Of Amendments and Rights

President Bush is apparently seeking to further entrench himself into
the Presidential wastebin of history (say hi to Herbert Hoover when
you get there!) by promoting an ill-conceived,
snowball's-chance-in-hell anti-gay amendment to the Constitution.

Aside from this amendment having almost zero chance of coming even
close to ratification, and aside from the oh-so-blatant political
strategy it's designed to promote, such an amendment would be a first
for the U.S. Constitution. Why? Because the Constitution, brilliant
document that it is, does not strip rights from citizens, almost
without exception.*

What do I mean? Well, take the first 10 amendments (the Bill of
Rights, people. Come on, read your civics books). None of those
amendments, which almost all Americans cherish (even pesky #2) takes a
right away from anybody. They limit what the <i>government</i> can do,
not what citizens can do. No abridging speech, no abridging press, no
limiting religion. Later, a clearly drunken Congress did manage to
pass an amendment that took something away--the 18th Amendment,
creating prohibition, which lasted all of 13 years.

I'm not saying that gay marriage is good. I mean, I would say that,
but that's not the point. The point is even if it's proven that gays
getting married causes eyeball cancer in puppies, it shouldn't be the
subject of a Constitutional Amendment. It's not what the Constitution
is for. Furthermore, using the promotion of an amendment--a change to
the rock that our extraordinarily powerful and prosperous society is
built upon--as a political tool is absolutely asinine. Politics will
adhere itself to everything, of course, but to create an amendment for
pure political gain? Have you no sense of decency, sir?

*Some might argue that the 26th, while prohibiting interference with
the right to vote, also codifies the voting age at 18 and thus limits
those 17 and younger from voting. I say, who cares what kids think?

This is my first attempt at an email-based blog, so my apologies if it
comes out green or in Sanskrit or Wingdings or makes your monitor
asplode.