The Fundamental Rights Amendment
Constitutional Amendment Proposal I

We the people, in order to affirm the universal American belief in human freedom, hereby further declare the inalienable and fundamental rights of all citizens; those rights inherent in a system of ordered liberty, deeply rooted in the conscience of the American people, and among the privileges and immunities enjoyed by all American citizens.

Section 1. The following rights shall not be infringed or violated in the United States:

i) The right to privacy, especially autonomy over one's home, body and mind for behavior, belief and expressions which are not restrictive of the liberties of other citizens

ii) The right to pursue a profession in any lawful trade or avocation, to enjoy the rewards of one's own industry, and to trade and contract freely, subject only to restrictions necessary for the general public welfare

Section 2. Every citizen shall have standing to challenge, in any court of law in the United States, any federal or state act, agency, law or statute believed to violate these rights.

Notes:

These rights have been at the heart of a few landmark Supreme Court cases, including Roe v. Wade, Griswold v. Connecticut, and Bowers v. Hardwick, and even appear in many state constitutions. Yet they appear nowhere in the actual text of the American Constitution, and as a result, the Supreme Court has only reluctantly recognized them when reviewing Federal laws.

According to some conservative jurists such as Robert Bork, the right to privacy doesn't exist at all, and should never be able to limit any government policy. While the right is still sporadically recognized in modern courts, such as in striking down abortion laws, the current judicial trend is much less favorable for general privacy rights of Americans.

The right to pursue a calling, or the right to live the American Dream, in essence, is in even less favor. It is universally ignored as the Supreme Court upholds even the most absurd economic regulations, despite that the American Dream has been historically ingrained in the American ethic from the Revolution, and despite that the right to pursue a calling was eloquently proven and defended in various dissenting Supreme Court opinions over centuries.

These fundamental human rights - the right to be left alone and the right to pursue the American Dream - would be permanently secured in the law through this Amendment. The Amendment thus gives force to the Constitution's promise to protect the life and liberty of the people. It also gives the American people a better understanding of their true rights as citizens, instead of phantom Constitutional concepts.

In this age of presidents expanding their wartime authority, myriad national security agencies spying on American citizens, eminent domain seizures uprooting family homes, and special-interest-fueled regulatory barriers restricting small businesses, this Amendment is mandatory for Americans to effectively protect and permanently define our freedoms. By further enumerating these liberties, we can secure our past progress while we set the stage for a new century of American freedom.

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