Can citizens use the initiative process to amend the US Constitution?

Answer 1

No. Two thirds of both Houses of Congress may propose a new amendment or a constitutional convention for the purpose of proposing amendments may be called by two-thirds of the States.

The belief that only Congress can amend the constitution is one of the greatest misconceptions taught in our schools and spread by our politically elite and uniformed citizens. A misconception which is proving every day to be a very destructive one.

The question was: "Can citizens amend the US Constitution?" Not: "How does Congress amend the US constitution?"

Article V or our constitution only describes the ways which our representative government can amend the constitution. It does not mention, nor does it prohibit, a process by which 'the people' can amend the constitution themselves. Constitutional scholar Akhil Reed Amir supports this argument: "...Article V nowhere prevents the People themselves, acting apart from ordinary government, from exercising their legal right to alter or abolish government, via the proper legal procedures. Article V presupposes this background right of the People, and does nothing to interfere with it. It merely specifies how ordinary government can amend the Constitution without recurring to the People themselves, the true and sovereign source of all lawful power."

There is no greater power than the will of the majority. Since laws are man-made, the will of the people supersedes any and all laws. These principals are quite basic and have been proven in practical terms in nearly every country in existence throughout world history. We allow our leaders to lead because we are busy with our own lives. When they fail to live up to their end of the deal, we take that power back. Plain and simple. We don't need scholars or constitutional 'defining' here.

The answer is absolutely yes! Of course citizens can amend their constitution and the initiative process is a perfect platform in which to do it. We've done it before and we'll do it again. The citizens can amend, abolish or do whatever else the majority wish, but they must first spell out a procedure in which the people can exercise this basic sovereign right of everyone born in America or planet earth, for that matter.

My research has found one (possibly the only) process by which citizens themselves can bypass their leaders and take matters into their own hands by amending directly. Its quite impressive and has been vetted for well over a decade. It's call The National Initiative for Democracy.

Answer 2

by eating cheese