Candidates' positions are categorized as Pro (Yes), Con (No), Not Clearly Pro or Con, or None Found.
Candidates who have changed their positions are listed as Now their most recent position.
(Candidates are listed in alphabetical order by party; black & white photos indicate candidates who have withdrawn or who no longer meet our criteria.)
Chuck Baldwin, Founder and Minister of the Crossroad Baptist Church in Pensacola, FL, issued the following statement through his Communications Director, Mary Starrett, in an Aug. 11, 2008 email to ProCon.org:
"We oppose any attempt to call for a Constitutional convention, for any purpose whatsoever, because it cannot be limited to any single issue, and such convention could seriously erode our Constitutionally protected unalienable rights." Aug. 11, 2008 Chuck Baldwin
Bob Barr, former US House Representative (R-GA), on Sep. 5, 1996 sponsored and introduced H.J.RES.190 "Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to provide that no person born in the United States will be a United States citizen on account of birth in the United States unless both parents are either United States citizens or aliens lawfully admitted for permanent residence at the time of the birth":
"No person born in the United States after the date of the ratification of this article shall be a citizen of the United States, or of any State, on account of birth in the United States unless the mother and father of the person are either citizens of the United States or aliens lawfully admitted for permanent residence at the time of the birth." Sep. 5, 1996 Bob Barr
John McCain, US Senator (R-AZ), stated in an Apr. 28, 1999 article titled "Statement of Senator John McCain on the Flag Protection Amendment Before the Senate Committee on the Judiciary" on the US Senate Judiciary website:
"It is with great honor and reverence that I speak in support of Senate Joint Resolution 14, a bipartisan constitutional amendment to permit Congress to enact legislation prohibiting the physical desecration of the American flag." Apr. 28, 1999 John McCain
Cynthia McKinney, former US House Representative (D-GA), issued the following statement through her Press Secretary, John Judge, in a Nov. 1, 2008 email to ProCon.org:
"By the people in every generation Thomas Jefferson said. The Bill of Rights should always be expanded. The Constitution should be honored when it protects rights, civil liberties and balances of power. All forms of governance can be improved as history changes conditions and technology involved." Nov. 1, 2008 Cynthia McKinney
Ralph Nader, attorney, author, and political activist, issued the following statement through his Communications Director and Policy Writer, Loralynne Krobetzky, in an Oct. 20, 2008 email to ProCon.org:
Barack Obama, US Senator (D-IL), cosponsored "A Joint Resolution Proposing an Amendment to the Constitution of the United States Relative to Equal Rights for Men and Women" (S.J.Res.10) which was introduced to Congress on Mar. 27, 2007
"Constitutional Amendment - Prohibits denying or abridging equality of rights under the law by the United States or by any State on account of sex." Mar. 27, 2007 Barack Obama
INACTIVE CANDIDATES
(Candidates who have withdrawn or who no longer meet our criteria appear
below in black and white and in alphabetical order by party.)
Joe Biden, US Senator (D-DE), stated in a Mar. 26, 2001 press release titled "Biden Calls for Constitutional Amendment 'To Fix Our Broken System'":
"Campaign spending has spiraled wildly out of control and will continue unabated unless we pass fundamental reforms. We've got to limit the amount of money spent on campaigns, and that requires a constitutional amendment, a measure we should employ only when it's essential and when there is no alternative. With a crisis of public confidence in our politics and government, we must take bold and swift action to fix our broken system." Mar. 26, 2001 Joe Biden
Hillary Clinton, US Senator (D-NY), cosponsored "A Joint Resolution Proposing an Amendment to the Constitution of the United States Relative to Equal Rights for Men and Women" (S.J.Res.10) which was introduced to Congress on Mar. 27, 2007:
"Constitutional Amendment - Prohibits denying or abridging equality of rights under the law by the United States or by any State on account of sex." Mar. 27, 2007 Hillary Clinton
Chris Dodd, US Senator (D-CT), in a June 7, 2006 article titled "Floor Statement of Senator Chris Dodd on Marriage Protection Amendment" on his official candidate website, stated:
"The Framers deliberately made it difficult to amend the Constitution. They did not intend it to be subject to the passions and whims of the moment. Time has proven their wisdom. Since 1789, when the first Congress was convened, there have been 11,413 proposals to amend the Constitution. Sixty-four have been offered in this Congress alone. Luckily, only 27 have been successful. If all or even a substantial fraction of these proposed amendments were adopted, our founding document would today resemble a Christmas tree, a civil and criminal code rather than a constitution, and the United States would be a very different Nation.
It is unfortunate that the majority leadership of the Senate does not share James Madison's view that the Constitution should only be amended 'for certain, great, and extraordinary occasions.'" June 7, 2006 Chris Dodd
Rudy Giuliani, former Mayor of New York City, offered the following in an article titled "12 Commitments" on his official candidate website (accessed Oct. 30, 2007):
"Propose a Constitutional Amendment Establishing a Presidential Line-Item Veto: A constitutional line-item veto would allow the President to fight for the national interest by cutting wasteful special interest programs without contributing to gridlock by vetoing an otherwise sound bill." Oct. 30, 2007 Rudy Giuliani
Mike Gravel, former US Senator (D-AK), issued the following statement through his press secretary, Alex Colvin, in a Oct. 19, 2007 email to ProCon.org:
"Yes, we need a Constitutional Amendment empowering Americans to vote directly on the legislation that affects their lives. The National Initiative for Democracy does just that." Oct. 19, 2007 Mike Gravel
Mike Huckabee, former Governor of Arkansas, stated in an article titled "Issue: Marriage" on his official campaign website (accessed Oct. 31, 2007):
"I support and have always supported passage of a federal constitutional amendment that defines marriage as a union between one man and one woman. As President, I will fight for passage of this amendment."
