NATIONSTATESCONSTITUTION OF TURTLESHROOM
PREAMBLE
IN THE HOLY AND INFALLIBLE NAME OF THE ALMIGHTY SOVEREIGN GOD, AND OF HIS SON, JESUS CHRIST OF NAZARETH- AMEN –WE HEREBY INVOKE THINE GUIDANCE IN THE ESTABLISHMENT, INTERPRETATION, AND MAINTENANCE OF THIS NATION FOR ALL OF TIME, UNTIL THE SECOND COMING OF THE LORD.
WE, the human Clerics and Elders of the Church, your brothers in Jesus Christ of Nazareth, in order to establish a stable, righteous state to unite in harmony the three distinct and blessed groups of Turtles, Fungi, and Man- each a unique and special part of God’s Creation and the third made in His Image -hereby ensure until the return of our Lord a Union guided by the light of Christ and to secure to all its citizens a state reigned by the Rule of the Law and of Justice under the Fair and Balanced Scales of God’s Hand, do hereby anoint, enact, ratify, and submit this Constitution of the Holy Kingdom of the United Turtles, Mushrooms, and Humans of TurtleShroom.
Therefore, know all men, that in these formerly unclaimed and null partitions of arid, forested, and bogged territories, a new state is formed, a nation uniting three unlike entities under the one sacred banner of the Church- God’s children assembled -and guided by the Will of Christ, to which shall be a Lamp unto the ship of state and a Light unto her path.
Be it ordained, therefore, that this document be the Supreme Law of TurtleShroom, stable and pure, subordinate to no item under Heaven or the earth except the Will of our Lord; we hereby decree our Constitution, to which we shall be Morally, Legally, and Perpetually Bound.ARTICLE I
SOVEREIGNTY AND ROLE OF THE CONSTITUTION
The official name of this country shall be the Kingdom of TurtleShroom. The Kingdom of TurtleShroom is to further the goals of Christendom.
TurtleShroom is a sovereign, Christian state, wholly independent of any other nation, answering to no higher authority but itself and its God.
TurtleShroom expresses supreme, independent, and plenary power to make law and enforce order over all that lies within its borders and territories, and on all property of state. TurtleShroom is to defend its independence and territorial order.
The Constitution of TurtleShroom is the Supreme Law of the state, and the norms and provisions secured in the Constitution are eternally and immediately binding. Laws, decrees, edicts, actions, and any thing which is performed by the Government which contradict the Constitution have no legal force and are to be struck void in courts of law.
Sovereignty flows from and is possessed by the Masses, the King, and God Himself, jointly. These are jointly the sources of the governmental power of TurtleShroom.
The Masses of TurtleShroom exercise their power either directly or through duly elected, representative organs that serve and answer to them. The Masses’ sovereignty is the second highest level over matters of state and may not be abridged except in the selection of a new King, which is inviolably the inherent right of the incumbent King and the Almighty God.
The Kings of TurtleShroom exercise their power by virtue of selection, coronated by the grace of God, and rule by the means established to them by the Constitution and by applicable law. The sovereignty of the King is invested in the selection of a successor, and may not be infringed upon by the people.
God, the Wonderful Counselor, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Jehovah and YHWH, Almighty Father, Prince of Peace, the Alpha and the Omega in Three Persons, as vested in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost- Amen -holds the ultimate sovereignty, and from Him and His Blessing shall the authority of TurtleShroom’s Government so rest.
As interpreted by those who Drafted this Constitution, this Government so created is done so with Approval of God and by His Hand, and so long as his Mandate of Heaven stands, this government may not be changed, altered, or overthrown except solely by the legitimate means this Constitution ordains. Any other manner of attempt at changing the Government is unlawful and must be punished.ARTICLE II
PROHIBITION OF ALCOHOL
After one year from the ratification of this Constitution, the manufacture, sale, consumption, transportation, usage, possession, and otherwise existence of Intoxicating Liquors within, the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the Kingdom and all territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof is hereby Prohibited.
The Punishment for violation of the Prohibition by Consumption of Alcohol is to be Two Weeks, doubled per subsequent offense up to the point of One Year, in which laws as prescribed by Congress shall determine subsequent punishments.
The Punishment for other Alcoholic crimes shall be enacted by Congress as they so by law Direct.
Congress and the Kings shall have concurrent power to enforce the Prohibition by appropriate legislation.
A separate, parallel Judiciary, headed by a supreme Grand Alcoholic Tribunal, shall exist for the sole purpose of dispensing justice, trying, convicting, and settling manners regarding the Prohibition. Congress shall designate inferior courts to the Tribunal as they wish.ARTICLE III
DOMINION
This Constitution asserts Man, of secular taxonomic delegation Homo sapiens, as the supreme creature of all the earth, vested in the Bible with Dominion over all the air and the sea, and all that flies, swims, and moves along the ground.
Absolutely nothing shall be allowed to lower men below that of the turtles and mushrooms of TurtleShroom, nor deprive them of equal protection under the law and all rights and privileges guaranteed to turtles, to mushrooms, and to citizens of TurtleShroom.
As the supreme and master species of TurtleShroom and all God’s creation, the state shall never prohibit the immigration of mankind into or out of TurtleShroom except if the prohibition of immigration pertains equally over all creatures, man included with these.
TurtleShroom’s heads of state are, respectively, one turtle and one mushroom, but only these offices are closed to humanity. All other elected and appointed offices of public service are to be open to man, turtle, and mushroom alike, chosen by merit alone.
