May state legislative applications limit an Article V convention? Subject, yes; specific language, probably not
- September 12, 2013
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
READ MOREThis 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
READ MORESeldom 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
READ MOREMargaret 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
READ MOREThe 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 There was more progress during the 2015 sessions—several applications were passed and none was repealed—but the rate of progress slowed.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
READ MOREThis 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,
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