Justice William Brennan stated that the "genius of the Constitution rests not in any static meaning it might have had in a world that is dead and gone, but in the adaptability of its great principles to cope with current problems and current needs" (quoted in Justice Byron R. White, Tribute to Honorable William J. Brennan, Jr., 100 Yale L.J. 1113, 1116 (March 1991)). The U.S. Constitution not only forms the bedrock of our Republic's free society, but as the American Bar Association aptly noted, "outlines a blueprint for government" in which it "delegates power, articulates rights, and offers mechanisms for change." One mechanism for change is the constitutional amendment process. That mechanism, however, is not a simple one. The amendment process as outlined in Article V is intentionally arduous, demonstrative of the framers' desire to protect the Republic's foundational principles from being easily eroded by the current passions of its citizens. In contrast, amending the New York State Constitution is achieved with greater ease, thus allowing the state the ability to regulate the many important subjects which affect the daily lives of the citizens of New York.