The establishment of supremacy of turtles and mushrooms over man, or turtle over mushroom and vice-versa, shall be prohibited. Turtles, mushrooms, and humans are to possess and govern TurtleShroom collectively and harmoniously, and none of these may rise above or below the other for any reason at any time whatsoever.
This shall not be construed to apply to creatures which are not turtles, mushrooms, or humanity.
The order of man over all other creatures is the will of God and is inviolable.ARTICLE IV
THE KING
CHAPTER ONE: ESTABLISHMENT OF THE CROWN
The Holy Republic of TurtleShroom shall be under the reign of two Kings, one a turtle and one a mushroom, whom share all their power equally among them, and each shall possess one Vote. To dispense the powers of the Crown, the Kings must mutually Assent the action in Unanimity. The Chief Executive power of the Realm rests upon this King.
The Kings are the sovereign mortal rulers of TurtleShroom and the highest offices of the land.
CHAPTER TWO: POWERS
The Kings:
1. Ensure the Constitution is enforced;
2. Execute the laws by virtue of the Executive branch of the Government;
3. Manage the implementation of foreign policy;
4. Represent TurtleShroom before foreign realms;
5. Appoint and recall, at their pleasure, Ambassadors and Diplomatic Representatives of TurtleShroom in other countries, and in foreign institutions of all types and scope;
6. Assent or Veto bills passed by the Congress, within seven days excluding the Sabbath, or the bill assents Itself;
7. Make Treaties and Pacts, with advice and consent of the Congress by simple majority vote, between TurtleShroom and all foreign realms, including nations, tribes, corporations, institutions, and persons;
8. Fill all vacancies that may happen during the recess of Congress by granting Commissions which shall expire at the end of the next Session, but no person rejected or expelled by them shall be reappointed to the same office during their ensuing recess;
9. Grant, at their pleasure, Estates of land from public ownership and Titles of Nobility which yield no duties of public service or authority over a fellow being, and establish both royal and common Orders and Associations of Nobility and of exclusive selection by the King, with titles, medals, heraldry, and privileges not in violation of that previously mentioned;
10. Pardon completely or commute a number of incarcerated men, the number of which Congress is to set by law, on dates which Congress is set by law, passed by concurrent resolutions that can not be vetoed;
11. Give to the Congress information of the state of the Kingdom, and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient to further his Wishes for the State, the Will of the Lord, or the betterment of TurtleShroom;
12. Convene, by force if need-be, all of Congress at his pleasure by ordering the Judgemaster to issue a Call of the House, except on the Sabbath;
13. Summon before his Throne any public servant of the Realm at his pleasure, by force if need-be;
14. Invite, at his pleasure, any Creature from any Realm to come to him at a set time, but only if they so consent and reply to the invitation stating their intent to comply;
15. Appoint Executive Cabinetmen to any head of any office which may be created by law in the event that the office is vacated by Resignation, Impeachment, or other means of vacancy, the Appointees being required to step down when the Election is scheduled, and said Election may not take place greater than One Year from the date of Vacancy;
16. Write, enact, revoke, and declare the laws for electoral fraud by edict, all edicts enacted pursuant to this Duty taking effect no later than on the Thirty First of October from their enactment;
17. Prescribe emblems, seals, regalia, official dress, vestments, formalities, customs, acts, ceremonies, rituals, and other such trivialities not necessary to the function and dispensing of their powers to all offices, posts, positions, and such of the Kingdom, which the servants holding the same being forced to obey and unable to act without obeying, the prescriptions of the same effective as immediate as possible, except in matters of emergency and necessity where regalia can not be donned;
18. Approve applications to change a citizen’s legal name, overriding any body delegated to do this otherwise;
19. Initiate an immediate investigation of charges of corruption to or against any government official and referring the judgment of these charges to a court as prescribed by law, overriding any body delegated to do this otherwise;
20. Appoint a Spiritual Advisor for consulting in matters of theology, jurisprudence, and the Christian faith in both a legal and personal sense, whose Compensation shall be set by the Congress and need not their consent;
21. Serve as a moral and pure guide to the people of TurtleShroom, abstaining totally from all poisons and impurities, never uttering obscenities or committing acts of fraud, deceit or corruption, never aiding any body in the circumvention of this Constitution, always doing what is pure and holy in the Eyes of the Lord, and serving TurtleShroom before himself, even to the point of death;
22. Dispatch the Armies and Navies to quell domestic insurrections and rebellions at the request of any official presiding over the jurisdiction of the rebellion;
23. Decides questions about the granting of TurtleShroom citizenship and asylum that are not clarified or specified by this Constitution or by laws passed by Congress.
The Kings may delegate and revoke any aspect of their powers enumerated here in this Constitution to any Governmental Body ordained by this Constitution or by law, and may take back powers specifically and explicitly enumerated to them by this Constitution or by law to their sole usage, giving one month’s warning to transfer the same. The Twenty First Responsibility and the First Responsibility may not be delegated.
CHAPTER THREE: CHECKS AND PROHIBITIONS
This Constitution shall never be construed to permit the Kings to Declare War or authorize the usage of Military Force without the expressed consent of Congress, except in the event that the Kingdom falls under attack or, in the event of failure to act, would have TurtleShroom rendered tributary to another nation, with the King presenting to the Congress a List of Grievances regarding the necessity for a strike without prior provocation.
The Kings shall not relieve any elected official of their duties for any reason whatsoever, except upon the successful conviction of charges of corruption and other crimes and misdemeanors listed in this Constitution and in laws Congress shall direct.
