EQUAL RIGHTS FOR ALL IN THE LAND OF THE FREE!

by: Alan Snyde

Introduction

America is the land of the free and the home of the brave. Unfortunately, many of us, while free and brave, cannot exercise all our God given government provided constitutional rights. Why? The cost of exercising them is beyond our means. This is Un-American and must be corrected. A civil right that cannot be exercised is no civil right at all. We must heed the words of the great social commentator J. T. Kirk, who said, civil rights “must apply to everyone or they mean nothing.”{1}

An Example

The United States Supreme Court has found in Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973) that the right to an abortion is civil right protected by the U.S. Constitution. They said this right is not specifically delineated in the Constitution. However, it can be plainly found in the penumbra of privacy rights protected by substantive due process. A quick reading of the Constitution shows this very clear analysis to be very clearly correct. The right to an abortion is also known as a reproductive health right. This is rather strange since reproduction is the one thing every aborter proponent is trying to avoid.

In any case, reproductive health rights must be available to everyone, anytime, anywhere. Unfortunately, this is not the case. An abortion is a complex medical procedure (as well as a time consuming and painful one) that can cost up to $3,275, far beyond the means of many aborters. Disgraceful. In the 21st Century and in the richest country in human history, a constitutionally protected civil right is financially out of reach for many Americans. This cannot stand!

The Problem

The obstacle preventing the full exercise of reproductive health rights is the Hyde Amendment, which was named for U.S. representative Henry Hyde of Illinois and signed into law in 1977. This amendment specifically forbids the use of federal funds to pay for an abortion except to save the life of a potential mother, or if the pregnancy arises from incest or rape. How Un-American. Everyone should be able to fully exercise all their constitutional rights, reproductive or otherwise, no matter the cost. Access to all civil rights must be ensured to all.

The Solution

Our country requires a two-step solution. Step one: repeal the Hyde amendment. This is the truly American thing to do.  Step two: after the Hyde amendment is repealed, adopt a law that I have recently written that I modestly call the Snyde Amendment. Passage of the Snyde Amendment will solve all of America’s problems, it will make America American again, but most importantly, it will make America free again .

The Amendment

The Snyde Amendment is an omnibus law that will eliminate all economic barriers to the full and free exercise of all civil rights for all Americans. Here are some of the law’s provisions:

1. It will guarantee everyone’s right to reproductive health by requiring the cost of abortions to be borne by the Federal government. Since all men (and, in this case, women) are equal under the law, free abortions will be provided to any abortee, regardless of their financial status, legal status or location. No financial, residency, or citizenship questions will be asked, as these questions would constitute unwarranted governmental interference in the exercise of a civil right. Since reproductive rights must be liberally construed and not restricted, the number of federally funded abortions available to each aborter will be limited only by the practical fact that no one can have more than one abortion per month. Hence, the Snyde amendment will provide one free abortion, costing up to $3,275, every month to everyone.

2. The Snyde amendment will be inclusive of all people and assure that everyone is equal under the law. Free abortions will be available not only to U.S. citizens, but also to legal residents, undocumented immigrants, and non-citizen working families worldwide. (Excluding non-citizen working families residing outside of the United States would not, by definition, be inclusive.  Nor would everyone be treated equally under the law.)

3. The Snyde amendment will be inclusive of all civil rights and protect them as well. Here are a few examples:

a. It will protect the free exercise of the right to bear arms. The Second Amendment clearly states “the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” This civil right permits citizens to protect themselves, and reprotect themselves, as often as necessary. Hence, right to bear arms is really a reprotective health right. Furthermore, it is not a penumbra right, an unnamed privacy right, nor is it a right hidden in the nebulous concept of substantive due process. It is unambiguously and plainly stated in the Second Amendment. As such, reprotective health rights must be accorded the same legal weight as reproductive health rights.

