House Joint Resolution to Propose a Constitutional Amendment to Prohibit Drunkenness

Some people couldn’t let it go, even five years after the repeal of Prohibition by the 21st Amendment. But instead of prohibiting alcohol sales, this amendment proposed to regulate personal behavior by prohibiting drunkenness. The absurdity of this was cheekily pointed out in the handwritten note at the bottom, which proposed adding an equally far-fetched effort to abolish Saturday nights. Transcription of handwritten note Why not add: Section 3. That period of time, commonly known as Saturday night, is hereby stricken from the calendar of the United States, and abolished. Section 4. Congress and the several States shall have concurrent power to change human nature from time to time in its or their discretion.

A joint resolution is a formal opinion adopted by both houses of the legislative branch. A constitutional amendment must be passed as a joint resolution before it is sent to the states for ratification.