The Kings shall not suspend the Constitution nor void any part of the Constitution, nor refuse to enforce any law enacted by legal means in this Government. Any creature nominated to serve as King can not refuse the nomination or position and must govern despite personal objections to the contrary.
The Kings may not appoint justices and judiciaries of the Realm. The Kings may not overly entangle themselves in the affairs of the Armies and Navies of the state. The Kings may not charter a city or town, village or borough, nor revoke the same. The Kings may not assume a Power not delegated to them without the expressed consent, by majority vote, of Congress as they so by law Direct.
The Kings may not blaspheme Jesus Christ of Nazareth or the Christian faith. The Kings may not take the Lord’s Name in Vain. The Kings may not bear false witness or murder a fellow man, turtle, or mushroom. The Kings may not assume control over or interfere with the matters of the Church or any of its clerics, nor excessively entangle themselves into the Church or her affairs.
This shall not be construed to require any religious submission by the King, but rather, to ensure the King doesn’t dishonor the God who made his reign possible. No religious test shall be applied to the chosen successor to the King, or the King himself.
The Kings may not erect statues of them or use the state to infuse within the Masses adoration for themselves, absent the explicit Permission and Appropriation of funds by a three-fifths majority Congress. No public funds appropriated for glorifying a mortal creature of TurtleShroom in the form of construction of public works like that of monuments and shrines shall exceed one percent of the nation’s budget at any given year.
The Kings shall not be permitted to establish or allow the establishment of any institution rendering themselves as beyond the reaches of the Law or this Constitution, nor shall the Kings be elevated to the realms of the Supreme Being, nor declared a god or superior to humankind.
The Kings may not declare themselves better than man nor oppress man. When interacting and conversing with man, the Kings are always to acknowledge man and perform courtesies to man first, acknowledging their supremacy in the natural order.
The Kings may not dispense the duties of their office without wearing their Crowns and other regalia and vestments prescribed by law, except in situations of emergency, peril, or when genuine necessity renders the requirement of regalia void.
The Kings are not immune from Recall or Impeachment and must be dethroned in the event of corruption, as is to all public servants, royal and common.
CHAPTER FOUR: CORONATION AND ELIGIBILITY, MATTERS OF VACANCY, TENURE, REMOVAL FROM THE THRONE
SECTION ONE: ELIGIBILITY
To serve as a King of TurtleShroom, the creature in question must be a natural born citizen of TurtleShroom, meaning the hatching, germination, or other means of creation of the creature in question occurs within the sovereign borders of TurtleShroom or on property owned by the nation or directly and obviously subject to its jurisdiction.
To serve as King of TurtleShroom, the creature must be unmarried and a virgin if the application of gender exists, as pertaining to turtles. The King must be celibate and in abstinence of all impurities, and must remain in this state for life.
One seat on the Throne is reserved for a Turtle, the other for a Mushroom, and no other creature on God’s earth may ascend to the title and power of the monarchy by any means, including Man.
A King must be in good standing before the law. He who has committed a Capital or otherwise Infamous crime or Felonious Breach of the Law can not be in line for the Crown.
No religious test or gender exclusion may stand in the way of an otherwise eligible King to become a contender to the Crown.
SECTION TWO: REGENTS AND SELECTION OF A NEW KING
Starting in the Year of Our Lord One Thousand Eight Hundred Ten, the people of TurtleShroom shall elect thirteen men to serve as Regents during the Interregnal period where one or more Kings are not capable of reigning.
Upon assuming the throne, each King is to name twelve creatures of his Own Species, all meeting the Requirements specified in this Constitution, as contenders for the Throne at his passing.
Upon his passing, the thirteen Regents will act in his place, their Votes, duties, and manners of assent of the Law passed by Congress the same as a true King, a simple majority of all current rulers to Assent a Bill unto Law. In the event of a Tie, the law shall be considered Defeated.
In the nearest possible time, the Twelve chosen by the deceased King shall be gathered together, and Lots shall be cast in the form of Two cubical Dice, the numbers therein corresponding to each of the Twelve. The numbers shown upon the Dice shall declare who among the Twelve is to become the next King.
Congress shall have the authority to decide and define how the numbers allot to which successor, and how to include the number One in a system using a die which can not generally conceive the number.
SECTION THREE: DISPOSAL OF THE KING AND REGENTS
The Kings, and all civil officers of TurtleShroom in all forms of government, elected or otherwise, shall be removed from office on impeachment for and conviction of treason, bribery, corruption, or any number of other crimes and misdemeanors through the demand of Congress, or by a demand for a vote of Confidence by the People. When sitting for the purpose of Impeachment, Senators are on Oath or Affirmation. The Judgemaster of TurtleShroom shall preside the Trial.
Any reigning King or Acting Regent may be, at the demand of enough Citizens of the Realm, or by Impeachment from Congress be made to stand Recall.
Upon the gathering of the signatures, verifiably decreed to be the testimony of the person signing, of one-tenth of the population, the King shall relinquish his Crown and stand before the Congress, who shall try him for the accusations of the petition signed by the People, and, in the case of conviction, order the Kingdom torn from him.
In the abdication of a Regent, Congress shall Appoint a human to stand in his place until a new Election can be scheduled.
A King is chosen to his office by God Himself, His Will expressed through the Lots. He is, therefore, expected to stand in the utmost purity and can not make others look down upon TurtleShroom for failing to be a nation that obeys God.
To rectify the tainting of the Throne of a recalled King, Royal Blood must be spilt.
