If you could re-write the bill of rights...

[Demaholic]

I'm just cuirous how everyone would go about building thier own governmental rights and restrictions. You may keep some of America's current rights and restrictions or you may make up your own.

I'll start;

1. Congress shall make no law.

2. Congress may levy income taxes only for the purpose of providing for a federal judiciary and providing for a national defense.

3. Neither Representatives, Senators, nor their staffs may receive any payment nor compensation from the federal treasury.

4. The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

5. 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.

[mrcheerful]

1. Nobody named Bush, Reagan or Other anti american type could hold public

office. Hey that gets rid of the repiglet party. On amendment, anyone caught taking bribes or giving bribes automatically gets booted out of the country. So lobbyist would be no problem as they would be illegal by nature.

[Eric J in MN]

2. Proposed: It takes 67 Senate votes to confirm a judge.

Requiring 2/3 would result in a more moderate judiciary.

[efhmc]

3. Well for one thing, I'd give the other 50% of the people (women) and all

people of color and those without property the right to vote. The BORs was added to the constitution to cover things those white boys missed on the first round. Well, how about making freedom, rights and laws available to ALL the people. That would probably have helped even out those other matters long ago since few would have had centuries to perfect how to protect their little power kingdoms.

[Mr. Blonde]

4. The "white boys" didn't think they missed anything

A Bill of Rights was discussed at the constitutional convention, but they decided it was not needed. Representation was by the people, so why do would they need to guarantee that the people wouldn't do certain things to themselves? If they try to do things the majority didn't like the majority could vote them out of office.

[efhmc]

7. So what if the "majority" was only white men with property? Right?

[Mr. Blonde]

12. The actual constitution didn't ban others from voting

It was the states who enacted all of those laws. I'm not really arguing with that there should have been more guarantees within the constitution for who could vote and have a voice just that the BOR wasn't things they thought they missed. Adding one was discussed, but they decided they didn't need it for reasons other than it gave them power.

[efhmc]

14. Maybe not what they missed, but what needed to be

discussed and reinforced. Since there is no ban in the constitution disallowing voting for all, why add a constitutional amendment? That is why women could vote in certain later western states without any amendment to the Constitution and the 19th amendment was needed to make it mandatory for all states to franchise women. It is very plain to me the worth of women in this country. MEN who had been slaves were given the vote 54 years before those self same men "gave" the vote to their mothers, daughters, sister, etc. The first section of the 14th amendment does not mention sex just "persons" but the second section speaks to those who cannot vote and refers only to 21 year old males.

"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 Legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age,(See Note 15) 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."

Since women obviously had been born in the USA and were to most people's eyes persons, why were they not given the vote at this point. The truth is that they were NOT considered to be people but offshoots and subjects of men and therefore not able to enjoy the freedom and rights granted all others (except any gender of Native American, of course.).

[Hosnon]

16. The Bill of Rights wasn't 'missed'. Most of the Amendments were ratified

along with the Constitution.

The Framers were just worried that their inclusion may cause the failure of ratification.

[merbex]

5. Right after the Contract For America "Win" some Democratic

Congressman got up in the well of the House and started reading the Bill of Rights as if he, the Congressman reading them- was proposing them for the very first time

Does anyone remember that?

Some Repug actually got up and launched into a tirade about what the member was "proposing"

The Democrat got up again and told him it was the Bill of Rights and it was ALREADY LAW

I knew then we were in deep trouble

Does anyone remember that?

[-..__...]

6. The Right of the People to Keep and Bear Arms...

shall not be infringed, nor shall the right to the preservation of self defense or preservation of property be denied.

[baldguy]

8. Corporations are not people.

Spending money does not equal speech.

[IndianaGreen]

9. The Bill of Rights is fine as it is!

We need to repeal the much-abused Commander-in-Chief clause!

[Solon]

10. I say a couple of additions should be in order though...

One would be the ERA, obviously, and another would be an affirmative voting rights amendment. Right now the government CANNOT deny the vote to people on the basis of race, religion, sex, as long as they are over 18. However, they still can deny the vote to people due to past acts(felons), economic class(old Jim Crow, possible repeal of Voting Rights Act), or any other mode they can arbritarily decide upon. That can be solved through a Constitutional Amendment rather easily, something like this: "All Citizens over 18 years of age shall have the right to vote.", one sentence, and thats IT.

[IndianaGreen]

11. "Bill of Rights" refers to the first 10 amendments to the Constitution

We do need an ERA that includes LGBTs and women.

[European Socialist]

13. There should be basic economic rights--you can tell who wrote it--rich

white guys. Basic living standards could be added now, but it's still rich white guys running the show.

[Sammy Pepys]

15. Your #3

Then where would they get it from?

[Hosnon]

17. An explicit right to personal privacy would be nice. nt