Ernest Istook: “Here is the requirement, for this or any other constitutional amendment. The requirement that is set forth, in I think…”

“Here is the requirement, for this or any other constitutional amendment. The requirement that is set forth, in I think either article 5 or 6 of the Constitution, sets up the way that the Constitution is amended. Now, the way the Supreme Court does it, they issue a ruling which bends or twists or distorts or breaks the Constitution, and then we have to go through this process to correct it. So the way the Founding Fathers intended is, we have to have a vote on a constitutional amendment that is approved by two-thirds of the House and by two-thirds of the Senate and then is ratified by three fourths of the State legislatures. Now, it is important to note that in the process of ratifying it, we do not need a two-thirds vote within a State legislature. We only need a simple majority. But we have to have the simple majority from three-fourths. It is also important to note the President of the United States and the governors of the several States do not have any formal or official role in any constitutional amendment. It is something that is done through the legislative bodies, both in the Congress and in the State legislatures. And the Religious Freedom Amendment specifies a period of 7 years for the States to consider ratification of this.”