There are several new misunderstandings of the United States
Constitution currently circulating, some of which have even been promoted by
elected federal officials, in addition to the usual ones I have posted about
before.
One of them is that the phrase
“well-regulated militia” in the Second Amendment means having a lot of
regulations. It does mean anything about
regulations, in the sense the word is currently used. It refers to a regular military, with
military discipline, a chain of command, uniforms, drilling and the like, as
opposed to an irregular force, like guerrillas.
Members of Congress cannot be
impeached, contrary to public calls, including from Donald Trump, that some of
them be impeached. Impeachment is only
for the President, executive officers, judges and the Vice President. Each chamber of Congress may expel members,
however.
Another widespread misunderstanding
is that gerrymandering has something to do with United States Senate elections. Gerrymandering has nothing to do with them. Senators are elected state-wide, not by any
district that can be drawn to any advantage for an incumbent or political party. Therefore such drawing of districts for the
House of Representatives is irrelevant.
Similarly, gerrymandering has
almost nothing to do with the Electoral College, as is sometimes claimed. Presidential and vice presidential Electors
in 48 States and the District of
Columbia are elected at large, not by district. Maine, which has only two House districts,
and Nebraska, which has only three, elect two Electors at large and one from
each House district. In other words,
only 5 Electors out of 538 are elected by House district in districts that are
not currently gerrymandered.
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