Amendments to the US Constitution, Part II

Continuing with our series on the Constitution, we will be commenting on the 11th through 20th amendments. A few of these will need no comment at all, but others, of course will.

AMENDMENT XI
Passed by Congress March 4, 1794. Ratified February 7, 1795.
Note: Article III, section 2, of the Constitution was modified by amendment 11.
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.
In essence, this amenment keeps Federal courts out of civil suits involving the various states.

AMENDMENT XII
Passed by Congress December 9, 1803. Ratified June 15, 1804.
Note: A portion of Article II, section 1 of the Constitution was superseded by the 12th amendment.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 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 act as President, as in case of the death or other constitutional disability of the President. --]* The person having the greatest number of votes as Vice-President, shall be the 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 the 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.
*Superseded by section 3 of the 20th amendment.

This amendment formulated and strengthened the electoral college. In today's technological world, the electoral college is archaic. It's GUNNER'S VIEW that Amendment XII be repealed.

AMENDMENT XIII
Passed by Congress January 31, 1865. Ratified December 6, 1865.
Note: A portion of Article IV, section 2, of the Constitution was superseded by the 13th 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 power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

AMENDMENT XIV
Passed by Congress June 13, 1866. Ratified July 9, 1868.
Note: Article I, section 2, of the Constitution was modified by section 2 of the 14th 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 Legislature 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 an officer of the United States, 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 vote of two-thirds 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 or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void.
Section 5.The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.
*Changed by section 1 of the 26th amendment.
Now, I may be wrong, and I have been wrong at least twice in my life, but doesn't this give us the ability to impeach a number of Federal officials right now, starting with the Speaker of the House?

AMENDMENT XV
Passed by Congress February 26, 1869. Ratified February 3, 1870.
Section 1.The right of 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 the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

AMENDMENT XVI
Passed by Congress July 2, 1909. Ratified February 3, 1913.
Note: Article I, section 9, of the Constitution was modified by amendment 16.
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.
Many of us, myself included, hate the Income Tax - as written - and would like to see it changed and/or cancelled. However, if we keep reducing the taxes who's going to provide the services they fund. You just don't go to Wal-Mart and buy an aircraft carrier for $19.95! You darn sure don't hire a pilot for minimum wage!

AMENDMENT XVII
Passed by Congress May 13, 1912. Ratified April 8, 1913.
Note: Article I, section 3, of the Constitution was modified by the 17th 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.

AMENDMENT XVIII
Passed by Congress December 18, 1917. Ratified January 16, 1919. Repealed by amendment 21.
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.
This amendment gave my grandfather a hobby. Rumor has it he made the best bath tub gin in northern Illinois!

AMENDMENT XIX
Passed by Congress June 4, 1919. Ratified August 18, 1920.
The right of 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.

AMENDMENT XX
Passed by Congress March 2, 1932. Ratified January 23, 1933.
Note: Article I, section 4, of the Constitution was modified by section 2 of this amendment. In addition, a portion of the 12th amendment was superseded by section 3.
Section 1.The terms of the President and the Vice President shall end at noon on the 20th day of January, and the terms of Senators and Representatives at noon on the 3d day of January, of the years 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 3d 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 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 the 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.
It would seem to me that if we can amend the Constitution to limit the term of the President and Vice President of the United States, than we can, and should, amend the Constitution to limit the terms of ALL elected officials, including state and local politicians.

If you've found what I've discussed to this point to be droll, than you're not part of the solution, but part of the problem. After the next segment, I promise to make this a little more exciting.

"God Bless us, one and all." (Tiny Tim, A Christmas Carol by Dickens)

Gunner Sends

The Constitution of the United States, Part II

This segment of my Constitutional brief will cover Article I, the Congress and the Legislative Branch. I don't intend to cover each and every segment, but I do intend to cover those parts that I feel are very important and not being handled correctly by our employees.

Section 2 states, in part, that "No Person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained the Age of twenty five Years, and been Seven years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen."

I would suggest an amendment to this particular section. Said amendment would read "No Person shall be a representative who shall not have attained the the age of twenty five Years, and been Seven years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen for a period of less than two years. Such representative shall not serve for more than 12 consecutive years, and shall not have been convicted of a felony in any of these United States." That would eliminate Congressman Bobby Rush of Chicago, a founder of the Black Panther Party who spent 6 months in prison on weapons charges. It would also include Florida Congressman Alcee Hastings, who, as a US District Judge, was impeached in 1989 by the House of Representatives on a vote of 413-3 and convicted by the US Senate, on a vote of 69-26, of perjury and conspiracy to accept a bribe. Mr. Hastings will tell you that this conviction was reversed by the US District Court in 1992. This is true, the conviction was reversed. What he won't tell you is that less than six months later the District Court ruling was reversed by the United States Supreme Court.

