High School Civics Class and Constitutional Amendment

[ThomWV]

This much I remember from High School Civics. Only under the most dire of circumstance should the nation consider amending the Constitution. The reason is that in order to amend the Constitution in effect what must be done is to reopen the Constitutional Convention, and once open there is no certainty that what you intended to amend is what will in fact end up being amended nor is there any certainty that the result you intend to achieve will be the end result of the Convention.

We would like to see the Constitution opened up for just one reason, to deny corporate personhood. But you open up that Constitution to amendment with the force Republicans are able to bring to bear in support of wrong causes and you are taking a very big chance with the very lifeblood of the nation.

[GreenStormCloud]

1. Time for you to reread your American Civics.

There are two methods of amending the Constitution. A consitutional convention is one, and it is dangerous as you noted.

The other is specific amendments can be propsed to congress. http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/usconstitution/a/constamend.htm

To Propose Amendments


•Two-thirds of both houses of Congress vote to propose an amendment, or


•Two-thirds of the state legislatures ask Congress to call a national convention to propose amendments. (This method has never been used.)

To Ratify Amendments


•Three-fourths of the state legislatures approve it, or


•Ratifying conventions in three-fourths of the states approve it. This method has been used only once -- to ratify the 21st Amendment -- repealing Prohibition.

[dflprincess]

2. The Constitution has been amended 27 times since it was ratified

and we have still only had one Constitutional Convention (for the entire document, not the conventions used in states). The framers did give a second option for changes and that 2nd option is the one that has been the only one used.

A Constitutional amendment requires a 2/3 vote in both the House and Senate and then a 2/3 vote of the states to be added to the Constitution.

It is possible to pass an amendment to change a previous amendment. The obvious example of this being the 18th Amendment (Prohibition/Volstead Act) and the 21st Amendment (repealing the 18th). If Congress wanted to clarify the first amendment to make spell it out that free speech applies to individuals and what they say, not corporations and what they pay, it could be done without a convention.

[ThomWV]

3. It is refreshing to see that you two believe this is a lock with 1 key - I'm not so certain

You both certainly know more than I do - after all I did cite the most flimsy of citations - my own memory of what was clearly a non-authoritative source.

But it doesn't make me feel any better.

Considering the sheer incompetence in political activity I have seen from my own Party in the last year I would not trust them to contain the urge to tinker with more than just what is at hand. And I have no doubt what so ever that they would find a way to do mischief.