Duncan Hunter, US Representative (R-CA), in an article titled "Core Principles" on his official candidate website (accessed Nov. 28, 2007), stated:
"I would amend the US Constitution and provide blanket protection to all unborn children from the moment of conception by prohibiting any state or federal law that denies the personhood of the unborn. Likewise, I have also introduced the Right to Life Act, which would legally define 'personhood' as the moment of conception and, therefore, guarantee all constitutional rights and protections, including life, to the unborn without utilizing a constitutional amendment." Nov. 28, 2007 Duncan Hunter
Daniel Imperato, an Independent candidate and business entrepreneur, issued the following statement through his press secretary, Joseph Oddo, in a Nov. 30, 2007 email to ProCon.org:
"No, it does need to be upheld not violated." Nov. 30, 2007 Daniel Imperato
Alan Keyes, former Assistant US Secretary of State, stated in an article titled "Abortion / Life Issues" on his official candidate website (accessed Apr. 7, 2008):
"In addition to overturning Roe v. Wade, we need a Human Life Amendment that respects life and restores our respect for the will of God." Apr. 7, 2008 Alan Keyes
Steve Kubby, founder of the American Medical Marijuana Association, stated in an Oct. 29, 2007 email to ProCon.org:
"The only update I can think of which is called for is acknowledging and enforcing the Bill of Rights instead of allowing it to wither as we've been doing for a century or more now." Oct. 29, 2007 Steve Kubby
Frank McEnulty, President of Our Castle Homes, in an Oct. 30, 2007 email to ProCon.org, stated:
"I believe that given our current illegal immigration problems that the time has arrived to review the process of allowing anyone born here to instantly become a citizen regardless of the citizenship of their parents." Oct. 30, 2007 Frank McEnulty
Ron Paul, US Representative (R-TX), in a May 28, 2007 article titled "Dr. Paul's Writings: Immigration 'Compromise' Sells Out Our Sovereignty" on his official campaign website, stated:
"Additionally, one of the most absurd incentives for people to come to the US illegally is the promise of instant US citizenship to anyone born on our soil. That is why when Congress returns next week I will be re-introducing my Constitutional amendment to deny automatic citizenship to individuals born on US soil to parents who are not US citizens or who do not owe permanent allegiance to the United States." May 28, 2007 Ron Paul
Bill Richardson, Governor of New Mexico, stated in a Sep. 26, 2007 press release titled "Governor Bill Richardson Stands Alone on Ending the War in Iraq at NBC/DNC [National Broadcasting Company/Democratic National Committee] Debate in New Hampshire":
"I am for a constitutional amendment to balance the budget within five years." Sep. 26, 2007 Bill Richardson
Mitt Romney, former Governor of Massachusetts, stated in an article titled "Ask Mitt Anything: Traditional Marriage (Mitt TV)" on his official campaign website (accessed Oct. 25, 2007):
"I support an amendment to our constitution which defines marriage as a relationship between a man and a woman... I supported a constitutional amendment at the federal constitution level to say a marriage is between a man and a woman... I'm not in favor of civil unions or same sex marriage." Oct. 25, 2007 Mitt Romney
Christine Smith, a Libertarian candidate and a social and political activist, stated in a Nov. 12, 2007 email to ProCon.org:
"No. My focus is first restoring the rights the US Constitution and Bill of Rights were meant to protect. Let's restore them first before we discuss 'updating." Nov. 12, 2007 Christine Smith
Tom Tancredo, US Representative (R-CO), in an article titled "Issues: Gay Marriage" on his official campaign website (accessed Nov. 1, 2007), stated:
"Federalism concerns make a constitutional amendment protecting traditional marriage an avenue of last resort, Unfortunately, intellectually dishonest activist judges have left us no choice.
Activist courts have ignored the principal legal argument that the state's interest in marriage is procreation. Population is power. Society needs a young generation to defend the country in battle, to support its programs with taxes and to carry on its culture and traditions. The mere fact that two people are in a loving relationship does not matter to the state. Society supports traditional marriage because it is the only union which, in the ordinary course, leads to children, without the intervention of a third party." Nov. 1, 2007 Tom Tancredo
Fred Thompson, former US Senator (R-TN), stated in an Oct. 19, 2007 article titled "Fred Thompson Speaks to the Value Voters Summit" on his official candidate website:
"The latest example of that [judicial activism] has to do with the same-sex marriage issue, where judges have taken it upon themselves to take something that has been the case since the dawn of civilization, and that is the recognition that marriage is between a man and a woman -- turned it on its head.
When I was in the Senate, we fought for the Defense of Marriage Act, passed that act, basically defining marriage as between a man and a woman, and saying one state, if they do such a thing, does not have to be recognized by another state when someone moves to that new state.
This is a totally judicially created problem. I propose a constitutional amendment which will stop this particular brand of judicial activism in its tracks."