Amendment IX generated some concern that adults – a term used freely, although inconsistently – should never be compelled to do anything against their will. The definition of “adult” was at issue because our society routinely compels behavior, and in particular the question of forcing children to attend school (usually through their 16th birthdays) was suggested. Amendment IX establishes a

Amendment X No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house without the consent of the owner; nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law. Rationale Unchanged from the original. Everybody take the day off. _____ Index: The New Constitution Series

Amendment IX All citizens shall, upon attainment of their 18th birthdays, enroll in a two-year program of public service, which may be fulfilled with either civic programs or the armed forces. Enfranchisement shall be earned upon completion of the public service commitment and a demonstration of a basic understanding of principles informing the political and policy issues facing the nation.

Amendment VIII No governmental entity shall conduct secret or covert proceedings absent ongoing oversight by a multi-partisan body of popularly elected officials. Rationale While recent revelations about the NSA’s secret domestic surveillance activities are genuinely disturbing and ought to concern every citizen, it is also true that the United States has enemies, some of them capable of inflicting significant damage

Amendment VII The right of the people to be secure in their persons, homes, papers, data, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. Rationale Here the

Amendment VI All individuals shall enjoy the right to privacy and freedom from surveillance by governmental, corporate, commercial or other private or public entities. Rationale The question of the Federal government’s advanced spy program has been very much in the news lately, and the American public has been subjected for years to increasingly intrusive and sophisticated “data mining” on the

Amendment V No governmental, private, corporate or commercial entity shall deny to any enfranchised citizen the rights or privileges accorded to others. The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. Rationale Sadly, America has a long history of discrimination. Some of our ancestors were slaves and our

Amendment IV No corporate, commercial, private or governmental entity shall be licensed, accredited or incorporated absent a binding commitment to serve the public interest; nor shall any collective entity be accorded the rights and privileges attending citizenship, which are reserved expressly for individuals. Rationale In 1919, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled in the Dodge v. Ford case that Henry Ford had a

Amendment III The government of the people shall be expressly secular. Congress will make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; nor shall any individual, religious or quasi-religious entity or collective engage or seek to influence the course of legislation or policy in accordance with theological creed. Rationale It seems more than evident that

Amendment II No corporate, commercial or other private or publicly held entity shall abridge an individual’s freedom of speech or the rights of a free and unfettered press; the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition for a redress of grievances will not be infringed. Rationale In modern America, nothing poses a greater threat to individual liberties