Lately, it seems the topic of a Convention of States comes up frequently in conversations with friends, acquaintances, and family members. Along with those conversations, the fear of a “runaway” convention is mentioned.  People will say a convention will “open up a can of worms causing a loss of more of our freedoms.”  I decided to do some digging. 

First, I looked up the history of Article V of the U.S. Constitution as it gives us the possibility of a Convention of States.  Here’s what I found:

Article V of the U.S. Constitution at first gave only Congress the power to amend the Constitution. George Mason, during the final reviews of the provisions of the Constitution in 1787, realized this was possibly a disastrous flaw.  Having experienced tyranny under Great Britain, he knew the likelihood of this new government to one day become out of control and oppressive and We the People would have no way to put forth any amendment to change that. The founders agreed and a second clause was added that allowed for a convention to be called when two-thirds of the States applied for an amendment.[1] I know that a lot of Americans would agree that our government is out of control and oppressive and ignoring our Constitution.  Maybe it is time to seriously look at what a Convention of States Action would mean.

I am going to include the entire text of Article V for those who may have never read it.

Article V of the Constitution states:

“The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which, in either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as Part of this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several States, or by Conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other Mode of Ratification may be proposed by the Congress;

Provided that no Amendment which may be made prior to the Year One thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any Manner affect the first and fourth Clauses in the Ninth Section of the first Article; and that no State, without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate.”

This is a short Article and does not seem to have a lot of directions. This is a common complaint—especially from those who oppose a Convention. So, I went on a search to find out more about it.

The length and scope of Article V is consistent with the way our Constitution was drafted. The Framers kept the document short by outlining the basics, expecting the readers to supplement the text from current law and circumstances.[2]                

How do we know the process and procedures for an Article V convention?

Recent well-read investigations into Article V are available and give us insight into the convention process by looking at American history and law. Evidence shows us that a convention for proposing amendments is considered a “convention of states”. This characterization provides the process and procedures because the protocols of such conventions were standardized long before the Constitution was written. Many of the Framers were veterans of one or more state conventions as there were more than thirty conventions of states before the Constitutional Convention of 1787.[2] 

So, two-thirds of the States today would mean a minimum of 34 States are needed to call a Convention of States.  Each state must pass a resolution (called an application) in each chamber of their legislatures and the application does not need to be signed by the Governor to be effective.  Congress must then call for the convention which means setting the date, time and place for the convention. Congress has no other authority over the convention including the delegates.  This is not a Constitutional convention; thus, it cannot throw out the Constitution because it receives its authority from the Constitution. A Convention of States can only propose amendments. And these proposed amendments must fit within the topic of the applications adopted by the State legislatures.  Each State legislature agrees to the same application.[3] A State cannot suddenly decide to add, for example, an amendment to abolish the Second Amendment.

Each state decides how many delegates to send and how the delegates will be chosen.  Regardless of how many delegates a State sends, each state only has one vote at the convention. Each state’s delegation participates in discussing, debating, drafting, and voting on amendment proposals stated in the application. The proposed amendments are only suggestions and are then sent back to all the States for ratification. At least thirty-eight states must ratify the amendments before they become part of the Constitution and each proposed amendment must be ratified separately by the State legislatures.[3]  

This is the current COS application:  

Section 1.  The legislature of the State of Kentucky hereby applies to Congress, under the provisions of Article V of the Constitution of the United States, for the calling of a Convention of the States limited to proposing amendments to the Constitution of the United States that impose fiscal restraints on the federal government, limit the power and jurisdiction of the federal government, and limit the terms of office for its officials and for members of Congress.

Any amendment submitted by the Convention of States which goes beyond the scope plainly stated in Section 1 cannot be considered for ratification by the states.[4]

We all must admit these three amendments are badly needed right now. The latest stunt pulled in DC with passage of the $1.7 trillion Omnibus bill at the end of the last Congress that few if any legislators even read shows just how runaway the Federal Government has become.

Some may be concerned that the radical Democrats will call for a Convention of States and destroy our Constitution. Over 400 applications for a Convention of States have been filed over the years but because there has never been 34 applications seeking a Convention for the same purpose, one has not occurred.[4]

I am impressed with the supporters of a Convention of States.

“I support the Convention of States Project to restore the original constitutional limits on federal power by calling a limited Convention to propose amendments to rein in our out of-control federal government.”   Senator Rand Paul

Other supporters include Ron DeSantis, Ben Shapiro, Sean Hannity, Lt Col Allen West, Mark Levin, Dr. James Dobson, Charlie Kirk, Sheriff David Clarke, Sen. Ron Johnson, Andrew McCarthy, Gov. Sarah Palin, Thomas Sowell, James O’Keefe, Rep. Mark Meadows, David Horowitz, Lawrence Jones, Sen. Marco Rubio, Dr. Ben Carson, Gov. Mike Huckabee, Sen. Jim Talent, and Rep Louie Gohmert.[4]  

On the other hand, I am not surprised by who does not support it and is actively fighting it:  the George Soros-funded Common Cause, AFL-CIO, Planned Parenthood, Greenpeace, La Raza, the NAACP, and Clinton-founded groups like MoveOn.org. These groups depend on a corrupt, runaway federal government to preserve their power to advance their radical agendas and fund them with taxpayer dollars.[4]

These names alone make me seriously think calling a Convention of States is exactly what we need!  The founding Fathers made it very difficult to change our Constitution and for good reason. Thank God, they realized our nation would reach a time when the States would have to convene to reign in an out of control and tyrannical government. That time has come.

Either we are Constitutionalists, or we are not. Either we believe in our entire Constitution, or we don’t. Which is it?

Find more information here: www.conventionofstates.com and https://articlevinfocenter.com/

1. https://articlevinfocenter.com/the-founders-pointed-to-article-v-as-a-cure-for-federal-abuse/

2. https://fedsoc.org/commentary/publications/counting-to-two-thirds-how-close-are-we-to-a-convention-for-proposing-amendments-to-the-constitution#_ftn7

3. https://articlevinfocenter.com/researchresources/

4. https://conventionofstates.com/resources