Explain the advantages and disadvantages of the process of amending the (US) constitution.

An advantage of the amendment process of the constitution of the United States is that it is extremely difficult to change, resulting in strongly enshrined rights. This means Amendments 1 to 10, known as the Bill of Rights, and Amendments 14 and 16, pertaining to the rights of slaves, are deeply embedded within the constitutional makeup of the country. These rights are thoroughly protected as it would be extremely difficult, particularly in today's political climate, to gain a consensus from 3/4 of the states and a supermajority of congress needed to pass any constitutional changes. These rights are therefore enshrined and protected by the constitutional amendment process, so the 14th amendment can insure the Bill of Rights applies to everyone, and this is almost certainly going to remain the case of the foreseeable future. Another advantage of the amendment process is that, despite being an arduous process, it does still allow for change. There have been 27 amendments since the constitution was written showing that it is possible to make changes using said process. This also ensures that only changes popular enough with the states and congress are passed. The constitution has been working for over 200 years with only 27 amendments so one might argue that the constitution is acting as a strong and positive structure within which the US can function. Therefore, the difficulty of the amendment process ensures amendments are beneficial and necessary, pertaining to the adage 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it'. The difficulty with which amendments can be passed does however lead to elements of the constitution being stuck in an era which maintains little resemblance to that of the modern day political climate. There are certain amendments which may seem necessary to the majority of the population yet cannot be passed. The 2nd Amendment with its Right to Bear arms is the most obvious example of the dated nature of the constitution. Some estimates suggest over 90% of the US population believe there should be some form of gun control, yet a constitutional amendment is near impossible due to the National Rifle Association influence in congress which would ensure the impossibility of change. The US constitution is therefore stuck in a situation which reflects the time of writing and can not be remodelled to reflect modern issues such as the weekly, almost daily, mass shootings in the country. Furthermore, the amendment process is also too long. This means that proposed amendments take too long to pass to make a meaningful difference in an immediate sense. The 27th amendment is a good example. This amendment took 202 years to pass after being proposed in 1790 due to the need to get enough states and congresspeople to agree, although the nature of the amendment (congressional pay rise) also did not help this issue. This means that necessary amendments can take years, and even centuries, to pass and would make little difference to the political situation in which they were proposed.