A King that receives a Vote of No Confidence, being convicted by Congress and Deposed of his Rule must be sentenced to death, to be executed by the State on the next fifth day of the week, Friday.
A Regent, called to his duties by an election through the fallible people of the realm, is not subject to this requirement.
In addition, Congress may draft Articles describing, in detail, Acts of Impurity as described in this Constitution, and submit, upon the affirmation of two-thirds of Congress, the King to the People, who, by a Seventy Five percent majority vote, declare their Vote of No Confidence against the Crown, forcing an Impeachment.
SECTION FOUR: MEDICAL DEPOSAL
The King may be prematurely relieved of his throne if deemed incapable of meeting his Obligations because of Medical Infirmaries. Congress, on the basis of the conclusion of a Medical Commission formed under its auspices, shall draft Articles of Infirmary detailing the alleged medical flaws of the King in detail, certified by three witnesses, all of whom are Practicing Medics with the Credentials enabling them to decide the Illnesses charged in pertinence with the species of the King. With the Confirmation of these Three Witnesses, Congress may then decide to prematurely relieve the King of power when not less than two-thirds of the established members of the Congress so vote.
An infirmed King may not be punished, mistreated, or executed for his illnesses which removed him, and shall be Tended to and Comforted until his death. Infirmed Kings are, for all intents and purposes, still the Reigning Heads of State of TurtleShroom, but during his Incapacity, the Thirteen Regents shall assume the place of his Vote and shall fully assume his Duties until the Infirmed King’s death or recovery.
ARTICLE V
THE EXECUTIVE CABINET
Congress, when creating principal Ministers to officiate executive governmental functions shall be required to permit the Masses to elect a man to serve in the office for a term of One Year.
The Executive Cabinet is an executive and management organ. It consists of Departments, referenced as Ministries and each headed by a Headmaster. The Kings, jointly, chair the Cabinet of Ministers ex officio and may prescribe recommendations unto them. The powers of the Executive Cabinet, the manner of its activity, and its relationship with other governmental organs are determined by Congressional law.
The Executive Cabinet organizes the execution of laws, royal acts, and decisions of the courts, each being delegated to the Departments empowered by Congress to execute a specific category or topic of law and subject.
These Ministers, each the head of their Executive Departments as created and delegated by Congress, may remove from office any Public Servant under their jurisdiction at their pleasure. All civil officers of the Executive Departments under their Head may be removed at any time by their Head when their services are deemed unnecessary or for dishonesty, incapacity, inefficiency, misconduct, Neglect of Duty, or no reason; and when so removed, the removal shall be reported to Congress.
The Ministers, in turn, are subject to stand Recall and Impeachment before the people, in the same manner as both the Kings and the Regents, but no recalled Minister may be sentenced any form of Punishment for Recall or Impeachment Alone, although, following the recall, he may be tried for any other crime he committed. When Ministers are Convicted of a Felonious or otherwise Infamous Crime save Impeachment or Recall, the impartial judge presiding has the Authority to issue any Sentence permitted under this Constitution, including and up to Death.
The Kings may not discharge an elected Minister.
ARTICLE VI
CONGRESS
SECTION ONE: OPENING AND ESTABLISHING STATEMENTS
Except where otherwise specified in this Constitution, all legislative powers herein delegated shall be vested in a Royal Congress- guided under the Will of the Lord Jesus -which shall consist of a unicameral body of four hundred ninety nine Senators, and a Judgemaster of the Court and Law of TurtleShroom.
Congress shall be composed of members chosen every year by the people of TurtleShroom and the Electors for each Seat shall be Citizens of the Kingdom.
A Senator may be stripped of his powers as a Senator only by Congress, or the ordained methods of Recall and Impeachment elsewhere in this Constitution.
For such a decision to be performed Internally, not less than a Simple Majority of the established number of Senators of Congress so vote in favor.
SECTION TWO: SOLE OCCUPATUON, CHARITIES
Congress is a constantly operating organ and Senators may not simultaneously serve for any other Occupation. When not in session, exceptions shall be granted to allow the Senator to embark in service to Charity, to non-pastoral laity functions in the Church- including the deaconate, elders, ushers, committee members or volunteers otherwise of the flock –to institutions furthering the Greater Good or God Himself, to medical facilities and almshouses, and to serve the orphans, widows, and the poor. Should any compensation be made to the Senator for their Act of Charity, it shall be turned to the General Budget of the Kingdom for Governmental Use.
SECTION THREE: TAXATION APPORTIONMENT AND CENSUS
Direct taxes on Income shall be Apportioned equally among the nation, according to its Respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole number of free beings, counting humanity, all turtles, and all mushrooms, including those bound to service for a term of years. In addition, all creatures not meeting these three criteria, but lawfully residing in the Kingdom all the same, shall be added to the Number, alongside any Servicemen in the Armies and Navies of TurtleShroom abroad.
The actual Enumeration shall be made in the Year of Our Lord Eighteen Hundred Ten, and within every subsequent term of Seven Years, in such manner as they shall by Law direct. Congress shall have the Authority to designate small Enumerations for Statistical Purposes in such manner as they shall by Law direct, but the Surveys so created may not count as Enumeration and may not occur in any time less than three years after the previous Enumeration.
SECTION FOUR: QUALIFICATIONS AND CALLS OF THE HOUSE
To serve as a Senator, one must be a Citizen of the Kingdom of TurtleShroom at the age of majority for their species so prescribed by law, having no Criminal Past, and must reside in TurtleShroom for Eighteen Consecutive Years and their District for Four. No other being shall be permitted to hold such office.
