A law professor at the University of Miami has proposed a “redo” of the First and Second Amendments.
Mary Anne Franks, the Michael R. Klein Distinguished Scholar Chair, has said that the first two amendments “inspire religious-like fervor in many Americans”. She also said they are “deeply flawed in their respective conceptualizations”.
In a Boston Globe op-ed, Franks wrote “These two amendments are highly susceptible to being read in isolation from the Constitution as a whole and from its commitments to equality and the collective good”.
She claims that the two amendments “tend to be interpreted in aggressively individualistic ways that ignore the reality of conflict among competing rights”.
Franks explained that “the most powerful members of society” are able to benefit at the expense of vulnerable groups, but did not further elaborate on the other groups.
The professor believes the amendments should both state “individual rights within the framework of ‘domestic tranquility’ and the ‘general welfare’ set out in the Constitution’s preamble”.
Franks’ suggestion for the First Amendment says “Every person has the right to freedom of expression, association, peaceful assembly, and petition of the government for redress of grievances, consistent with the rights of others to the same and subject to responsibility for abuses. All conflicts of such rights shall be resolved in accordance with the principle of equality and dignity of all persons”.
Her suggestion also says the government must respect “the freedom of religion and the freedom from religion”.
For the Second Amendment, Franks suggests “All people have the right to bodily autonomy consistent with the right of other people to the same, including the right to defend themselves against unlawful force and the right of self-determination in reproductive matters. The government shall take reasonable measures to protect the health and safety of the public as a whole”.
In the Second Amendment, Franks thinks self-defense should include “a meaningful right to bodily autonomy”.