The Snyde amendment will guarantee this equality by permitting everyone (again, citizens, legal residents, undocumented immigrants, and working families worldwide) to exercise their constitutional right to reprotective health by funding their purchase, every month, of an enumerated weapon, such as a pistol, rifle, shotgun, knife, nunchaku, blackjack, assault weapon, cannon, rocket propelled grenade launcher, sword, howitzer, flame thrower, or mortar. Everyone will be able to obtain a weapon of their choice. (The government will not infringe on a weapon acquiree’s right to choose.) Reprotective rights will be funded in the same amount as reproductive rights; everyone will receive a government check for $3,275 every month to acquire a weapon of their choice.

b. Since the First Amendment guarantees the right to free speech, free press, to peaceably assemble, and to petition the government (rights also unambiguously and plainly identified in the amendment), these rights, which permit the transmission and retransmission of ideas and concepts to others (i.e. retransmittive rights) must also be protected. The Snyde Amendment will protect everyone’s civil retransmittive rights. Anyone (again, citizens, legal residents, undocumented immigrants, and non-citizen working families worldwide) who desires to exercise their constitutionally protected retransmittive right to purchase a newspaper, radio or TV station, will have the cost of the purchase borne entirely by the Federal government. (Since the First Amendment clearly and specifically states that retransmittive rights to the press are free, payments under this section will not be limited to $3,275 per month per person. After all, if the purchase of a press outlet costs even one dollar, it is not, by definition, a free press! 

c. It will assure that everyone can exercise their constitutionally protected right to travel (i.e. The constitutionally protected right to relocate). While relocation rights are not expressly specified in the constitution, the Supreme Court has found this right (as they similarly found abortion rights) is implied in there, somewhere. This civil right was defined in Paul v. Virginia, 75 U.S. 168 (1869), which held that the “right of free ingress into other States, and egress from them” is a civil right guaranteed to all.

To assure that everyone (again citizens, legal residents, undocumented immigrants, and non-citizen working families worldwide) can exercise their constitutional relocation rights to ingress and egress different states, the Snyde amendment will provide everyone a monthly allowance of $3,275 to be used for the purchase of a(n) automobile, airplane, train, bicycle, tricycle, barge, unicycle, trolley, moped, motorcycle, tram, scooter (powered or unpowered), boat, bus, autogiro, spacecraft, rickshaw, monorail, lighter than air ship (including blimps, dirigibles and zeppelins) or helicopter. To further assure that constitutional relocation rights are fully protected and free, the Snyde amendment will require that the Federal government reimburse everyone for all driver licensing fees, auto registration fees, tolls, traffic tickets, tips to squeegee men, ferry charges, and all state or local ad valorem taxes on any passenger carrying vehicle. No one will ever again be deprived of their constitutionally protected right to relocation.

d. The most important feature of the Snyde Amendment will be its protection of our most cherished civil right, freedom of religion (A right also specifically mentioned in the First Amendment).

Throughout history, all believers required a house of worship in which to practice their faith. Since houses of worship are costly, the Snyde Amendment will provide every believer (again citizens, legal residents, undocumented immigrants, and non-citizen working families worldwide) with a tax-free monthly stipend of $3,275. This stipend will be donated to the worshiper’s house of worship (church, synagogue, mosque, candi, wiccan circle, etc.) to insure it will remain and open and available to all. As the Snyde Amendment is an inclusive law, non-believers will also receive a monthly stipend of $3,275 that, in their case, can be used to purchase alcohol, drugs (legal or illegal), snuff, women of easy virtue, poker chips, pari-mutuel betting slips, bingo cards, cigarettes or cigars. Because their stipend paid to non-believers will not be used for religious purposes, it will be taxable to them.

Funding

The Snyde Amendment will be costly. But it can easily be funded by taxing the more fortunate among us. Thes taxes will be levied on the following resources owned or used by the rich: homes valued over $1,000,000; stock portfolios valued over $500,000; yachts valued over $50,000; autos valued over $50,000; all second, third, fourth, etc. homes regardless of value; airplanes valued over $10,000; clothing valued over $10,000; all first class, orchestra or box seat tickets of any kind; all swimming pools, spas and hot tubs; furniture valued over $10,000; massages and pedicures; services of a prostitute (legal or illegal); foreign bank accounts; all commercial and foreign real estate; jewelry valued at over $5,000; all precious metals; incomes of over $200,000; sound systems valued over $2,000; all domestic help; all personal trainers; and all spouses rated higher than a 7.

Because they have profited from white privilege for over 200 years and because America is a nation committed to social justice, the tax rate paid by white males will be twice the rate paid by everyone else.

Support the Snyde Amendment. It will make America a free land, as well as land of the free {2} again!

Footnotes

{1} The Omega Glory
{2} I.e. Without cost.