Tyrone Schiff Political Science 111Page 1 of 3Cooperation Wins the DaySince the original framing of the Constitution in 1789, there has been over 10,000attempts to amend this revered document. Of those attempts, only 27 have actually beenratified by the states and thus successfully amended the Constitution. In spite of thestaggering statistics against the passing of an amendment, it is quite evident that some doin fact pass. Ultimately, amending the Constitution comes down to the sentiments of thecountry’s constituency, and their representatives in Congress supporting those attitudes.Therefore, a constitutional ban on gay marriage can succeed so long as there is adequatesupport for the amendment and collective action is implemented effectively.It is imperative to first understand the methods in which an amendment can be proposed and further ratified. There are four such routes that an amendment can take(Lowi, 64). Amendments are proposed and are either passed through the House andSenate by a two-thirds vote, or by a national convention that Congress calls as a result of petitions from two-thirds of the states (Lowi, 65). Both of these processes occur on thenational level. There is a great deal of compromise and cooperation in order to get anamendment this far through the process already.Furthermore, in order for an amendment to be ratified it has to go through one of two processes on the state level. For an amendment to be ratified into the Constitution, itmust be accepted by three-fourths of the states in the union (Lowi, 65). This can beachieved through majority vote in state legislatures or assembling conventions for the purpose of ratifying the Constitution (Lowi, 65). These are tough stipulations, becausethey require concurrence from people all over the country. This ability to work towards acommon goal is generally referred to as collective action.

Tyrone Schiff Political Science 111Page 2 of 3Collective action is the life-blood to which an amendment will either succeed or perish. Collective action is depicted here in a largely macro perspective. The twochambers that make up Congress, the House and Senate, both need to work collectivelyand coordinate their efforts to get two-thirds of both their chambers to agree.Furthermore, the states, 38 out of 50 of them at minimum, have to also find a way to be inagreement. This seems like an enormous task, but with adequate collective action, thewillingness to obtain similar goals, ratifying an amendment is not as hard as it appears.There is also a great deal of collective action that needs to occur within the chambers of Congress in order for an amendment to pass.An amendment to the Constitution can make its way to Congress through anumber of means. Collective action is the key ingredient needed in order for it tocontinue its potential ratification. Individual constituents anywhere in the country or special interest groups can write an amendment and propose it to their Congressman(Lowi, 162). The Congressman takes part in collective action immediately in this case.He or she can either throw the amendment out or begin to coordinate his efforts alongwith those of his constituents to achieve a common goal. The Congressman can now present the amendment to fellow members of his respective chamber, and here toocollective action plays a pivotal role in the success or failure of the amendment. The process of getting more and more people to support an action will continue until the effortis thwarted due to a lack of collective action or too much collective action in the opposingdirection.Collective action also takes place in each respective chamber of Congress due tothe structure and procedures that occur in the House and Senate. In the House, the