Individuals’ “reverence” for constitutions acts as a barrier to constitutional change.

Of the 27 Amendments to the US Constitution, less than a handful has been enacted in the past 50 years. So why is constitutional change so difficult in the US? Jim Zink argues that, in addition to difficult amendment procedures, the people’s “reverence” for the constitution makes them reluctant to consider changes to it. Using two studies, he finds that proposals framed as constitutional changes were far less likely to receive support compared to those framed as changes to existing laws.