by Joelle Steele

Most countries in the world have reviewed and rewritten their constitutions multiple times. If you doubt this, visit https://comparativeconstitutionsproject.org/chronology/ to see which countries are so far ahead of the United States in updating their constitutions in order to adapt to the current needs of their countries and their citizens. Meanwhile, by comparison, the United States has amended its Constitution only a few times and has failed to ever rewrite it completely to make it more fluent, comprehensive, and applicable to our 21st century world. Frankly, I think it should be rewritten just to eliminate the multiple interpretations that make it so easy for citizens to misuse it entirely.

But there are many other reasons for rewriting the constitution. The Constitution was written when the population of the United States was not at all what it is today in terms of both size and diversity. Today, the needs of individual states and of individual groups of people within the United States make it necessary, even mandatory, that our most important government document address them completely. Some will argue that it does that by way of the Amendments, but the Amendments themselves need to be amended, which would just add more confusion to an already outdated document.

Let’s look at Amendment II of the Bill of Rights (which is part of the Constitution), originally ratified in 1791 – that’s 230 years ago. It reads:

“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

This Amendment was proposed by James Madison and was written to provide power to the state militias, now known as the National Guard. These organized militias were composed of citizens capable of fighting back against a tyrannical government, as they did in fighting the British. The right of the people to keep and bear arms was not meant to be interpreted in a way that non-militia (non-National Guard) could be allowed to stockpile guns, shoot people at random, or use weapons to rebel against their own country.

Should people have the right to bear arms at all? Yes, but only under certain conditions. This is an example of an Amendment that should be rewritten in its entirety to reflect a longer-lasting effect. It should detail the number of weapons, the kinds of weapons, the storage of weapons, carrying a weapon, and qualification for gun licensing for anyone who needs a gun. Military and law enforcement personnel should not be allowed to retain their weapons after their service is completed. Automatic weapons should not be sold at all. They have no use at all except for mass killings, and we have certainly had enough of those.

Another change that is long overdue in our Constitution is that relating to the terms and salaries of politicians. Right now, in 2021, Congress is filled with a bunch of useless, overpaid slackers. Tighter limits should be put on all political positions, two terms maximum for all. Why? Because our current politicians are far more interested in maintaining their seats and salaries than in doing their jobs. And some keep their seats for 10, 20, 30, or more years without fulfilling their duties. Watch CSPAN sometime and look at all the empty seats and all the members napping through proceedings. Of course, some of this negligence on the part of our elected officials could be eliminated if more people voted.

And voting, well, that’s another thing. Congratulations Americans for turning out to vote in record numbers last November. Keep it up. But the Constitution still needs major improvement regarding the way in which voters are qualified, registered, and allowed to vote – especially the latter. I lived in California where I voted at a polling place that was three blocks from where I lived. Here, in Washington state where I now live, we vote by mail, which for me is even more convenient. But that’s not the way it is for many people in America who can’t get to the polls to vote and don’t have the option of voting by mail. If a state offers only the polls to vote, then they should be required to have far more polling places to support their voter population. And those polls need to be open far longer – maybe for two or three days – so that everyone has the opportunity to exercise their RIGHT to vote.

I could go on and on about all the things that should be clearly refined and re-written in our Constitution. But for now, this gets a few things off my chest!