I’ve been tossing the idea of a number of amendments to the U.S. Constitution in my head for quite some time now, and am publishing them here. The proposed Amendments start after the current text of the Constitution with Amendment 28 on page 18 and I’ve summarized the concepts of each below. You can make a legit argument to propose one big amendment vs. six separate ones, but I split these up roughly by areas of governance to make the whole thing more digestible.

I went down the path of editorializing each amendment and found the concepts of the amendments themselves were getting lost in the commentary. So instead I’m putting the amendments up for consideration on their own and hope they generate a productive discussion on how we would like the structure of our government to work, and will be responsive to any questions and/or comments.

Proposed 28th Amendment:

Right to Vote may not be denied to any U.S. Citizen.
D.C. and U.S. Territories obtain voting representation in the House.
Clarifies that State voting laws are subject to judicial review.
Places limits on suspension of Habeas Corpus.
Express prohibition on Executive impoundments.

Proposed 29th Amendment:

Provides for the direct election of the President by the People, and abolishes the Electoral College.
Requires any military action initiated by the President to be reported to Congress, who shall have a right to revoke authorization of such military action.
Implements a nomination and Senate ratification process for pardons.
Requires judicial nominations be voted on by the Senate within 60 days of nomination.
The President, VP, and the Executive Branch do not have immunity from criminal or civil actions; tolls applicable statute of limitations during the pendency of a President’s term.

Proposed 30th Amendment:

Sets term for Supreme Court justices for 18 years.
Provides for a mechanism to overturn a Supreme Court ruling by a 2/3 vote in Congress and/or a national referendum with 2/3 of the vote.

Proposed 31st Amendment:

Includes express Constitutional right to privacy.
Includes right of reproductive freedom.
Prohibits slavery in all cases; the current Constitution permits slavery as punishment for a crime.

Proposed 32nd Amendment:

Gives Congress and the States the power to require political donation transparency, set uniform spending limits, and implement a public financing option. These aren’t mandatory, just gives Congress and the States the power to put in place.
Prohibits political donations from 1) anyone not legally residing in the U.S. for at least five years and 2) any entity other than actual individual people.

Proposed 33rd Amendment:

Implements a minimum purchase age of twenty-one for firearms.
Gives Congress the power to 1) implement universal background checks to purchase a firearm; 2) institute a reasonable waiting period for all purchases of firearms; and 3) prohibit the purchase and possession of rapid-fire firearms. Similar to the 32nd Amendment, these aren’t mandatory but does give Congress the power to institute some limited regulation relating to firearms.