Congress and the Judgemaster shall be the judge of the elections, returns, and qualifications of Congress’ own members, and one hundred one men shall count as a Quorum to Do Business. The Judgemaster is Authorized to Compel the Attendance of Absent Members by virtue of decreeing Call of the House, upon which the Military and Police forces created by law shall forcibly bring the Senators to stand.
A Sergeant-at-Arms shall be appointed by Congress and will be vested with carrying out the Call and ordering the enforcers of the Call.
SECTION FIVE: OPEN RECORDS
Congress shall keep a journal of its proceedings, including a full transcript of any Debate and any Words uttered upon the Floor, any actions taken, the entering and exiting of Senators, any sounds and other vocal or other statements, and from time to time publish the same, excepting such parts regarding the military and national security as may in their judgment require secrecy; and the yeas and nays of the members of Congress, on any question, shall be entered on the journal.
Except for conveyance for matters of Governmental Contingency, Continuity, Acts of War, and Emergency, and for the discussion or briefing of military and policing secrets to preserve Order, all actions of Congress are, without exception, to be published in the record.
The Record may not be edited.
SECTION SIX: CONGRESS SHALL HAVE THE POWER:
1) To lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises for revenue, necessary to pay the debts, provide for the common defense, and carry on the Government of the Kingdom; no duties or taxes on importations from foreign nations shall be laid to promote or foster any branch of industry; and all taxation, without exception, is to be a flat rate in concurrence with Section Three’s apportionment rate; and to compel payment of taxation.
2) To borrow money on the credit of the Kingdom, and assume all obligations to fully pay said funds back as speedily as feasible.
3) To lay bare a Budget as prescribed in Article VII of this Constitution.
4) To regulate Commerce with foreign nations and Uniformly across the Kingdom;
5) To facilitate the Furnishing of Lights, Beacons, and Buoys, and other Aids to Navigation upon the Navigable waters of TurtleShroom, and the removing of obstructions in the navigation of the same.
6) To establish uniform laws of Naturalization, and Uniform laws on the Subject of Bankruptcies; but no law of Congress shall Discharge any debt contracted before the passage of the same.
7) To establish Post Offices and Post Routes; to lay forth and maintain Roads, Lanes, Streets, and Byways of all means of transport by carriage, beast, or foot, and the Removing of obstructions in the navigation of the same; and to Facilitate the Furnishing of Lights, Beacons, and other Aids to Navigation for the same.
8) To fund the Instatement of Social Services for the elderly, for beings incapacitated and therefore unable to work, and for the elderly, orphans, and widows, for war veterans and others whose health has suffered in defense of governmental interests; the manner of and conditions for exercising this are regulated by law.
9) To secure for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries.
10) To define and regulate Piracy and the function of Corsairs on the High Seas and navigable waterways of TurtleShroom, both domestic and foreign.
11) To define and subscribe punishments for offenses against the Law of Nations.
12) To grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal.
13) To establish and regulate a Militia.
14) To raise and support Armies; to provide and maintain Navies.
15) To constitute Tribunals inferior to the Supreme Courts of the Realm.
16) To authorize Military Force and Declare War; and this power can not be conferred to another other organ of Government.
17) To raise and regulate Police Forces by establishing an Executive Cabinet Minister to oversee police power, and to appropriate funds for the same.
18) To form and draw Administrative Police Districts with their own respective sheriffs, the sheriffs being elected by the people in the district, and to redistrict at will.
19) To charter and disincorporate Municipalities, Cities, Towns, Villages, and Boroughs; to accept Almagation of the same into Intercity Governances and to prescribe elections for the same if their charters called for such.
20) To constitute Public Schools and enforce anti-truancy measures in the same.
21) To charter local School Boards to set standards, practices of all types, and the curricula; Congress itself barred from doing so.
22) To ordain Private Schools, Universities, and halls of learning, and certify the same.
23) To contract private entities to perform services; but no company shall be paid not to perform a good or service.
24) To prescribe laws to Neutralize coercion, fraud, deceit, theft, corruption, aggression, and general nefarious behaviors in the private sector.
25) To define, regulate, and punish sexual immorality, sodomy, buggery, fornication, public nudity, gross indecency, and unclean relationships amongst the Kingdom’s inhabitants, and to prohibit the same in all its manifestations; but this shall not permit Congress to define divorce or permit coerced matrimony, and such laws are to be Uniform.
26) To constitute a Board of Censors to further the eradication of immorality in media and the press; but no Censor shall be permitted to infringe upon the freedom of dissent and conscience against or in favor of the Kingdom, nor bar the distribution of information for the purposes of dissent or disagreement, the authority of Censors fully limited to eliminating obscenities and defiance to decency.
27) To prescribe, by law, enforcements of the Prohibition and create the punishments for the same.
28) To uniformly regulate or outlaw private entities creating, promoting, or providing goods and services which would harm the morality of the Realm, and those which would pervert or aid in the perversions referenced or implied in any provisions in Clause Twenty Five.
29) To instate and revoke Capital Crimes and provide for means of Executions.
30) To fund and erect Penitentiaries and prescribe manners of Execution of duly convicted Felons.
31) To fund and aid the Church in her missions throughout the universe and to assist her duties, actions, missions, and obligations in the Realm; but this may not be construed to require the Church to perform or not perform an action, nor compel any creature to worship or not worship the One True God or any other gods, or the lack thereof.
