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Amend the U.S. Constitution, Say 27 States

posted by martyb on Friday December 11 2015, @05:50AM   Printer-friendly
from the pandora's-box dept.

An Anonymous Coward writes:

The U.S. Constitution has 27 amendments; each was proposed by Congress and ratified by the states.

However, the Constitution sets forth another procedure, never before used, for amending the Constitution. At the request of two thirds of the states, a constitutional convention would be held, at which amendments could be proposed. Any proposals would become part of the Constitution if three fourths of the states ratified them, either at state conventions or in the state legislatures.

Currently, 27 of the needed 34 states have petitioned Congress for a constitutional convention, for the ostensible purpose of writing a balanced-budget amendment (BBA). However, the convention might propose other changes in addition or instead of a BBA—even a total rewrite of the Constitution—if 38 states agreed, the changes would become law.

In November, legislators from 30 states met in Salt Lake City to discuss the matter.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 11 2015, @03:15PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 11 2015, @03:15PM (#274989)

    Um, no. You obviously missed the concept of checks and balances introduced by the authors of the Constitution. The Supreme Court has authority most limited in scope of any of the three branches of government. They can't draft executive orders or legislation. (Think about that - that's pretty limited).

    What they can do is strike down orders or legislation, siting the Constitution, after months of well-prepped testimony from both sides and vigorous debate. There's usually a pretty good balance between conservative and liberal justices, too.