Separation of powers and checks and balances in government

¶ … Constitution

The United States of America is a democracy, a form of government which is supposed to be controlled by the people of this country. It is not a true democracy where the people vote on every issue, but a representational democracy the citizens vote for other people who will be responsible for the running of the nation as well as for the creation and passing of most laws. On the federal level, the functions of the government are broken into parts, each responsible for different functions. America's government is composed of three separate branches: the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial (Greenberg & Page 2010). The separation of powers as written in the Constitution is designed so that each branch can give their attention to the functions of their branch and also prevents any of the branches from becoming too powerful which would then lead to the destruction of the democracy devised by the Founding Fathers of the United States.

Each branch of the government is responsible for certain tasks and, when the branches are working together, serve to protect the American people. The job of the Legislative branch, Congress, is responsible for making the laws of the land. The United States Congress is bicameral and includes the Senate and House of Representatives. Laws must pass in both houses before they are sent to the President to sign or veto (U.S. Const. art I). The Executive is led by the President of the United States as well as those who directly report to him, including the Vice President and members of the Cabinet. Their job is to enforce the laws that have been passed and to make sure that all the citizens and the states follow the laws of the federal government. The President may propose legislation, but he does not have the power to create laws without the work of Congress (U.S. Const. art II). The Judicial branch, which includes all of the courts and judges with the Supreme Court being the most powerful of the courts and the Supreme Court Justices being the most powerful judges, is to interpret the laws that are passed and to determine their constitutionality. If a law is passed which violate the Constitution, it will be invalidated by the U.S. Supreme Court (U.S. Const. art III).

As stated, the three branches each have a function, but they do not work independently of the other branches. Within the first three articles of the Constitution are written the roles of each branch and also the ability of the branches to override one another. The intention of the checks and balances is to ensure that no single branch can become too powerful and dictate to the other two (Madison 1788). Congress can make the laws. However, the President can choose to sign a bill into law or he can veto it, which means he does not agree with it. The bill is then sent back to Congress where it has to be passed a second time before it becomes a law. The Supreme Court then examines the laws and determines if they are constitutional. If it is not, then it does not matter who made the law or if it was signed. The Executive branch has the ability to appoint people to the Cabinet and to the Supreme Court when a vacancy opens up. However, these appointments must be approved by Congress. There are other ways that the three branches are forced to cooperate, including the declaration of war which can be proposed by the President but must be approved by Congress as well.

In April of 2013, Congress failed to pass some legislation which was supported by the President and had to deal with gun control, a major issue in this country with the increasing amount of gun violence including mass shootings as schools. The law in question would have added further restrictions to that can legally purchase guns in this country. Specifically, it would insist on more stringent background checks to make it harder to buy certain guns (Barrett & Cohen 2013). This was in direct response to several shooting incidents where mentally ill people got access to weapons legally. There are already laws which are on the book which require background checks for any people who want to buy guns. There are also limitations on the types of guns people can buy. Handguns, for example, are easier to acquire than assault rifles and rightfully so. Background checks are important because they make sure that the American who chooses to buy guns, as are constitutionally allowed because of the Second Amendment, are doing so for protection or hunting animals. Those who pose a likely threat to people are prevented from getting weapons. Those who are mentally ill and those who have criminal records of violent crime, for example, are barred from getting guns. At least, that is the hope of background checks. The opposition to the proposed legislation argued that most of the people who purchase guns in the country in a legal way are doing so for personal protection or sport, not for violence. Shotguns, for example, are purchased for hunting deer, rabbits, and other animals. Other people buy shotguns for defense, like if they spend a lot of time in nature and are afraid of bears attacking or cougars. The men who wrote the Constitution understood that even in a progressive society, it is not possible to prevent all crime and, therefore, good citizens had the right to defend themselves, family and friends, and property. There are laws which require people who purchase guns legally to be responsible for their weapons. Here there is room for more reform. Guns ought to be locked up and especially kept away from young children and those who own guns must report instances of a lost or stolen weapon as soon as possible.