32) To, in conjunction with the Executive branch, purchase, use, administer, and acquire real property for use.
33) To criminalize and punish witchcraft and all forms of magick, sorcery, use or command of demons, and summoning of evil or evil beings by unnatural or unclean manners, but no creature may be put to death for this crime.
34) To criminalize Worship and Adoration of Satan or his angels, Beelzebub, Baal, or any god explicitly listed, by an actual name in the Holy Scriptures as false, and list the punishments for the same, but the punishment shall not incur death.
35) To set uniform standards of weights and measure.
36) To coin money, declare legal tender, and regulate the value of the same.
Congress shall also have the authority to make all laws which shall be Necessary and Proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this Constitution in the Kingdom, or in any department or officer thereof.
SECTION SEVEN: MILITARY
The Autonomy of the Armies and Navies of TurtleShroom are not to be obscured or infringed by any act of Congress.
The Military shall have the power:
1) To enact Rules concerning Captured enemy combatants on Land and Water.
2) To organize and lay forth the Structure of the Soldiers.
3) To grant promotions and demotions in Rank.
4) To control the formation and usage of weaponry, artillery, and other weapons of warfare.
5) To set Rules of Engagement.
6) To constitute Military Tribunals and courts-martial.
7) To define offenses and crimes against the Armed Forces and prescribe the punishment for the same.
8) To try war crimes and breaches of international and domestic Laws of War.
9) To receive certain classes of crime delegated from the civil courts by Congress.
10) To compel military service and Conscript all able bodied males and mushrooms in times of desperation, with the approval of a majority of Congress.
11) To regulate its own internal affairs.
12) To divide a block appropriation of money appropriated to itself by Congress.
13) To advise the Kings and government officials on matters of war.
14) To execute the laws of the TurtleShroom, suppress insurrections, and repel invasions when called by civilians.
15) To govern occupied territories.
16) To own real property and erect upon it bases, turrets, forts, and defenses of any sort it deems fit.
17) To test its weaponry on land owned by the Kingdom; this provision not being construed to harm TurtleShroom citizens.
18) To uphold, defend, and protect the Constitution from all enemies foreign and domestic.
19) To uphold, defend, and protect the interests of the Kingdom of God, even if in disobedience to the King.
ARTICLE VI
BUDGETARY APPROPRIATIONS
CHAPTER ONE: BALANCED BUDGET
Except in exemptions provided herein, the government of TurtleShroom must, at all times, maintain a Balanced Budget in which income from taxation and the like do not exceed any government expenditures. At no time, except as contained herein, shall federal government expenditures exceed actual collected receipts on hand.
Total outlays for any fiscal year shall not exceed total receipts for that fiscal year, unless two-thirds of the duly chosen and sworn Senators shall provide by law for a specific excess of outlays over receipts by a roll call vote.
Total outlays for any fiscal year shall not exceed Forty Nine Percent of the Gross Domestic Product of the Realm for the calendar year ending before the beginning of such fiscal year, unless Two-Thirds of the duly chosen and Senators shall provide by law for a specific amount in excess of such by a Roll Call Vote.
Should the Kingdom maintain a National Deficit, the threshold limit on the debt held by TurtleShroom shall not be increased, unless three-fifths of the duly chosen and sworn Members of each House of Congress shall provide for such an increase by a roll call vote.
CHAPTER TWO: FULFILLING PUBLIC DEBT
The Kingdom of TurtleShroom shall not be permitted to incur Sovereign Debt, except if conditions specified in this Constitution permit a Debt to come to pass.
At the immediate resolution and expiration of the law assented that enabled the gathering of a Sovereign Debt, twenty percent of all tax revenues shall immediately be applied to the National Debt until said National Debt is fully satisfied.
The term National Debt shall mean total outstanding borrowings of TurtleShroom, comprising of Internal Creditors and Foreign Creditors; debt incurred in financing its expenditures, including, but not limited to short Borrowings, Ways-and-Means Advances, manners of Savings that be in the form of Certificates, Bonds, and securities Exchangeable to Foreign Lands, and Gold.
Expenditures shall be construed to include all Spending by the Kingdom, including but not limited to the Common Defense of the country, Disaster Relief, governmental Salaries and Benefits, and the Staffing and Administration of Agencies, Departments and Programs, and Payments made to the Church, to the orphans, widows, and infirmed of the Realm, to monetary securities of the Elderly in their days of Retirement, and to restitutions from the government in cases of denial of justice and corruption.
CHAPTER THREE: LINE-ITEM
All Budgets and Appropriations are to be drafted by Congress in compliance with this Constitution, and shall be passed with a Simple Majority of Senators present, and sent to the Kings for Assent.
Having received the Budget or other form of Appropriation, the Kings may Assent any appropriation and Deny any other appropriation in the same bill. In such case they shall, in signing the bill, designate the Appropriations disapproved; and shall return a Copy of such denied appropriations, with their Objections, to Congress. Appropriations shall be permitted to be re-introduced by the Congress and subject to Royal Assent in accordance with general proceedings of law.
The Church shall receive a minimum of Ten Percent of the Kingdom’s revenue each year for use as she sees fit.ARTICLE VII
JUDICIARY
CHAPTER ONE: ESTABLISHMENT OF THE JUDICIARY
The Judicial Power is exercised by the Supreme General Court of TurtleShroom, the Grand Alcoholic Tribubal, the Holy Marriage Tribunal, and Military Tribunals and other courts Anticipated by Law, including the establishment of emergency courts and other structures endowed with the Power of a Court, provided these institutions are subject to the same rule of law and judicial impartiality ensured by this Constitution. Inferior courts, ordained by Congress, shall be designated from time to time in a matter of law. The jurisdictions, manner of formation, and activity of courts are determined by law.
