Kevin Roberts: “This evening the Senate will vote on whether it should proceed to the consideration of a constitutional amendment that…”

“This evening the Senate will vote on whether it should proceed to the consideration of a constitutional amendment that would, of all things, alter the Bill of Rights. Specifically, it seeks to amend the First Amendment to permit this Congress to regulate the speech and political activity of American citizens. As written, the First Amendment does not permit regulation of the sort the majority wishes to impose, so they have decided to rewrite it. This is incredible and a sad demonstration of the lengths to which this majority is willing to go in its quest to retain power. It is particularly sad when you realize that in just over 2 weeks we will be celebrating the anniversary of the Senate action that made ratification of the First Amendment possible. It was on September 25, 1789, that this body passed the first 10 amendments to the Constitution of the United States. That was 225 years ago. The ratification process was completed when Virginia became the 11th State to approve the amendments on December 15, 1791. Since then, for over two centuries, the First Amendment has guaranteed all Americans will have the right to express themselves and participate in the political process without fear of government reprisal. While other nations have struggled to build and sustain democracy, the liberties guaranteed by our Constitution have given us a stability that allowed the United States of America to grow, to prosper, and to become a beacon of freedom around the globe.…”