Answering Questions About the Voting Rules at a Convention for Proposing Amendments
Note: This column appeared originally at the American Thinker. In a recent post, I examined suggestions that a convention of the states for proposing amendments adopt a supermajority rule for proposing any amendment. Most commonly suggested is that the convention replace the traditional “majority of states decides” standard with a two thirds requirement. I explained […]
Trying to Alter the Traditional Amendments Convention Voting Rule Is a Mistake
Note: This article first appeared in The American Thinker. Advocates of a federal balanced budget amendment are closing in on the 34 states necessary to require Congress to call a convention for proposing amendments. Other groups, such as the Convention of States project, are working assiduously toward the same goal. If they succeed, it will […]
Still More Evidence That An Amendments Convention is a "Convention of States"
The term “convention of states” (or “convention of the states”) dates at least from the year 1780. By 1788 it was being applied specifically to a convention for proposing amendments under the new Constitution. Throughout the 19th century, the phrase “convention of states” was probably the most common way to denominate an Article V convention—even […]
Creating Constitutional Protections Against American Socialism
Note: This article is cross-posted on CNSNews. If any public policy lesson stands out from the experience of the 20th century, it is that socialism doesn’t work. I use the word “socialism” in its technical sense of government ownership of the means of production—or, in lay language, government operation of business enterprises. Socialism in this […]
How A Famous English Convention Clarifies the Role of a Convention of States
Note: This article first appeared on the American Thinker website. In the Anglo-American constitutional tradition, a “convention” can mean a contract, but the word is more often applied to an assembly, other than a legislature, convened to address ad hoc political problems. The “Convention for proposing Amendments” authorized by Article V of the Constitution is […]
Term Limits for the Supreme Court?
This article first appeared in the American Thinker. Term limits are among the reforms being proposed by advocates of curbing federal government abuses through the Constitution’s Article V amendment process. The idea of congressional term limits has been around for some time. But more recent discussion centers on term limits for the judiciary, especially for […]
Proposed Rules for An Article V Convention!
If 34 state legislatures forced Congress to call a convention for proposing amendments, what would the rules look like? The Convention of States movement (CoS) wanted an answer to this question. So its president asked me to take the lead in drafting sample rules. Then CoS would present them to state legislators for comment. This […]
"Runaway Convention" Nonsense—One More Time
Seldom has a claim so weak been so often advanced than the claim that a convention for proposing amendments would be a “constitutional convention” that could “run away”—that is, disregard its limits and propose amendments outside its sphere of authority. I have little patience with this sort of alarmism, partly because it is so patently […]
A Convention of States in “Gone With the Wind”
Margaret Mitchell, the author of the hugely popular novel Gone With the Wind, was a newspaper reporter and the child of a family steeped in history. Her father, a prominent Georgia attorney, was one of the leading lights in the state historical society. That her book has a plethora of references to historical events occurring […]
Whither the Article V Convention Movement? David Guldenschuh Reports
The movement for a “convention for proposing amendments” won some stunning successes in the 2014 state legislative sessions. There was more progress during the 2015 sessions—several applications were passed and none was repealed—but the rate of progress slowed. So where are we now? Georgia lawyer and Article V expert David Guldenschuh has issued a detailed […]
Wisdom From A Framer on Federalism, Guns, and the Amendment Process
This article was first published on CNS News. A newly published speech by one of our Framers offers important clues to the constitutional role of the states, of the right to keep and bear arms, and of the amendment process. Charles Carroll of Carrollton represented Maryland at the Constitutional Convention. After the convention was over, […]
Now Available: Regular Updates on Progress Toward An Amendments Convention
The drives for one or more convention of states to reform the dysfunctional federal government are proceeding apace, and Georgia lawyer David Guldenschuh is providing a newsletter with regular updates. His summaries contain information on the progress of every major application campaign—balanced budget, “convention of states,” campaign finance, and more. The latest version is here. […]