By Default, from the Supreme General Court shall all inferior tribunals not pertaining to alcohol, divorce, and items of martial importance stem, and to them shall they appeal. Congress shall have the authority to constitute inferior tribunals and specialty courts to deal with topics of law.
The courts of law shall have the authority to interpret this Constitution and, in the event of finding contradictory or unconstitutional items, strike the section of the law, or the law itself, null and void.
CHAPTER TWO: THE JUDGEMASTER
The Supreme General Court shall have as its chair and Chief Justice a Judgemaster of TurtleShroom, selected by the Kings. The Judgemaster serves life tenure and in good behavior.
The Judgemaster shall also serve as a Speaker or Chair of all of Congress, and he shall lead and maintain order in the legislature. In the absence of a Judgemaster, the most senior of Senators assembled will serve as Chair Pro Tempore and exercise the legislative proceedings of the absent Judgemaster.
CHAPTER THREE: JUDICIAL POWER
The judicial power of TurtleShroom belongs only to the courts of law and courts-martial as ordained by acts of Congress. The judicial power is intended to guarantee equal justice to all creatures in TurtleShroom regardless of species or faith, and to defend the legally protected interests of government, Christendom, society, and this Constitution.
CHAPTER FOUR: ELECTION OF GENERAL JUDGES, RECALL
The Supreme General Court and all inferior tribunals shall have their presiding judges Elected. Judges are elected for terms of four years. Any officer of the judiciary, appointed or elected, is subject to the means of Recall specified elsewhere in this Constitution.
CHAPTER FIVE: DUTIES AND PURPOSES OF A JUDGE
The conduct, duties, and purposes of the officers of the judiciary shall be taken from the Holy Bible, as follows.
FROM THE SECOND BOOK OF CHRONICLES, CHAPTER NINETEEN, THE SIXTH THROUGH TENTH VERSES:And said to the judges, Take heed what ye do: for ye judge not for man, but for the LORD, who is with you in the judgment. Wherefore now let the fear of the LORD be upon you; take heed and do it: for there is no iniquity with the LORD our God, nor respect of persons, nor taking of gifts. Moreover in Jerusalem did Jehoshaphat set of the Levites, and of the priests, and of the chief of the fathers of Israel, for the judgment of the LORD, and for controversies, when they returned to Jerusalem. And he charged them, saying, Thus shall ye do in the fear of the LORD, faithfully, and with a perfect heart. And what cause so ever shall come to you of your brethren that dwell in your cities, between blood and blood, between law and commandment, statutes and judgments, ye shall even warn them that they trespass not against the LORD, and so wrath come upon you, and upon your brethren: this do, and ye shall not trespass.
FROM THE SECOND BOOK OF CHRONICLES, CHAPTER NINETEEN, THE NINTH THROUGH TENTH VERSES:And he commanded them, saying, “Thus you shall act in the fear of the Lord, faithfully and with a loyal heart: Whatever case comes to you from your brethren who dwell in their cities, whether of bloodshed or offenses against law or commandment, against statutes or ordinances, you shall warn them, lest they trespass against the Lord and wrath come upon you and your brethren.”
FROM THE MOSAIC TORAH, DEUTERONOMY CHAPTER TWENTY THREE, THE ONE THROUGH THIRD VERSES, THE SIXTH THROUGH NINTH VERSES:Thou shalt not raise a false report: put not thine hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness. Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou speak in a cause to decline after many to wrest judgment: Neither shalt thou countenance a poor man in his cause. Thou shalt not wrest the judgment of thy poor in his cause. Keep thee far from a false matter; and the innocent and righteous slay thou not: for I will not justify the wicked. And thou shalt take no gift: for the gift blindeth the wise, and perverteth the words of the righteous. Also thou shalt not oppress a stranger: for ye know the heart of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.
CHAPTER SIX:
Congress shall have the authority to decide the means of selecting judges of the Alcoholic and Marriage jurisdictions, but may not infringe on the election of the others. Congress shall prescribe through law the number of judges on each bench and the jurisdictions and districts of the same.
CHAPTER SEVEN: DIVORCE
No Union of Holy Marriage between any male and female creature shall be Lawfully Dissolved except for Marital Unfaithfulness; a Certificate of Divorce shall not be granted unless Marital Unfaithfulness is found in a fair and impartial trial in the Marriage Tribunal.
CHAPTER EIGHT: IMPARTIALITY
Any Judgement enacted by any Court of Law, binding arbiter, or other judiciary or contractual public body in TurtleShroom shall be rendered null and void if the Judge was found to be impartial or abandoning of his duties, or had received a bribe, or had a vested interest in one of the Parties before him, or performed any act of corruption, or was made to decide under duress, infirmity, or incapacity.
Whosoever is denied justice in the courts is entitled to compensation and reparation.ARTICLE VIII
AMENDING THE CONSTITUTION
The Constitution of TurtleShroom may be amended by passing a Joint Resolution in Congress by the affirmation of Three Hundred Fifty Senators, and a subsequent Ratification referendum where fifty percent of the voting populace affirms.
Following Ratification, the Amendment becomes, for all intents and purposes, binding as part of this Constitution.
