Final answer:
No, if a state rejects a proposed amendment, it is not forever bound by that decision. States can ratify an amendment later on, as long as it meets any deadlines set by Congress for ratification.
Step-by-step explanation:
If a state rejects a proposed amendment, it is not forever bound by that action. States have the option to reconsider their decision and may ratify an amendment at a later date, even if they initially rejected it. There are some historical precedents where amendments have gone through a lengthy ratification process. For instance, the 27th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which deals with congressional pay raises, was proposed in 1789 and was not fully ratified until 1992, over two hundred years later.
However, for the ratification to be valid, it must occur within any deadlines set by Congress. The Constitution's Article V does not set deadlines for the states to ratify an amendment, but Congress sometimes includes a deadline within the proposed amendment itself. If the deadline passes, as happened with the Equal Rights Amendment, the legal status of the amendment can be a subject of debate. Nonetheless, if there is no specific deadline or the deadline is extended, and eventually, three-fourths of the state legislatures or state conventions approve, the amendment can be added to the Constitution.