Constitutional Change Hard on Purpose

Ira Lupu, a law professor at George Washington University, said, “The American people clearly think that the constitution should be written in a way that it can’t be easily corrected.”

He noted, “First of all, it should be hard to revise the constitution for stability of the law. The constitution is where all laws start, making it possible for the U.S. to exist. Second, U.S. people have a strong respect for their founding fathers such as Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, who wrote the constitution. Today’s politicians still appreciate these founding fathers’ ideas because people place confidence in the authority and power of the constitution they wrote 220 years ago. Third, some may demand that the constitution reflect changes of the times, but that requirements should be met through flexible statutory interpretation. U.S. courts have stronger authority to interpret laws than those of any other country.”

The following is an interview with Lupu.

Q: Has there ever been any amendment in relation to the election of public officials?

A: “Before 1913, state legislature elected senators in some states, including Kentucky. At the time, the constitution was revised so all the states elected senators in a universal election. In 1951, congress passed an amendment restricting the term of president to two terms.”

Q: In case of a possible amendment, what would it be like?

A: It is really hard to revise the constitution in the U.S.. Since the presidential election between Bush and Gore, some claimed to change the presidential electoral college system. Besides, there were the issue of allowing prayers at public schools and other demands, but across the country, the dominant conception was that amending the constitution was going too far.

Q: Some say that states with small populations having two senators is over-representation.

A: Constitution article 5 stipulates that each state has the same number of senators and the article should not be changed under any circumstances. For this reason, this clause can’t be altered before a revolution takes place.

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