34 States Call for Constitutional Convention - and Possible Rewrite

Newsmax ^ | April 11, 2014 | Andrea Billups

[EveningStar]

Even with Michigan recently becoming the 34th state to call for a Constitutional Convention, it's not at all certain that a rewrite of the nation's founding document is close at hand...

Unless called to deal with a specific issue, some legal experts warn a "runaway" convention could create chaos.

"Let's assume that we get Congress to call for a convention, and we are deliberating about one item. Maybe that would stick. But how can you be confident that once you open the door to a constitutional convention, even if for one narrow amendment, that it won't just become a runaway convention?" said Steve Hayward, a visiting scholar in conservative thought and policy at the University of Colorado in Boulder.

"It seems to me that our Constitution may have problems these days, but I think most conservatives would be very nervous about opening it up to a new convention," Hayward told Newsmax...

[bfh333]

Not this S*&t again...

Newsmax (and the writer) TOTALLY discredited themselves with this CON CON crap... Does ANYONE here read Article V of the constitution? There is NO provision for a CON CON... only an alternate way to PROPOSE amendments...

I would HOPE all those idiot groups listed would show up and let’s have the PUBLIC debate of the future of the county...

Sadly, it appears FR has our own group of LIV’s...

[Hostage]

Once again we see the scare tactic of a ‘runaway convention’.

These ivy league academic scarecrows don’t realize that our US Constitution limits Article V activity to proposing and passing amendments, requiring 2/3s of states to propose and pass and 3/4s of states to ratify into the Constitution. That’s a very high bar.

Yet Congress could do the same as the states and they could do it today. AND THE QUESTION IS .... who do we trust more? The ruling class in Congress or ourselves?

[Repeal The 17th]

If the small majority of America that is represented on free republic does not understand,
then how will America as a whole ever understand?

[plangent]

Wasn’t it Obama who complained that the Constitution was a document of Negative rights.

That’s right. It is a document of “no”.

The Constitution was the ceding of state’s authority to the Federal Government with limited rights. The states hold the power. The last 150 years have seen such an erosion of that fact.

Be aware and be scared.

[Old Yeller]

The Constitution doesn’t need to be re-written. Just obeyed. Same with the immigration laws.

[Repeal The 17th]

Agreed, see #23.

[eyeamok]

REPEAL the 16th and 17th Amendments, it will fix itself.

[HiTech RedNeck]

People hankered for an emperor. The tail began to wag the dog.

[bfh333]

Here... Here....

Understanding is only a click away... The amount of time it took to come here and read through the posts would have been well spent at the COS website...

http://conventionofstates.com/welcome/

[Publius]

Here we go again.

[Kaosinla]

Stopped as soon as I read the propagandist and malinformed buzzwords “Constitutional Convention”. Those terms are the battle cry for the drones.

[Publius]

The amendatory process under Article V consists of three steps: Proposal, Disposal, and Ratification.

Proposal:

There are two ways to propose an amendment to the Constitution.

• The Congressional Method requires the House and Senate to pass an amendment by a two-thirds majority.
• The Amendments Convention Method requires the legislatures of two-thirds of the states to petition Congress to call a Convention for Proposing Amendments. The states may request a single-subject convention or a general convention open to all subjects. Once the two-thirds threshold is reached, Congress is required to set a time and place for the convention.

Article V gives Congress and an Amendments Convention exactly the same power to propose amendments, no more and no less.

Disposal:

Once Congress, or an Amendments Convention, proposes amendments, Congress must decide whether the states will ratify by the:

• State Legislature Method, or the
• State Ratifying Convention Method.

The State Ratifying Convention Method has only been used twice: once to ratify the Constitution, and once to ratify the 21st Amendment repealing Prohibition.

Ratification:

Depending upon which ratification method is chosen by Congress, either the state legislatures vote up-or-down on the proposed amendment, or the voters elect a state ratifying convention to vote up-or-down. If three-quarters of the states vote to ratify, the amendment becomes part of the Constitution.

Forbidden Subjects:

Article V contains two explicitly forbidden subjects and one implicitly forbidden subject.

Explicitly forbidden:

• No amendment may be added to the Constitution concerning slavery or capitation taxes until 1808. We’re past that deadline.
• No amendment may be added to the Constitution to change the principle of equal representation in the Senate. So if California wants five senators, every state must have five senators. To permit this principle to be violated, this provision in Article V would first have to be amended; it would be a two-step process.

Implicitly forbidden:

• The Constitution of 1787 may not be abrogated and replaced with a new document. Article V only authorizes “a convention for proposing amendments to this Constitution”; therefore, the Constitution of 1787 is locked in place forever. Congress and an Amendments Convention have exactly the same Proposal power; therefore, neither Congress nor an Amendments Convention can start over. Both bodies can only propose amendments. To permit the drafting of a new constitution, this provision in Article V would first have to be repealed; it would be a two-step process.

I have two reference works for those interested.

The first is from the American Legislative Exchange Council, a conservative pro-business group. This document has been sent to every state legislator in the country.

Proposing Constitutional Amendments by a Convention of the States: A Handbook for State Lawmakers

The second is a 1973 report from the American Bar Association attempting to identify gray areas in the amendatory process to include an Amendments Convention. It represents the view of the ruling class of 40 years ago. While I dislike some of their conclusions, they have laid out the precedents that may justify those conclusions. What I respect is the comprehensive job they did in locating all the gray areas. They went so far as to identify a gray area that didn't pop up until the Equal Rights Amendment crashed and burned a decade later. Even if you find yourself in disagreement with their vision, it's worth reading to see the view of the ruling class toward the process.

Report of the ABA Special Constitutional Convention Study Committee

[jsanders2001]

They’repulling a reverse bootleg pass. Its a trick. Open the conversation to changing the Constitution and there will outside forces trying to dissect it and remove key amendments.

[Uri’el-2012]

Here we go again.

It is NOT a “constitutional convention”.

It is an Article V Convention Of The States to propose amendments to the Constitution.

These lies about a con-con are coming
from the John Birth Society.

[GGpaX4DumpedTea]

BUMP - FOR LATER

[M Kehoe]

Here is my amendment to the Second amendment: The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.

Yes, I know...

5.56mm

[bfh333]

Seriously? The only way to REMOVE an amendment is to REPEAL it... Remember prohibition?

So lets says we have an Article V convention and an Amendment comes out to repeal the 2nd...

Do you REALLY think that 13 states won’t say HELL NO to that?

http://conventionofstates.com/welcome/

[PLMerite]

“Watch these slime bags try to disarm patriotic Americans. “

Well, that’s where “Molon Labe” would enter into, wouldn’t it?

[wny]

The Constitution as written is just fine. We just need to use it again. This convention would be a disaster, does anyone think for an instant that the current crop of thieves, hacks and morons in power could approach the brilliance of Madison et al?

[jsanders2001]

0 will get his army of zombie rats to try to repeal the 22nd amendment...