even with just compensation". In regards to energy, the party calls attention to "the continuing need of the United States for a sufficient supply of energy for national security and for the immediate adoption of a policy of free market solutions to achieve energy independence for the United States," and calls for the abolition of the Department of Energy. Federalism The party supports the repeal of the Sixteenth Amendment, which allows Congress to tax income derived from interest, dividends, and capital gains, and the Seventeenth Amendment, which requires the direct (popular) election of Senators. The party holds that each state's membership in the Union is voluntary, a stance known as the compact theory. Fiscal policy The Constitution Party's 2012 platform called for phasing out social security, and the 2016 platform states that "Social Security is a form of individual welfare not authorized in the Constitution". The 2012 platform supports reducing the role of the United States federal government through cutting bureaucratic regulation, reducing spending, and replacing the income tax with a tariff-based revenue system supplemented by excise taxes. The party also takes the position that the "imposition [...] of Federal income, payroll, and estate taxes [...] is an unconstitutional Federal assumption of direct taxing authority". The party also supports the prohibition of Fractional-reserve banking and the return to the Gold standard saying quote "The Constitution forbade the States from accepting or using anything other than a Gold and Silver based currency" as stated in the 2016-2020 platform. Social policy The party opposes euthanasia, suicide, and abortion, including in cases of rape and incest. The party supports the right of states to administer the death penalty. The party opposes any government legislation to authorize or define marriage contrary to the Bible, and states that "The law of our Creator defines marriage as the union between one man and one woman". It supports the right for local and state governments to "proscribe offensive sexual behavior" and rejects "the notion that homosexuals, transgenders [sic] or those who are sexually deviant are deserving of legal favor or special protection". The party strongly opposes "adoption by homosexual singles or couples". The party also opposes pornography, believing that it is "a destructive element of society resulting in significant and real emotional, physical, spiritual and financial costs to individuals, families and communities," and distinguishable from the US citizen's "cherished First Amendment right to free speech." While expressing