The Utah Senate asked Congress to repeal the 17th Amendment, which was ratified under the Progressive’s of 1913. Utah has boldly challenged a system that was never the intent of the Founding Fathers and suggests that the 17th Amendment has resulted in Senators being bound to special interest groups, that donate enormous sums of money for the Senator’s re-election, and not representing the needs of the people of Utah.
The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Al Jackson of Utah, believes that Senators need to “come home every weekend and take direction from their state legislative (sic) body and from the House and the Governor on how they should vote in the upcoming week.”
Passing with 20-6 SJR2 was sent to the House. It demands that Congress repeal the 17th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
Read a history of the 17th Amendment and why Utah has made such a bold call to action on the following page.
Nobody is going to mess with my Constitution
It is an interesting premise. Considering that foreign financial interests have now gotten involved in our elections, it should be taken into consideration.
The 17th says Senators are elected by the popular vote of the voting citizens. They want to get out from under the peoples choice.
I understand your concern. But, there is no way the states would ratify that!
Besides prohibition the 17th amendment was the worst mistake our government ever made. Repeal it now.
Navelle – I am a gun enthusiast so it’s hard for me to explain this. The Bill of Rights when created did not apply to the States. While the Federal Government was restricted by these Amendments, the States were not. After the Civil War the 13, 14, and 15th amendments were created to outlaw slavery and protect former slaves. The 14th amendment carried forward the “Takings Clause” from the 5th amendment and applied it to the States. No other parts of the Bill of Rights were included in the 14th Amendment.
80 years after the 14th Amendment was ratified the SCOTUS announced that the Takings Clause in the 14th Amendment was shorthand that pulled the entire Bill of Rights into the 14th. This was judicial overreach at its worst.
Neither the Framers, nor the creators of the 14th Amendment, nor anyone after have changed the Constitution to apply either the 1st or 2nd Amendments to the States. The Constitution only protects these rights from the Federal Government, not from the States.
Good news – most State Constitutions mirror the Constitution for these rights, but not all.
Just one of many things our Congress screwed us over with in the early 1900’s! The Declaration of Inner Dependancy, is another, the Social Security Act is another- because Social Security is available in all States we became part of Interstate Commerse and there by under Federal jurisdiction ! Before that it was each state held total authority over citizens! But to add or delete an amendment requires 2/3 (34 States) must ratify the action, not Congress!!!
NO JUST NO!
Now days all politicians care for themselves instead of the people they work for
They just need to do the job they were elected to do, not change the constitution!!!!!!!!!!!