Introduction The United States Constitution is unusually difficult to amend. Questions 1. Is it a good thing that our Constitution is so difficult to amend? Why should a minority be able to frustrate a clear majority's wish to alter the Constitution?
Don't the amendment procedures doom many potentially good changes, because one or the other political parties will see itself as adversely affected by a proposed change? For example, won't Republicans forever block Washington D. Isn't it equally unlikely that the electoral college method of choosing a president will ever be changed? May a state rescind its prior ratification if an amendment has yet to be ratified by three-fourths of the states?
Many proposed amendments, such as the Equal Rights Amendment, have limited the period for ratification to seven years? Are such limits a good idea? What if a state ratifies an amendment after the specified period?
What if a proposed amendment contained no time limit and was ratified two centuries later see the 27th Amendment? The Court has recognized the constitutionality of ratification procedures as a justiciable question.
Should the Court consider these issues, or should it leave them to the other branches to work out? Only two provisions in the Constitution have been made unamendable--and the unamendability of one of those, the provision barring restrictions on the importation of slaves, expired in The only provision now unamendable is the guarantee that each state will have equal suffrage in the Senate. As the California Supreme Court in Penziner v. West American Finance Co.
Davidson , an Idaho Supreme Court case, the Court found that a later negligent homicide law repealed an earlier involuntary manslaughter statute by implication because the two acts were essentially identical except for the punishment allowed to be imposed upon conviction. In the history of the United States, only one constitutional amendment has been repealed. Though neither has ever come close to happening, two other amendments have been the subject of repeal discussion over the years: the 16th Amendment establishing the federal income tax and the 22nd Amendment limiting the president to serving only two terms.
Most recently, the Second Amendment has come under critical scrutiny. Stevens argued that it would give more power to people's desire to stop gun violence than the National Rifle Association. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Use precise geolocation data. Select personalised content. Create a personalised content profile. Measure ad performance. Select basic ads. Create a personalised ads profile. Select personalised ads.
Apply market research to generate audience insights. Measure content performance. Develop and improve products. List of Partners vendors. Share Flipboard Email. Issues The U. Legal System U. Foreign Policy U. Liberal Politics U. In recent years, three other amendments have been subject of repeal talk: the 17 th Amendment the direct election of Senators , the 16 th Amendment the federal income tax , and the 22 nd Amendment presidential term limits.
None of that talk came close to fruition. It is up to the states to approve a new amendment, with three-quarters of the states voting to ratifying it. The one instance of an amendment appeal, the 21 st Amendment , shows how this unusual process works.
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