Thread: Senators Call To Repeal 14th Amendment

Senators Call To Repeal 14th Amendment
Reporting Tim Kephart
(CBS4)

Two sitting United States Senators have called for a repeal of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Senator Jon Kyl became the latest to support the move over the weekend when he told CBS' "Face the Nation" that he agrees with Senator Lindsey Graham's call to repeal the amendment.

The first section of the 14th Amendment is the likely section in question, and the call to repeal is based upon a growing anti-immigration sentiment amongst some voters in America.

Section 1 of the 14th Amendment reads as follows: All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

The 14th Amendment was originally enacted to guarantee that states could not deny citizenship to former slaves. It's also become known as the equal protection amendment and has opened the door to landmark legislation and court decisions including Brown vs. Board of Education; Roe vs. Wade; and many others.

"The 14th Amendment has been interpreted to provide that if you are born in the United States, you are a citizen no matter what," Kyl told CBS' Harry Smith on Face the Nation. "So the question is; if both parents are here illegally, should there be a reward for their illegal behavior?"

The sentiment expressed by Kyl is gaining traction amongst some in the Republican Party and in conservative circles in the political arena.

The sentiment takes aim at the children of illegal immigrants whose parents often stay in the U.S. after a child is born in this country. Some call the children, "anchor babies."

Kyl called on Congress to schedule hearings and invite constitutional experts to examine the 14th Amendment in the wake of the Arizona immigration law.

"I think the court's decision was wrong," Kyl said Sunday. "The governor and legislative leaders have talked about possibly tweaking - to use their phrase - the law to see if they can obviate the concerns the judge expressed. I don't think they can because her decision was very sweeping."

Kyl said his support of the law has to do with illegal aliens taking jobs that Americans want; immigrants posing a burden on the state in the form of education, medical care and welfare benefits; and crime.

"To me the most important thing is the crime associated with it - not necessarily committed by illegal immigrants but committed on illegal immigrants, as well as the roughly 15 percent of the people who cross the border each year illegally who are criminals."

Kyl said the law is not discriminatory. "But if you live here in Arizona you'll appreciate the fact that we have a great tradition, particularly with our neighbor to the south, Mexico. It's not a matter of being anti-Hispanic. It's a matter of wanting to enforce the law."

If a movement to overturn the 14th Amendment gained enough momentum to actually reach the legislatures of states across the country, it could wreak havoc in American society.

The second clause of the 14th Amendment determines how representatives to the House are selected.

Specifically, part of the 14th Amendment removes the 3/5 clause in the original constitution that allowed for African-American citizens to be counted as 3/5 of a person.

In addition, if the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment were to be removed, there's nothing that would stop a more conservative Supreme Court from reversing any landmark decision that utilized the 14th Amendment.

http://cbs4.com/local/14th.amendment.re ... 38076.html

It might take away some of their rights but it would also take away some of our rights. This seems like a double edged sword to me.

This is total BS, don't believe anything the Orwellian "Ministry of Truth" writes.

They just want to stop 14th Amendment abuse and return it to it's original intent.