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Three Branches of Government: Legislative

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Three Branches of Government: Legislative

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The legislative branch of government makes the laws.
-Consists of a Senate with 2 members from each state
-Consists of a House with members determined by population of state
-In order to pass a law, the law needs approval from each chamber of Congress as well as the president's signature
-Grants Congress "enumerated powers": power to tax, spend, regulate interstate and foreign commerce, declare war, raise armies, etc.
-Prohibits states from entering into a treaty with another country without consent of Congress

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The executive branch of government enforces the laws.
-The executive branch's power lies in a president
-Election of president must take place by the electoral college
-President is the "commander in chief" of the Army and Navy
-President has power to nominate (with consent of Senate) ambassadors, judges, and officers of the United States
-President and VP are able to be impeached by House and convicted by Senate in act of "treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors."

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The judicial branch of government ensures that laws are constitutional.
-The judicial branch's power lies in a Supreme Court
-Inferior courts are appointed by Congress
-Judicial power extends to cases under the Constitution, federal laws, treaties, controversies between two states, etc.
-Supreme Court has original jurisdiction in limited number
-Appellate in all others

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Checks and balances were put into place to ensure that no one branch would have more authority over the others.
-While the legislative branch makes laws, the president has the right to veto that law that was to be passed by Congress. Congress can then override the veto if a minimum of 2/3 of both House and Senate vote to do so
-The Supreme Court can declare a law as constitutional and unconstitutional
-The legislative branch has the power to impeach the president if he/she does something that is deemed unconstitutional

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The first amendments prohibits any law from "respecting any establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;" protects freedom of speech, freedom of press, guarantees right to peacefully assemble, and to "petition the Government for redress of grievances."

I believe this amendment is important because America was founded on freedom. If the government was able to tell us what religion to practice, what we can and cannot say, what we can and cannot read, write, etc, that we cannot assemble, that we cannot petition would be as if we never broke free from the bondage of Britain.
***Articles 4-6 of the Constitution talk about the amendment process

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The tenth amendment provides that "powers not delegated to the United States...are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."

This amendment is important because powers not given to specific people in the Constitution go to States or to the people. This makes the people of the United States feel more involved in the government. However, there is often gray area in this endeavor, as there is often controversy in the wording of the constitutional document.
***Articles 4-6 of the Constitution talk about the amendment process

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-"Get Rid of the Right to Bear Arms:" the proposal by Melynda Price states that our forefathers did not foresee violence becoming an issue as it has. I agree with her saying, however, she also admits that she knows that getting rid of guns would get rid of gun violence altogether. The fact of the matter is that people are crazy, and I do believe that background checks should be more thorough, but ending the right to bear arms would only cause more issues. The argument also arises in that other countries do not have near as much gun violence as we do. While that is true, I believe this is because their forefathers did not see them as necessary. America was founded on freedom, and we achieved this through guns, violence, and the loss of lives. It is now deemed as acceptable to own a gun as a way to protect oneself and ones family. This is America, and violence is not going to go away overnight. If there is a world where violence is not an issue, then guns can be stripped away. Since this is not the case, and the world is no utopia, this will not happen anytime in the foreseeable future.

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"Allow Naturalized Citizens to be President:" the proposal by Akhil Reed Amar states that those born outside of the United States but those be attained U.S. citizenship should be granted the opportunity to be president of the United States. In a world that is pushing more and more for equality, this seems like a good idea. As stated, amendments to the Constitution brought more rights to African Americans and women, so who is to say that this will not be a possibility in the future?