Grading The Constitution
Rebecca Bobek
To Form A More Perfect Union
Gun Control
Same- Sex Marriage
Gay marriage laws have been a popular conflict in the United States since the early 1970's and is ongoing today. After what started out with no states allowing same sex marriage, some even banning it, Vermont became the first state to give full marital rights to same- sex couples. Now, 16 states have allowed marriage for gay couples. This is important to forming a more perfect union because this is a conflict that can be impossible to manage: with riots and protests, even a state trying to pass laws making it so people can refuse to help or serve gay people. Fortunately, the law was vetoed. This job is set for the Legislative branch, which is able to pass the law that gay marriage can be legalized. The United States is managing this conflict to help form the most perfect union they can- which makes this fall under the first purpose of the Preamble of the Constitution.Free Trial
Establishing Justice in the United states allows every one, no matter what their crime, to have a free trial. The article below shows that even though the man was a celebrity and an olympic champion, after murdering his girlfriend with four bullets, still has a right to a fair trial. Although it is obvious he will be proven guilty he is still given a chance to be innocent. This falls under the judicial branch, because the judicial branch interprets laws and decides if those laws are constitutional.Racial Discrimination Law
Racial discrimination has been banned in the workplace for years now, something not very new. Race, gender, pregnancy, national origin, religion, disability, citizenship status, genetic information, and age are all illegal by federal law to discriminate against. Some state/local laws are banning sexual orientation, marriage, and weight discrimination, something that federal laws have yet to adopt. Either way, discrimination is not following the second idea in the preamble- to establish justice. By creating the discrimination laws, it follows and establishes justice among citizens. The legislative branch takes care of this, as it created the workplace discrimination law. The executive, however, plays a part in it, as it passed the law.Ensure Domestic Tranquility
Immigration Reform
What republicans and democrats want for immigration is different- while the Democrats want there to be an easier, less troublesome way to gaining US citizenship, the Republicans want tighter border security. Obama is willing to put 38.2 billion dollars into his wants for the immigration reform, and with that money, is spent on getting undocumented immigrants back to their country, taking unsafe or dangerous immigrants into custody, and bringing the immigrants from Federal, state, and local prisons back to their home. This is a part of ensuring the domestic tranquility because what Obama is doing is maintaining the order of the country, which is that you have to be a US citizen in order to live in the United States. The branch of government that takes care of this is the Judicial branch, because they are enforcing the law.The Police Force
The police are apart of ensuring the domestic tranquility because they help maintain order and keep local peace. They fight crime for where they live and protect their citizens. They fall under the executive branch because they enforce the laws and make sure that they are followed.Provide For The Common Defense
Counterterrorism
Counterterrorism is a big part of providing for the common defense. After 9/11, the government changed a lot of what they do so that it wouldn't happen again by trying to figure out if there is already a plan in place by a terrorist so that they can stop them before it happens, or if it is beginning to start, try and stop the terrorists. The political cartoon above shows that the armed forces are focusing more on counter-terrorism than our civil liberties. Counterterrorism belongs in the executive branch, because the armed forces execute the counterterrorism plans.The US military protects our country and keeps citizens safe. By doing this, the military provides for the common defense. The political cartoon below shows that Obama is providing what the military needs to function: money, training, weapons, etc. They belong in the executive branch as well, because they carry out the law to keep us as americans safe.
Promote The General Welfare
Some families have a hard enough time as it is to get by , without the added stress of paying for their children's lunch. The government provides free lunch for kids k-12 whose families make an income at or below 130 percent of the poverty level. There is also the option of reduced- priced lunch, which is for families 130- 180 percent of the poverty level. The government bases free lunch options based off of the family size and poverty level, so that they know who is able to bring their own lunch or not. This belongs in the executive branch, because the executive branch is in charge of executing the laws and making sure the citizens of our country are safe and healthy.
The United States has centers for disease control, which was created to "protect America from health, safety and security threats, both foreign and in the U.S." In turn, they are open 24/7 to help everybody without discrimination. They increase the health security of the United States and saves lives. This is a major way that America provides for the general welfare and people in need. The CDC belongs in the executive branch as well, because they are the ones that act out on laws and `keep citizens healthy.
Secure The Blessings of Liberty
One of the rights today is the freedom of speech, which has a part in Securing the blessings of liberty. It is one of our individual rights, but the political cartoon below says that money is the only way people have it now. This belongs in the legislative branch, because the freedom of speech right is held by them.
Freedom Of Religion
Freedom of religion is part of our free rights, which makes it a part of the governments duty to secure the blessings of liberty. By having freedom of religion, it means that we should not be discriminated based on our religious beliefs and should not discriminate others because of it. The bill that will allow people to deny service to people of opposing religions does not follow the blessings of our liberty- we should not be able to discriminate against what other people's lifestyles are because of religion, that was apart of our religious freedom. By passing this law, it will ruin one of our rights.
Evaluation
America has not been doing well these past few years. Overall, the national debt is over 17 trillion dollars, with the debt increasing an average of 2.7 billion per day. We will not be able to pay the debt back in over 50 years. Over 200,000 small businesses have crashed in two years, and Arizona almost passed a law allowing discrimination people's human rights. The taxes were raised after an economic crash, the stock market has gone down to a six- year low, and through all of this, the government is using spending initiatives. Overall, America has not done well these past few years.
America has had some triumphs, however, including saving wall street, getting troops out of Iraq and back to their families, and making education and the environment a priority. The killing of Osama Bin Ladin was official and no longer a threat to our country. The second depression was prevented, the military has gotten more support, and overall, there have been some good things. However, the bad outweighs the good, and our country is in a bad economic place right now. The grade I would give America is a C-.