Twenty some years ago, I
had an idea for what became my Human Republic Universe. I started writing stories set in this
universe to flesh things out, as well as practice for the main thing, a TV
series. But I didn’t get too far, and
other projects came up, and life, and stuff, so I haven’t done much in this
universe for the last decade or so. But
that might change.
Anyway, the basic idea
for my Human Republic Universe is that after World War I, the Leage of Nations
was created, which failed to stop World War II.
After which, the United Nations was created, which also failed. Now, World War III has been overused and has
certain connotations, so my thing was that the UN failed to stop The
Conflagration. This was marked by a
series of terrorist attacks, as well as numerous small to minor border
wars. And at one point, the US President
does something – because America is always right – that really sours our
relationships with some of our closest allies.
Anyway.
The Human Republic was to
be this weak, planetary government. Basically,
it was to only deal with matters between the Member Nations and any
interactions between them and any Non-Member Nations. To become a Member Nation, you had to meet
some requirements, like a democratic form of government open to all your
citizens, as well as some basic rights like speech and religion. And the citizens had to vote to join. Any issue within a Member Nation would be
handled by their government, with limited if any oversight from the Human
Republic.
At some point, I thought
it would be interesting if I wrote up the Constitution of the Human
Republic. I figured I could start with
the US Constitution, clear out all the racist shit, make some corrections, and
have something – at least – I could start with.
But have you ever read the Constitution?
There’s old-timey words and spellings, as well as things that really should
be fixed. So I never got far writing the
Constitution of the Human Republic.
It was probably that
experience that gave me the idea of updating the Constitution. Basically, just cleaning out the junk,
updating the terminology, and adding the Amendments in to where they should
go. This was just a random idea I had
that I never put much thought into. Then
that treasonous shitweasel won.
A couple weeks later –
once the initial horror and disgust had passed – I started thinking about a new
Constitution again. What I was thinking,
is that at some point Trump will do something clearly and unmistakenly
unconstitutional, and his bootlicks in Congress and the Courts won’t do
anything. (Apparently, they’ll just
cheer so he can go on and do even more clearly and unmistakenly
unconstitutional things.) At some point,
I imagine some Governor will announce that since the Constitution is no longer being
followed, it means that the United States no longer exists. They won’t succeed from the US, the US will
just dissolve. So I started writing a New
Constitution for a New United States.
This would form – hopefully without bloodshed – from the old states, or from
slightly changed new states.
Turns out, this is harder
than I expected. For one, it’s difficult
to balance putting in exact details for some issue, but leaving it flexible
enough to handle future events I can’t imagine.
Or, there are some clearly good ideas – like Presidents not having
immunity – that quickly get bogged down trying to figure out how to implement
them. Like if Presidents don’t have
immunity, would that just open the floodgates of their opponents filing
frivolous lawsuits to waste their time? What’s
the best way to handle all this? I don’t
know. Somebody smarter than me will have
to figure that out.
So here’s the first part
of my New Constitution. It gives some
idea of where I’m going with things. If
people find this interesting, maybe I’ll try to finish it. And if you have any suggestions, or want to
point out some flaw, please do. Maybe,
just maybe, someone might take this as a rough draft for a real New
Constitution. Who knows.
***
We the People of the
United States, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish justice, ensure
domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare,
and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain
and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
Article I
Section I
This Constitution is a
contract between the American people and the Government that serves them. While not perfect, its heart is what many
consider the essence of America: striving to be better.
Section II
All persons residing
within a State at the time that State ratifies this Constitution, is a Citizen
of that State and therefore of the United States.
All children born within
the territory of the United States, will be Citizens of the United States.
All children with at
least one biological parent that is a Citizen, will be a Citizen of the United
States even if born outside the territory of the United States. Any dual citizenship status the child will
have will depend upon the laws of wherever they are born.
All residents of a Non-State
Territory that the United States claims, will be Citizens of the United States. Every ten years, the Voters of Non-State
Territories shall vote on whether to maintain the status quo, to become a State,
to join an existing State, or to become independent of the United States.
Any non-citizen who
enters the territory of the United States at a legal entry point, may request
to become a Citizen. The exact process
of becoming a Citizen will be set by Congress with reasonable stipulations.
Every adult Citizen has
the right to renounce their citizenship.
Congress by a two-thirds
vote in both chambers, may – for specific reasons – limit immigration from a
region or country for a period of no more than one year.
For heinous acts,
Congress by a two-thirds vote in both chambers, may strip a Citizen of their
citizenship. Bills to do this will apply
only to an individual and may not be combined with any other bill.
Section III
All United States Citizens,
regardless of where they live, upon reaching eighteen years of age, are Voters. The right of a Citizen to be a Voter may not
be infringed or removed for any reason.
Article II
Section I
All legislative powers
herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall
consist of a House of Representatives and a Senate.
Section II
The House of
Representatives shall be composed of members chosen every two years by the Voters
of their State. Each Representative
shall have one vote. No person shall be
a Representative who – at the time of the election – hasn’t attained the age of
twenty-five years, been seven years a Citizen of the United States, or spends
less than nine months each year living in that State or Territory. Representatives shall be limited to serving
at most five terms from one, or many States or Territories.
