[Hoot Gibson]

Here are a few amendments that I would support:

1. An amendment to ban all federal spending on political parties. If political parties want to select candidates through primary elections, then they should pay the entire cost of those elections. With the exception of the Speaker of the House, which is a constitutional position, all members of the US House of Representatives would receive the same budget for staffing and other office expenses. Ditto for US Senators. No perks for seniority such as office size would be legal.

2. An amendment explicitly giving states the right to define marriage and explicitly forbidding the federal government from forcing a state to recognize a marriage performed in another state. The amendment would also prohibit the federal government from meddling in state laws governing benefits granted to "partners."

3. I would also support eliminating the direct election of US Senators. States should be allowed to select senators however their citizens decide it should be done.

4. An amendment to allow each state to determine its own laws governing abortion.

5. An amendment to outlaw all federal and state "hate crime" laws and other laws that attempt to punish human thoughts by creating protected classes. The amendment would also prohibit stiffer punishments being codified for crimes committed against elected officials, police officers, etc. Crime is crime and every American is created equally and deserves equal protection of our laws, and nothing more.

6. An amendment that would phase in a requirement to balance the budget and eliminate the national debt.

7. An amendment to the commerce clause that would explicitly prohibit the federal government from using it where no interstate commerce is involved. If states want to legalize drug manufacture or cultivation for personal use, then the federal government should have no jurisdiction. Commerce means commerce and nothing more.