ARTICLE IX
AFFIRMATION OF SOME OF THE RIGHTS OF THE TURTLESHROOMER
The Government of TurtleShroom shall enforce nothing that may deprive another person of any rights or freedoms or limit her or his rights in any manner other than in accordance with the Constitution and laws, the rights being listed in this Article.
The Government of TurtleShroom is bound to these Rights.
) TurtleShroom shall enforce nothing that denies equal justice in the courts and equality before the law on the accounts of nationality, ethnic origin, property holdings, official status, place of residence, language, religious preference, or political convictions, for any reason, at any time, without exception.
) TurtleShroom’s government shall enforce nothing that violates the rights of TurtleShroomers on account of gender or species, except in obvious differences like that of the public morality and decency, such as manners of dress, or in acts that would clearly harm one gender while leaving the other unscathed. The Church shall be given the authority to allow or prohibit women to hold occupations therein, and other ecclesiastical functions.
) TurtleShroom shall enforce nothing that would subject any man, turtle, or mushroom to unholy experimentation against their will.
) A TurtleShroomer may not be punished, detained, or otherwise disciplined except in exact accordance with the law and as the decision of a court. A citizen may be arrested only on condition of the existence of grounds specifically indicated by law, by decision of a court. No arrest or monitoring of a citizen shall be invoked without a Warrant from a judge, justice of the peace, magistrate, or other judicial organ.
) TurtleShroom shall enforce nothing that infringes the ability of TurtleShroomers to defend their homes against unlawful encroachments.
) TurtleShroom shall prevent no man from freely moving and choose his residence within the borders of the Kingdom, nor prevent him from exiting the Kingdom, except if he is convicted in a court of law.
) TurtleShroom shall prevent no citizen from electing and being elected to organs of governmental power where elections are held if they meet the requirements specified by the Constitution, but shall be permitted to disenfranchise certain categories if need be, by a three-fifths affirmation of Congress.
) TurtleShroom shall prevent no man from choosing at his own discretion a profession, type of occupation, and place of work, subject to contract and the law.
) TurtleShroomers may not be put to death except as the sentence of a court in a fair, impartial trial.
) No creature shall be tried in any means that is not fair and impartial, under any circumstances, at any time.
) TurtleShroom shall enforce nothing that infringes the right of any man to peacefully and honorably criticize or dissent against the government, its methods of taxation, its practices, deeds, and institutions, and even the Church.
) TurtleShroom may not compel witnesses to testify against themselves.
) Before being tried, all TurtleShroomers shall be subject to a Grand Jury of his fellow beings, where he may compel witnesses to contest or challenge the evidence presented by the state. The Grand Jury is mandated to decide if the evidence is enough to permit a trial. Double jeopardy is to be in effect following acquittal.
) TurtleShroom shall enforce nothing that makes one liable for an act which at the time of its commission was not a violation of the law. The creation of ex post facto and retroactive laws is eternally forbidden.
) TurtleShroom may not deny incarcerated, duly convicted criminals the right to edible food, potable water, vital emergency medicines, and visitation from the Church.
) TurtleShroom shall not restrict the ability of the media to criticize and expose impurities in the government.
) TurtleShroom shall not restrict the ability of the citizenry to exercise these rights guaranteed to them.ARTICLE X
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
CHAPTER ONE: RIGHT OF DESTINY
Above all else, the right of a human to determine the fate of their immortal soul, by their own free will, shall not be abridged. Creatures with a capacity to think, feel, and believe, in the opinion of we who have convened, do not possess souls but nonetheless are capable of accepting the complex truths of faith and belief shall be guaranteed these same rights.
CHAPTER TWO: DECLARATIONS OF A CHRISTIAN STATE
In all affairs of state, TurtleShroom shall remember that it is a Christian nation, founded by clerics and in obedience to the Kingdom of God, which is superior to all worldly governments.
TurtleShroom’s government and laws must conform to the teachings of Christ Jesus and of the Holy Bible’s New Testament. When the Constitution and all existing statute fall silent, all of the Bible may be used to arbitrate the law, or the same may be delegated to Ecclesiastical courts. TurtleShroom’s military is sworn to keep the Kingdom on the straight and narrow and right with God, even more so than they are sworn to this Constitution.
CHAPTER THREE: ILLEGALITY OF COERCION AND DURESS IN AFFAIRS OF THE SOUL
While Christianity shall dominate the path and legal doctrines of the Kingdom, it shall be illegal for any institution of any kind to compel any creature to worship or deny their religion, its God, god, or gods, or even a belief in the lack thereof.
All creatures in TurtleShroom shall have the fundamental ability to enter and exit any faith for any reason their conscience allows, to follow and worship any god, gods, or idol of their choosing, or to abstain from and deny a Supreme Being altogether.
No law shall affect the ability of a creature in TurtleShroom from choosing their faith and determining their destiny in the mortal plane and the afterlife.
TurtleShroom shall enforce nothing coercing any man to follow or not follow any religion, or lack thereof, nor shall it excessively entangle itself in its affairs.
TurtleShroom shall enforce nothing forbidding the right of all religions to Witness to the world and promote their respective gospel.
TurtleShroom shall levy no Tax upon the polls, nor the income, purchases, or expenses of the Church or her clerics.
This shall not be construed to permit the practice of the faiths previous deemed unlawful in this Constitution, but any faith not so listed shall not be outlawed.ARTICLE XI
RATIFICATION OF THIS CONSTITUTION
Upon the completion of the drafting of this Constitution, it shall be presented before the Elders that drafted it and assented by an unanimous vote. Successful assent of this document shall immediately invoke the coronation of new Kings, the Lord Willing.
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