An amendment is the way to go

An amendment is the way to go

The debate over our coun- try’s immigration policies is a heated one. Recently, some politicians on the right have suggested modifying/repealing the 14th amendment which automatically grants citizenship to anyone born in the United States. The reaction to this suggestion by some on the left is insightful.

Left leaning politicians and publications have described this movement to amend the Constitution as un-American, radical, hateful, racist, and just about every other negative description one can think of. They seem shocked that anyone would dare to even raise the idea of repealing an amendment. The liberal reaction is even more confusing to me when I consider that these are the same people who believe that the U.S. Constitution is a “living, breathing” document, and if that is true, then the amendment process is the heart and lungs of the “living” Constitution. To classify anyone who wants to amend the Constitution as “radical,” you are in essence criticizing that person for following the Constitution, for the amendment process is the only constitutional means by which the Constitution can be changed.

When events cause us to consider our Constitution and our rights should we just rely on judicial activism from the left or the right? Should we just allow our elected leaders to ignore portions of the Constitution as the city of Chicago has done for the last 35 years with their handgun ban? Or, should we be rational, and follow the amendment process and change the Constitution using the method that the Framers intended, by the consent of the governed? For it is no simple task to amend the Constitution, requiring a two-thirds majority in both houses, and ratification by the states. In other words, changing the Constitution requires the consent of the governed, which it the exact reason we do not see many attempts, or even discussions regarding amending the Constitution. This brings us back to the immigration debate and the 14th amendment.

If the 14th or any amendment is to be repealed, it cannot be done by fiat, or on a whim of a select group of politicians or judges. It would take years and years of time, during which Americans would debate just exactly how they want to be governed. How is that “radical?”

George A. Davis, Poland