For the first four scheduled
elections after a State ratifies this Constitution, being a Citizen of the State
shall suffice for the citizenship requirement.
To determine the numbers
of Representatives each State shall have, a census counting the total
population of the United States shall be taken every ten years. The State with the lowest population of
Citizens will be taken as a Base Unit.
The population of Citizens each State has will then be divided by this
Base Unit, and the resulting number – after rounding – will be the number of
Representative for that State.
Regardless of their
population, Non-State Territories of the United States shall only have one
Representative. This Representative
shall be treated exactly as a Representative from a State.
Regardless of their
number, all Voters who do not live within a State or Territory of the United
States, shall choose one Representative.
This Representative shall be treated exactly as a Representative from a
State.
The Voters of a State,
Non-State Territory, or foreign residents may – by collecting a number of
signatures in excess of 15% of the total votes in the most recent election –
force a recall election of a Representative.
The result of such an election will go into effect when the election
results are confirmed.
In the event of the
death, resignation, recall, or impeachment of a Representative, the Governor of
their State or Non-State Territory may appoint a Representative whose term may
not exceed ninety days. The office of a
Representative may not be left empty for a period exceeding sixty days. If a regularly scheduled election is not set
to happen within one hundred and fifty days of the death, resignation, recall, or
impeachment of a Representative, then a special election must be held to
permanently replace the Representative for the remainder of the original
term. For outstanding circumstances, these
restrictions may be altered for a seat by a majority vote in the House of
Representatives.
Appointed
Representatives, or specially elected Representatives whose terms are less than
six months, will not have that time count towards any term limits.
If the next regularly
scheduled election after a State ratifies this Constitution is more than one
hundred and fifty days away, then the office will be filled in a similar
manner. The number of Representatives
will be determined from the best available data until the next census.
With input from the
Senate as well as the Executive and Judicial branches, The House of
Representatives shall create a Code of Conduct/Ethics that will apply to all
elected members of the government as well as members approved by the
Senate. This Code will be periodically
updated. Breaking of this Code by any
member will be grounds for Impeachment.
The House of
Representatives shall choose their Speaker and other Officers; and shall have
the sole power of Impeachment.
Section III
The Senate of the United
States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, chosen by the Voters
of that State, for a term of six years.
Each Senator shall have one vote.
No person shall be a Senator who – at the time of the election – hasn’t
attained to the age of thirty years, been seven years a Citizen of the United
States, or spends less than nine months each year living in that State or
Territory. Senators shall be limited to
serving at most two terms from one, or two States, and or Territories.
For the first four scheduled
elections after a State ratifies this Constitution, being a Citizen of the State
shall suffice for the citizenship requirement.
In the first regularly
scheduled election after a State ratifies this Constitution, each elected Senator
shall randomly select if their term will be two, four, or six years in
length. This way, roughly one third of
the Senate shall be elected every two years.
The two Senators from a State must be on different schedules. Abridged terms of two or four years will
count as a term in regards to term limits.
Non-State Territories of
the United States shall only have one Senator.
This Senator shall be treated exactly as a Senator from a State. In the first regularly scheduled election
after a Territory is claimed, the elected Senator shall randomly select if
their term will be two, four, or six years in length.
Regardless of their
number, all Voters who do not live within a State or Territory of the United
States, shall choose one Senator. This
Senator shall be treated exactly as a Senator from a State. In the first regularly scheduled
election after this Constitution is ratified, the elected foreign resident Senator
shall randomly select if their term will be two, four, or six years in length.
The Voters of a State,
Non-State Territory, or foreign residents may – by collecting a number of
signatures in excess of 15% of the total votes in the most recent election –
force a recall election of a Senator.
The result of such an election will go into effect when the election
results are confirmed.
In the event of the
death, resignation, recall, or impeachment of a Senator, the Governor of their State
or Non-State Territory may appoint a Senator whose term may not exceed ninety
days. The office of a Senator may not be
left empty for a period exceeding sixty days.
If a regularly scheduled election is not set to happen within one
hundred and fifty days of the death, resignation, recall, or impeachment of a
Senator, then a special election will be held to permanently replace the
Senator for the remainder of the original term.
For outstanding circumstances, these restrictions may be altered for a
seat by a majority vote in the Senate.
Appointed Senators, or
specially elected Senators whose terms are less than six months, will not have
that time count towards any term limits.
If the next regularly
scheduled election after a State ratifies this Constitution is more than one
hundred and fifty days away, then the office will be filled in a similar
manner.
The Vice President of the
United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no vote, unless
they be equally divided.
The Senate shall choose
their other Officers, and also a President pro tempore to serve in the absence
of the Vice President, or when they shall exercise the Office of President of
the United States.
The Senate shall have the
sole power to try all Impeachments. If
the President or Vice President are on trial, the Chief Justice of the Supreme
Court shall preside. All other trials
will be presided by the Vice President. No
person shall be convicted without a two-thirds vote.
Judgment in cases of
Impeachment shall not extend further than removal from office, and
disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust or profit under
the United States. The judgment of an Impeachment
trial may be used as evidence in a civil court.
***
And I’ll end it here,
because after this it gets into the minutia of Congress’s power which is a bit
of a headache. But if there’s enough
interest, I’ll work on it. Well, I’ll
probably work on it anyway and post it in six months. We’ll see.
