of the Constitution, and
extended by the XIII, XIV, and XV amendments, shall not be abridged, and all
judicial rulings, orders, or legislation which have done so are hereby
overruled. There shall be no law, order, or ruling which denies the right of
people in a voluntarily organized group, of any size or kind, to choose their
own members, associates, employees, or agents. No law or ruling shall require a
person to be a member of any organization in order to be employed or to
otherwise enjoy the rights and privileges as a citizen of the United States. No
person shall be granted a privilege to impose themselves upon a voluntarily
organized group. Other than when necessary to ascertain the truth in criminal
and civil matters, no person shall be required by law to explain or justify
decisions to associate or not associate with another person, or to hire another
person. The freedom of the Boy Scouts of America to train boys to be
physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight shall not be violated.
Nor shall this freedom be denied to any other group of a similar nature. No
tax funds of any kind shall be collected and granted to any city, state, public
or private organization that attempts, or intends, to violate these rights of
the Boy Scouts, or any other organization with similar rights to freedom of
association.
The name of God, the 10 commandments, religious
symbols, observances, celebrations, and prayer shall not be prohibited in the
public square, in public schools, on federal or state property, or on coinage
and stamps. Persons who attend public meetings in which prayer or other
observances are a part, shall not be compelled to participate in those prayers
or observances. But such prayers or observances shall not be prohibited by law
or court rulings, nor shall public officials be either prevented from or
compelled to participate.
The right to bear arms includes the right to keep and
maintain firearms in ones home and other property. It also includes the right
to keep firearms on one’s person wherever it is reasonable for a person to
protect themselves, be prepared for self protection or protection of the
community, or to otherwise enjoy the reasonable use and exercise of the
firearms.
No court shall have the power to require a legislative
body to raise taxes. No court decision, rule, or law shall require the
relocation of lawfully abiding people from their homes, schools, or religious
institutions for reasons of public or social policy. There shall be no law or
rule that requires a person to attend a school not of their own choosing.
Unfunded mandates shall not be issued to the states, nor shall financial grants
or inducements be used to compel compliance from the states in matters unrelated
to, or only slightly related to the use of the grants. Nor will the states be
required to return the grants or inducements if they do not comply with unlawful
inducements.
Every human being shall be treated as a person from
conception until natural death by the courts. The power of state legislatures to
determine the extent to which that human life shall be protected shall not be
abrogated, and all cases that abrogate that power are hereby overruled.
In any case where a person has been physically,
mentally or emotionally harmed, a court shall not exclude evidence which would
establish the truth of the crime because law enforcement officers may have erred
or obtained the evidence unlawfully. Nor shall a court set a criminal suspect
free because of the misbehavior of law enforcement officers. Rules to control
and penalize law enforcement officers for misbehavior shall not deny justice to
the victims of crimes.
A penalty of death for violent or serious crimes is
lawful, and shall not be considered cruel or unusual. Murder, maiming, torture,
forceable rape, and forceable kidnapping, are among those serious crimes, but
are not a complete list of them.
Neither Federal and state legislatures, nor the
courts, nor any international body or authority, shall control the content of
what is taught in a local elementary or secondary school, or college. No law,
order, or rule shall be issued which denies a school the right to teach subject
matter that is characterized as religious. Public funds appropriated for the
education of children shall be distributed without favor among the children, the
schools that they attend, or the religion of the schools that they attend,
except that grants may be directed to a specific subject matter. No law, rule,
or order shall abridge the right of parents to choose the school for their
children to attend, except where, through due process of law, it can be
determined that a parent is not the guardian of the child, or that the parent’s
choice will harm the child. The right of a person to write or talk about their
religious faith in a civil and respectful manner while completing assignments or
making speeches in a public school shall not be prohibited or abridged. No
school shall be compelled to employ a teacher who engages in crimes, unseemly
sexual activity, or other activities which offend the community’s standards of
morality.
No person shall be compelled to pay more than 25% of
their income(net of ALL expenses) in taxes, fees, or any other form of taking
or mandate, nor shall more than 25% of the value of any person’s property be
taken from them by law, legislation, or executive order or mandate. Nor shall a
tax be levied on income earned more than one year prior to the levy. This means
that the combined total taking of all authorities, including international,
federal, state, and all subdivisions agents and assigns thereof is limited to
25% of a person’s net income, and that once a taxing period is over, the income
can no longer be reached for tax purposes. It also means that any property of a
person from which a taking has taken place, is exempt from a further taking from
that property except to the extent of the difference between 25% of the value of
the property and the present day value of that amount that has already been
taken. The burden of proof as to whether that amount has been exceeded shall
rest on the authority doing the taking and shall be clear and convincing.
Present day value means the market value of the property at the time the
property was taken, adjusted to account for the change in the value of money.
[Example: $10 was taken from income that was used to purchase personal property
worth $100. At the time of the taking the property is worth $50 in present day
dollars. The adjustment in the value of money is 1.25. There is no more power
for any authority to take any of the remaining property.]
Neither the federal government nor the states, nor
subdivisions thereof, shall engage in an enterprise that reasonably can be a
voluntary private enterprise, nor shall they establish or favor private
monopolies, except when licensing the use of public resources that cannot
reasonably be divided.
No pensions shall be paid to federal legislators,
judges, elected or appointed officials, except for officers and enlisted
military personnel, unless the amount of revenues received in any given year
exceed the expenditures for the same year. All pension contributions from
federal funds must be funded for the year when wages and salaries are earned,
and placed in funds or trusts which are owned and under the control of the
federal official or employee. Except when engaged in a major declared war, if
the total expenditures of the federal government exceed the revenues received
during the term of a Congress, no member of that Congress may serve during the
next session of Congress.
No person shall be complelled to pay more than the
actual damages, pain, suffering, and expenses of the plaintiff in a civil suit.
There shall be no punitive or multiple damages. Nor shall Congress pass any law
that subjects a person or organization to multiple damages for civil
infractions.
Laws to restrain racketeering shall not be misused to
concoct unreasonable civil cases, nor be used as a political weapon to restrain
freedoms of speech, thought, association, or religion. Class action suits in
civil cases shall not be favored by the courts. If the plaintiffs lose the
case, the plaintiffs’ attorneys shall pay all expenses of the defendant, but may
not seek reimbursement from plaintiffs except for the amounts contributed or
pledged by the plaintiffs in writing. Legal fees shall not exceed 20% of the
award in class action suits, or the actual legal costs, whichever is less; and
attorney’s fees shall be strictly set by the courts at no more than the medium
rates for attorneys in the jurisdiction. Class action plaintiffs shall be
denied a hearing if evidence of jurisdiction shopping is clear.
Limitations placed on the federal government to
protect our God given rights by the first 10 amendments, the 13th, 14th,
and 15th amendments, and by this amendment, shall also limit the
power of the states.
Every federal judge and federal officer shall be
compelled to swear a new oath to uphold the Constitution, including this
amendment. If they will not so swear, they shall be dismissed without recourse,
without pay, and without pension. In the event they are not dismissed
forthwith, from the date of the adoption of this amendment, no person shall be
required to comply with any orders or rulings of those who do not swear to
uphold this amendment.
© Curtiss Wikstrom See other articles by Curtiss Wikstrom
at
www.curtwikstrom.com
