Constitution

July 10th, 2007 -- Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Arlen Specter (R-Pa), ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, spoke on the floor of the Senate regarding habeas corpus.

A copy of his remarks are below:

Mr. President, I thank my distinguished colleague from Vermont, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, for his generous remarks. I compliment him on his leadership on the committee and for his work generally, but especially on our efforts to restore habeas corpus.    » read more »

Legislation Keeps Abortion Providers Out of Classrooms

July 6, 2007 -- JEFFERSON CITY – Missouri Governor Matt Blunt today made the Alternatives to Abortion Program permanent and took action that will keep abortion providers like Planned Parenthood out of Missouri’s classrooms. Gov. Blunt signed legislation at Concord Baptist Church that enacts the provisions to further "protect the sanctity of human life".    » read more »

WASHINGTON, June 1, 2007--The national commander of America’s oldest and largest organization of combat veterans is taking issue with an apparent attempt by the U.S. Marine Corps to bring administrative actions against three former Marines for their anti-war positions.

“This is about First Amendment rights and whether the military can discipline former servicemen who are in the inactive reserves,” said Gary Kurpius, who leads the 2.4 million-member Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S. and its Auxiliaries.    » read more »

Statement of Allison Zieve, Attorney, Public Citizen

May 29, 2007 -- "We are disappointed with today’s appellate court decision affirming the dismissal of Public Citizen’s challenge to the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA). We are also disappointed that, in this case, the courts have not been willing to stand up for a basic principle of our Constitution: the requirement that both chambers of Congress pass identical versions of a bill before that bill can be signed into law by the president.    » read more »

Governor’s Bill Will Guarantee a Woman’s Right to Make Decisions Related to Her Personal Reproductive Health

April 25, 2007 -- New York Governor Eliot Spitzer today announced his plans to submit legislation that will update New York's laws pertaining to reproductive rights and establish a fundamental, statutory right to privacy for women in making personal reproductive decisions.    » read more »

April 19, 2007 -- ATLANTA -- Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue tonight vetoed HB 94, the Amended Fiscal Year 2007 Budget, saying it does not meet constitutional requirements or the needs of Georgia.

Governor Perdue’s remarks are below:

"Our situation today reminds me of a Chinese proverb: “A man who cannot feed himself has one problem. A man who is full has many.”

And that’s where I think we find ourselves with the ’07 budget.    » read more »

April 18, 2007 -- Washington, DC - "This decision marks a dramatic departure from four decades of Supreme Court rulings that upheld a woman's right to choose and recognized the importance of women's health. Today's decision blatantly defies the Court's recent decision in 2000 striking down a state partial-birth abortion law because of its failure to provide an exception for the health of the mother. As the Supreme Court recognized in Roe v. Wade in 1973, this issue is complex and highly personal; the rights and lives of women must be taken into account.    » read more »

Passed by Congress June 4, 1919, and ratified on August 18, 1920, the 19th amendment granted women the right to vote.

The 19th amendment guarantees all American women the right to vote. Achieving this milestone required a lengthy and difficult struggle; victory took decades of agitation and protest. Beginning in the mid-19th century, several generations of woman suffrage supporters lectured, wrote, marched, lobbied, and practiced civil disobedience to achieve what many Americans considered a radical change of the Constitution. Few early supporters lived to see final victory in 1920.    » read more »

Passed by Congress May 13, 1912, and ratified April 8, 1913, the 17th amendment modified Article I, section 3, of the Constitution by allowing voters to cast direct votes for U.S. Senators. Prior to its passage, Senators were chosen by state legislatures.    » read more »

Passed by Congress on July 2, 1909, and ratified February 3, 1913, the 16th amendment established Congress's right to impose a Federal income tax.

Far-reaching in its social as well as its economic impact, the income tax amendment became part of the Constitution by a curious series of events culminating in a bit of political maneuvering that went awry.    » read more »

Passed by Congress February 26, 1869, and ratified February 3, 1870, the 15th amendment granted African American men the right to vote.    » read more »

Passed by Congress June 13, 1866, and ratified July 9, 1868, the 14th amendment extended liberties and rights granted by the Bill of Rights to former slaves.    » read more »

Passed by Congress on January 31, 1865, and ratified on December 6, 1865, the 13th amendment abolished slavery in the United States.    » read more »

The decision in this Supreme Court Case established the right of the courts to determine the constitutionality of the actions of the other two branches of government.    » read more »

The Constitution: Amendments 11-27

Constitutional Amendments 1-10 make up what is known as The
Bill of Rights.

Amendments 11-27 are listed below.

AMENDMENT XI

Passed by Congress March 4, 1794. Ratified February 7, 1795.

Note: Article III, section 2, of the Constitution was modified by amendment 11.

The Judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to
extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against
one of the United States by Citizens of another State, or by Citizens
or Subjects of any Foreign State.    » read more »