Nope. 2/3 of the state legislatures must pass a resolution requesting a Convention to propose amendments. Congress then calls such a convention, presumably specifying how the convention members are chose, since the Constitution does not say. This Convention can can then propose whatever amendments it pleases, not just an anti-gay marriage or pro-life one.
Congress then decides whether ratification by 3/4 of the states will be done by convention (again setting the rules for choosing such a convention) or by state legislatures.
IOW, Congress and the state legislatures are heavily involved in this entire process. There is no "end-around" effectively provided in the Constitution.
Also, as stated, I fail to see why delegates to a convention chosen under rules established by Congress would differ greatly from congressmen.
BTW, I would cheerfully support any such amendment that gets to a point where it has a reasonable chance of passing.
Till then I will not waste my time on it, anymore than I spend vast amounts of time deciding how I'll spend the money when I win PowerBall.
I don't really have time to pursue this any farther. I envy you your delusions, but choose not to share them.
Have a good day, and good luck with your plans.
The People having the power of initiative and referendum, they can pass initiatives telling their legislatures, with the power of law, to make said application to the Congress.
Congress then calls such a convention....
You'll notice that this is "shall issue" phrasing; Congress has no discretion here.
... presumably specifying how the convention members are chose[n], since the Constitution does not say.
No, they do not, did not, and will not have discretion about the chusing, as Mr. Madison spelled it, of the members of the States' conventions, or of their delegates to the national one.
This Convention can can then propose whatever amendments it pleases, not just an anti-gay marriage or pro-life one.
Yes, correct.
Congress then decides whether ratification by 3/4 of the states will be done by convention (again setting the rules for choosing such a convention) or by state legislatures.
With the People looking down their throats and piles of Lugars and Bennetts and, presumably, Boehner and McConnell littering the roadside of primary-land, I don't think Congress would call the People out by flipping the matter to the state legislators, who, remember, sent the matter up to Congress in the first place under plebiscite.
I would expect the men's-room cabal to attack that process by litigating the state referenda on BoR grounds like they did Prop 2 in Colorado and Prop 8 in California, or possibly on narrow procedural grounds state-by-state, leveraging their money against relatively smalltime political grafters and bagmen. Good luck with that, when the matter at issue is a constitutional convention.
Have a nice day.