28th Amendment Proposal Isn't Real, But Anger Over 2013 Government Shutdown Is
The government is shutdown, and many Americans are fed up with Congress. As a result, talks of a "28th Amendment" have been popping up all over the Internet. The 28th Amendment will remain on the Internet, however, because it is not real.
Social media users everywhere have been demanding for a 28th Amendment to be added to the United States Constitution. 28th Amendment supporters request that members of Congress follow their own laws.
"Congress shall make no law that applies to the citizens of the United States that does not apply equally to the Senators and Representatives; and, Congress shall make no law that applies to the Senators and Representatives that does not apply equally to the citizens of the United States," the 28th Amendment proposal typically reads.
The Amendment is not actually under consideration to become a law, and is only an Internet fad and tool for discussion.
One of the reasons this 28th Amendment has gone viral is likely due to the way Obamacare affects members of Congress and their staffs. Rumors are circulating that they are exempt from the new healthcare law, though this isn't true.
Still, supporters of the phantom amendment are clamoring that what is good for the public is good enough for Congress. A Republican proposal made this claim before the shutdown began.
This is the first United States government shutdown since 1996, when the government was out of commission for 26 days under President Bill Clinton. Currently, the House of Representatives is controlled by the Republican Party. Tea Party Republicans in particular have forced the shutdown because of their opposition to Obamacare. The Senate, on the other hand, is controlled by the Democratic Party, and they disagree.
According to Snopes.com, calls for a 28th Amendment date as far back as 2009 in the form of chain e-mails.
"For too long we have been too complacent about the workings of Congress," a sample chain e-mail from Dec. 2009 reads.