PROPOSED: All laws must pass a constitutionality review prior to being voted on. If they cannot pass a constitutional review, they may not be presented for voting.
RESULT: All new laws passed will respect constitutional rights.
RESULT: The number of new laws passed will be significantly reduced.
RESULT: Lawmakers will be prevented from implementing laws that produce discrimination, overreach, and bias.
RESULT: Lawmakers will learn the constitution.
RESULT: Over time, law making will get more efficient, leaving elected reps time to work on solving important problems.
DISCUSSION:
The current process where a law is enacted, enforced, people’s lives are affected, the law is challenged in court, and eventually found unconstitutional is wrong for the following reasons:
- It fails the “do no harm” test - great, sometimes irreversible, harm can be done before the law is determined to be unconstitutional.
- No redress is provided when people’s lives, finances, and freedom has been violated by the unconstitutional law while it was in force.
- No compensation is possible for people who have lost their liberty due to unconstitutional laws.
- Enormous amount of overreach, harm, excess control, invasion of privacy, and unconstitutional regulation has to be navigated by citizens every day.
- Unconstitutional laws proliferate, eroding congressional respect for the constitution they are sworn to protect, and increasing the unconstitutionality of future law proposals.
CONCLUSION:
Laws should be tested for constitutionality before they can be brought to the review-and-approval process, saving time, money, and safeguarding citizens constitutional rights.