I think most of us can agree that here in the United States (U.S.) we need term limits on our politicians. The big problem is that politicians have to vote for them to be put into an amendment to the Constitution of the United States (COTUS)…realistically they aren’t going to vote themselves out of a job though.
Now the founders of the U.S. did provide a backdoor to override the politicians as a Convention of States (COS) under Article 5 of COTUS however this has never been used. It is also possible that in said COS that the entire current COTUS could be scrapped and who knows what those ramifications could be–and is very likely why it has never been done. So with this warning let’s look at some of my thoughts on additions:
Amendment 28
In the interest of preserving independent voices at all levels of government from the point of this amendment being adopted no person shall serve more than two terms total in elected office, nor shall they be considered for any further public office or appointment.
Now, in case my wording and intent do not match: In example if you are elected Mayor of Hell Michigan twice that’s the end of your political ambitions you can not hold any other public office for the rest of your life. As many know, our founders never intended for people to make a career out of holding government offices, and this codifies that intent.
Amendment 29
Balanced budget: In order to preserve the quality of life of subsequent generations henceforth from the adoption of this amendment no governmental budget within the confines of the United States shall exceed the amount of revenue brought in. All funding for all services shall be paid only with currency on hand. The exception is only granted if a declaration of war has been granted and approved and then only for the defense of the United States and its holdings during the active conflict.
If in the event a budget cannot be ratified within the given scope of the congressional year and the U.S. Government is forced to shut down, all seated members of The House of Representatives shall have their terms ended with no chance of being voted back into office as they committed dereliction of their duties. An emergency election will be held on the first Tuesday of the month not less than sixty days nor more than ninety days after the failed congresses dismissal.
Amendment 30
False allegation equivalency. Persons who file knowingly false charges against another that have had said charges found false shall be issued the corresponding maximum punitive sentence to the crime they accused the other of.
Amendment 31
Law enforcement accountability:
Personnel of law enforcement are hereby and henceforth forbidden to bear false testimony be it in the act of their job or in a court of law.
Personnel of law enforcement are hereby banned from using physical means of detainment that have a known potential to cause grievous bodily harm or death, in example: choke holds.
Law enforcement personnel are hereby forbidden to use vehicles as weapons in the apprehension of suspects, in example “pit maneuvers"
Body cameras must be fully visible and always on and be worn at all times during a person’s time at work in all law enforcement capacities.
As law enforcement is a public facing and interactive portion of the government their personnel and disciplinary records shall be publicly accessible via a freedom of information request.
Qualified Immunity shall no longer apply to law enforcement personnel.
Judgements against a person in law enforcement shall be taken from their personal assets and not be paid by tax payers.
Due to the stress and nature of law enforcement duties mandatory weekly counseling appointments to ensure their mental health and well being shall be administered. Daily counseling sessions and two weeks leave if the officer has in the course of his duties terminated a life.
Punishment for violations shall equal loss of all credentials to practice law enforcement and a lifetime ban from all security type roles.
I get that this one may come across a bit harsh to some, but I doubt very many people could say there is nothing to improve in our police force, and honestly we need to start somewhere.
Amendment 32
Right to privacy, physical, digital, and genetic
Honestly this is a tough one to carve out, we need to stop companies collecting and harvesting our digital data. We need to have the ability to ask our neighbor to point their security camera so it does not include our backyard. We need to stop our government offices from sharing or selling our private information from our driver’s licenses, our personal property records, and from our real estate records. If you’ve ever wondered how scam contractors get your name and address to sell you a roof or solar panels it’s because your property records are public. Same goes for places trying to sell you car insurance–your personal property records are public.
Amendment 33
Mail in voting only. For more details on this see my post “Via USPS”
Amendment 34
In order to clarify events and life going forward a clear definition of a person shall henceforth be:
A living, breathing, human being.
A human being of the species Homo Sapien created by the commingling of genetic material from a naturally occurring human female via their egg and a naturally occurring human male via their seman/sperm, gestated within the womb of a human female.
No corporation, artificial intelligence, or robotic simulation shall constitute a person for any legal purposes, up to and including practice of legal defence/offense, or sitting upon a judicial bench.
Amendment 35
Executive order deletion: all existing executive orders are hereby revoked. All subsequent executive orders shall stand for ninety days during which time, they must be debated upon and voted upon by both the house and senate with a minimum of seventy-five percent of each chamber being in agreement for them to continue as law. A failure for congress to approve, debate, or vote upon the order shall be considered a veto and the order shall expire without potential for renewal on day ninety.
Deeper dive here
Amendment 36
Clarification of Amendment 5 on eminent domain: The use of eminent domain in any jurisdiction of the United States is limited to public works and right of ways for public utilities, roadways, and publicly owned transit lines only.
Amendment 37
Civil asset forfeiture is hereby banned within all of the U.S.
Could I write more on this topic? Yes. Will I? Most likely.
Are some of these a stretch? To some probably, but I think these are issues that have gotten or will get out of hand and need to be curtailed before things get worse. Do we need an amendment about person hood? Yes, because we already have a SCOTUS ruling in Citizens United vs FEC in 2010 that ruled corporations have free speech rights, how much of a stretch is it to see an Ai system considered a person?
