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From: kfl%mx.lcs.mit.edu@MC.LCS.MIT.EDU
Newsgroups: mod.politics
Subject: Re: Proposed amendment
Message-ID: <12228295880.23.MCGREW@RED.RUTGERS.EDU>
Date: Tue, 5-Aug-86 01:55:28 EDT
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Posted: Tue Aug  5 01:55:28 1986
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    I prefer to keep constitutional amendments as simple as possible.
    How about the following:

            The United States and no state shall make any law
            pertaining to private activities of informed, consenting
            persons.  Activities are deemed private unless involving a
            clear and present danger to uninformed or non-consenting
            others.

    This intentionally does not define "informed", "consenting", or
    "person".  I would like to think that our thoughts about these
     terms are evolving and improving over time.

  Lawyers and legislators manage to find invisible loopholes in the
most lucid prose.  Look at how they have managed to interpert away the
second amendment!
  The main problem is 'clear and present danger'.  This can be used to
justify sodomy laws (to prevent spread of AIDS), drug laws (to prevent
people from harming others while they are on drugs and not able to
control their actions), prohibition of alcohol (on the same grounds as
drugs), and prohibition of pornography (on the grounds that it
(according to Meese) causes people to commit violent sex crimes).
  'Informed' is another loophole.  It can be argued that certain
actions are so irrational that the person performing them must
necessarily either be not informed or not sane.
  Also, do you think people should be allowed to play very loud music
outdoors at 2 am?  It certainly ruins a lot of people's sleep, but is
it a clear and present danger?  What about shining spotlights into
people's windows at night?  What about a peeping tom?  What is the
clear and present danger there?
                                                              ...Keith

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