Declaration of Independence & Bill

Declaration of Independence & Bill of Rights What things would I eliminate from the Declaration of Independence? And why? If I were a member of the Continental Congress of the United States in July of 1776, I would have insisted that the document reflect slavery.

How can you say, when making a dramatic and politically powerful statement like this one, that "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal" - when not everyone was equal at all? And in fairness to African-American slaves that were being bought and sold - and beaten by masters throughout the 13 colonies - how can it be said that "all men" are "endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness"? Granted, many of the men gathered at the Continental Congress (Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and several others) wanted to address slavery in the Declaration.

They knew that it was important to get the document written and delivered to the King of England, and that it wouldn't be agreeable to everyone. But they also knew it was hypocritical to state that part of the reason the colonies insisted on breaking away from England was because the rights of liberty were being abused by England. The fact is that the kinds of freedom and liberty they demanded from England was being violated by their own colonists who participated in slavery.

The Declaration stated that the "absolute tyranny" and the "history of repeated injuries and usurpations" that the King of England had perpetrated against the colonists were intolerable violations of their rights. But what about the human rights, the civil rights of slaves who were brought over from Africa against their will? The signers of the Declaration referred to the "long train of abuses and usurpations" from England, along with the "Despotism" they suffered under English rule as reasons for the need to break away from England.

But "despotism" (one man rules and all the rest are his slaves) is exactly how African slaves were kept as slaves; the master was the despot, and the slaves were obliged to do what he said, or be beaten with whips and chains. What things would I eliminate from the Bill of Rights? And why? The Bill of Rights consists of the first ten Amendments to the U.S. Constitution.

I would consider amending the Amendment II, which reads: "A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed." When that Amendment was put in, the country was very young and it was wild, with Native Americans often hostile (with good reason), with wild animals posing a threat, and with various wars (the French & Indian War; the Civil War) taking place.

People needed to feel like they were protected, and the new government didn't want to take their personal means of physical protection away from them. The times have changed very dramatically. I'm not suggesting that guns be taken away from honest hunters, gun collectors, or others who actually need a weapon for protection in proven instances. Today, we have a militia, we have the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force - and those people are all well armed. But the number of guns in America is getting totally out of control.

Kids get guns and get involved in gangs and start killing people. Criminals buy assault weapons, steal, rob, intimidate and slaughter innocent people in ambushes; Congress has failed to stop the manufacture of assault weapons, and the availability of powerful weapons is frighteningly evident. Another reason Amendment II is out of date is that the National Rifle Association (NRA) uses the Second Amendment to scare their hunting and other members into believing that the government somehow is going to come into their homes and seize their weapons.

That is absurd, of course. But the Amendment should either be edited to suggest that gun owners need.