Section 3 states, in part, that "No person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty Years, and been nine Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen."

Again, I would suggest an amendment, as above, modifying the section to read as follows: "No person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained the Age of thirty Years, and been nine years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen for a period of less than six years. Such Senator shall not serve for more than twelve consecutive years and shall not have been convicted of a felony in any of these United States."

Food for thought, 25 to be a Congressman, 30 to be a Senator, and 35 to be President. Congress elects its own officers. The succession of command is President, Vice President, Speaker of the House, President Pro Tem of the Senate. What happens if the Pres and the VEEP die, the Speaker is 29 and the President Pro Tem is 32? Or neither the Speaker nor the President Pro Tem are natural (i.e. born here) citizens of the United States? More on that subject in a later article.

Section 8 states that "The Congress shall have the Power...To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions:..." Now I'm really confused, according to Title 10, US Code there are two classes of militia; the organized militia or National Guard and the unorganized militia, which is all of the rest of us. Since the National Guard (the organized militia) may only be Federalized to execute the law, suppress insurrection or repel invasion why are they serving in Iraq, Afghanistan and other foreign lands? How come Congress blames the Iraq war on President Bush, when the war has/is being fought with the National Guard AND ONLY THE CONGRESS HAS THE CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY TO FEDERALIZE THE NATIONAL GUARD?? I asked that question, a few years ago, of select Congressional staffers and was told that Congress gave the President the authority to do that a number of years ago. EXCUSE ME - THIS IS A CONSTITUTIONAL POWER - CONGRESS DOESN'T HAVE THE RIGHT TO GIVE IT TO SOMEONE ELSE. ONLY "WE THE PEOPLE" HAVE THAT RIGHT AND THAN ONLY VIA CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT!

Section 8 also mandates Congress "To excercise exclusive Legislation in all cases whatsoever, over such District...as may, ... become the Seat of the Government of the United States..." (i.e. the District of Columbia) Than why does the District have a city counsel? Why do they have an elected Mayor? Why do they pass their own laws, many of them in violation of the Bill of Rights? Did Congress, once again in violation of the Constitution, give away some of it's power and authority without the consent of "We the People"? The key words in this line are "exclusive" and "in all cases whatsoever"!

Additionally, Section 8 tells us that "The Congress shall have Power ... To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof." What does that mean to us? Well, no where else in the Constitution does it assign the ability to make Law. Constitutionally, only the Congress may pass a Bill, and it doesn't become Law unless the President approves it or Congress overrides his veto. Well, there is a phrase called common law "...which derives its force and authority from the universal consent and immemorial practice of the people. The system of jurisprudence that originated in England and which was latter (sic) adopted by the U.S. that is based on precedent instead of statutory laws." (http://www.lectlaw.com/) Precedent is "The body of judicial decisions in which were formulated the points of law arising in any case. A previously decided case that is considered binding in the court where it was issued and in all lower courts in the same jurisdiction." (http://www.lectlaw.com/) Now, I, for one, have a problem with both common law and precedent. I can see where they would be acceptable, but they also appear to be unconstitutional. If only the Congress has the power to make law, than why do our courts follow common law - which was NOT passed by the Congress? If 536 of our employees (House, Senate, President) have not seen fit to make a law concerning a given subject, than why do we allow just one of our employees (i.e. U.S. District Court Judge) to make law using "precedent"? There is something inherently wrong with a system that tells us that we can be ruled by that one Judge, who is an appointed employee vice an elected employee. In essence, we didn't even hire him!!!

Section 9 has a number of key provisions in it, but the one I like best states "No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed." A Bill of Attainder Law is one that singles out an individual or a group for punishment without trial (http://www.techlawjournal.com/). An Ex Post Facto Law is one which criminalizes conduct that was not a crime when it was committed, increases the punishment for a crime beyond what it was at the time the act was committed, or deprives a person of a defense available at the time the act was committed (http://www.lectlaw.com/). How can that effect you? Well the illustrious Bobby Rush has a Bill in the House right now, H.R. 45. Section 101 of that bill says "It shall be unlawful for any person other than a licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, licensed dealer, or licensed collector to possess a qualifying firearm on or after the applicable date, unless that person has been issued a firearm license..." Well if it's legal for me to own a firearm today, and I purchase it today, the bill passes and is signed into law sometime in the future, the legal weapon I bought today is now illegal. I believe that the Supreme Court would overturn this bill if it was passed. There will be more on this piece of legislation at a later date.

May the Lord watch over our brothers in arms as they keep us safe.

Gunner Sends