Retired Justice Stevens: Constitution Needs Amending

Retired Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens has written a book: Six Amendments: How and Why We Should Change the Constitution.  The nation's third-longest serving Justice, Stevens was nominated by President Gerald Ford in 1975 and retired in 2010 after over 34 years on the nation's highest court.  On April 30 he appeared and submitted testimony to the Senate Rules and Administration committee on his proposed amendments.  Though none are likely to pass in the near future, owing to the politics involved, all are excellent ideas for shoring up a democracy badly in need of some common sense help.  Maybe in the long run his wisdom will triumph.  Here they are.  My comments follow. 

1. The “Anti-Commandeering Rule” (Amend the Supremacy Clause of Article VI) This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof; and all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land; and the judges and other public officials. in every state shall be bound thereby, anything in the Constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding.
2. Political Gerrymandering – Districts represented by members of Congress, or by members of any state legislative body, shall be compact and composed of contiguous territory. The state shall have the burden of justifying any departures from this requirement by reference to neutral criteria such as natural, political, or historical boundaries or demographic changes. The interest in enhancing or preserving the political power of the party in control of the state government is not such a neutral criterion.
3. Campaign Finance – Neither the First Amendment nor any other provision of this Constitution shall be construed to prohibit the Congress or any state from imposing reasonable limits on the amount of money that candidates for public office, or their supporters, may spend in election campaigns.
4. Sovereign Immunity – Neither the Tenth Amendment, the Eleventh Amendment, nor any other provision of this Constitution, shall be construed to provide any state, state agency, or state officer with an immunity from liability for violating any act of Congress, or any provision of this Constitution.
5. Death Penalty- (Amend the 8th Amendment) Excessive Bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments such as the death penalty inflicted.
6. The Second Amendment – (Amend the 2nd Amendment) A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms when serving in the Militia shall not be infringed.

Amendment 1 clarifies the "supremacy clause," declaring that federal law supersedes state and local laws.  "State's rights" advocates, apparently still not reconciled to the outcome of the Civil War, will never stop until it is spelled out this obviously.
Amendment 2 is badly needed so that the actual composition of the voting population of a state will most often determine who is elected, rather than political tampering with district boundaries for partisan gain.
Amendment 3 is, in my view, the most badly needed of all.  If something like this isn't put in place we are well on our way to becoming a plutocracy.                                                                               Amendment 4 backs up his first suggestion, in case anyone didn't get the message.
Amendment 5 is a provision whose time has come.  In 1976, new to the High Court, Stevens voted to sustain the death penalty.  He has since evolved on the issue.  This barbaric practice must go.   Why? Two wrongs don't make a right, it's impossible to rectify a mistaken conviction, and once a person is in state custody and no threat, to kill him/her is simply murder.
Amendment 6 restores the original intent of the Second Amendment.  Good luck getting this passed anytime soon, though.