Problem
America has many social problems. Many of them stem from it’s uniquely troubled origins: settler colonialism and chattel slavery. America’s original inhabitants (“native Americans,” “indigenous peoples,” or “first nations”), as well as descendants of American slaves, continue to suffer inequalities and injustice in various ways. The same goes for children, animals, the houseless, minority groups, and gestational parents that are either neglected or targeted for criminalization.
Solution
The 32nd Amendment codifies equal protection rights for additional characteristics beyond those currently in law, establishes a program of reparations and decolonization, protection for the homeless/houseless, reproductive rights, children’s rights, and animal rights.
The Text of the 32nd Amendment
Section 1. Decolonization and Reparations
Indigenous and first-nations people(s) and descendants of slaves are entitled to reparations for injustices created by American settler colonialism, slavery, and the slave trade, in the form of (a) partial land returns to tribal jurisdiction, (b) a thirty-six (36) year program of direct compensation funded by a property tax on settlers, (c) dedicated seats in local governments located on stolen land, (d) the perpetual inclusion of indigenous peoples’ history and culture in educational curricula, (e) recognition of special holidays, (f) removal or recarving of colonizer/enslaver monuments and statues, and (g) renaming of landmarks, roads, and other places, events, or buildings. (A), (B), and (C) above do not apply to lands occupied by settlers and their descendants that were legitimately purchased from native inhabitants through fair, good-faith voluntary agreements and transactions. Federal and state policies and practices shall also actively promote economic, social, and educational opportunities for first-nations and indigenous peoples to address unjust disparities. Furthermore, all national parks must include information-centers on local pre-European-colonial history overseen by qualified staff.
Section 2. Nondiscrimination
Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of race, color, ethnicity, national origin, sex, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, theology, political ideology, disability, age, or any protected characteristic.
Section 3. Limits to Funding
Federal funds shall not support entities or organizations engaging in discriminatory practices. State and local governments shall adopt similar measures in the allocation of public resources.
Section 4. Right to Privacy and Limits to Surveillance
All citizens have the right to privacy and any government surveillance shall require a specific warrant issued by an independent judicial authority based on probable cause. Furthermore, mass surveillance without individualized suspicion is prohibited; the collection, retention, and use of personal data shall be strictly regulated and transparent.
Section 5. Children’s Rights
Every child has the inherent right to protection from neglect, abuse, exploitation, and violence. The government shall enact and enforce laws, policies, and programs to safeguard the rights and welfare of children, including measures to prevent and address child abuse, exploitation, trafficking, and other forms of violence. All such policies and government programs must be democratic, transparent, publicly accountable, effective, and adequately funded inasmuch as budgeted resources can provide.
Section 6. Homelessness Prevention and Protection
Local governments are responsible for providing sufficient housing to the unhoused. Local governments that allow unhoused rates to exceed 1% at any given time shall have three (3) years to lower the rate or be dissolved, followed by new elections within sixty (60) days. Furthermore, no government of any level shall enact or enforce any law that criminalizes the act of sleeping, resting, residing, or eating in public spaces by individuals experiencing homelessness, or enforce punitive measures based solely on their lack of shelter.
Section 7. Reproductive Rights
Every individual has the right to make decisions about their reproductive health, including the right to access safe and legal abortion services. The government shall not impose undue burdens on the ability to obtain an abortion, shall not coerce anyone to procreate, and shall ensure that abortion services are performed in a manner that minimizes pain for both the fetus and its gestational parent by adhering to medical best practices and ethical guidelines.
Section 8. Animal Rights
The government shall pursue policies and procedures that foster interspecies solidarity and progressively reduce sentential suffering. This includes the recognition and enforcement of animal rights for both animals that are unregistered and animals that are registered under approved legal guardianship by humans. Such rights for sentient animals, or animals with basic consciousness and the ability to experience pain, include (a) the right to exist and live free from unnecessary suffering, (b) the right to live free from intentional harm, exploitation, and premature death, and (c) the right to engage in and express their species-specific behaviors in suitable environments. Legal guardians of animals must obtain species-specific training and a local or state permit to qualify for guardianship and, where possible and taking priority over (c) above as necessary, encourage animal adaptation to non-predatory behaviors.
Section 9. Implementation Schedule.
To prevent an imminent collapse of the current animal-based food system, legislation pursuant of Section 8 that requires zero-suffering, no-kill consumable food protein may not come into effect until twelve (12) years after approval. The remainder of this Amendment shall be effective within six (6) months of approval.