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 […]
What does “Due Process of Law” mean? Hint: SCOTUS had it wrong: It’s irrelevant to same-sex marriage
Note: An earlier version of this article appeared in The American Thinker. The Fifth and Fourteenth amendments to the Constitution each has a Due Process Clause. The Fifth Amendment Due Process Clause prohibited the federal government from depriving any person of “life, liberty, or property without due process of law.” The Fourteenth Amendment extended that […]
Colorado’s First State Song: Worthy of Revival
Note: An edited version of this article originally appeared in the Denver Post. This year marks the centennial of the adoption of Where the Columbines Grow as Colorado’s first official state song. Surprisingly, there is little public awareness of Columbines, despite the state legislature’s directive that it be “used on all appropriate occasions.” The neglect […]
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 […]
Rob Natelson on TV: Explaining the Constitutional Issues in "Birthright Citizenship"
How the Constitutional Case Against Citizenship for Children of Illegal Entrants SHOULD Be Argued
This is a corrected version of an article originally appearing at the American Thinker website. It is the third of a three-part series. In two prior postings (here and here), I listed flaws in the constitutional arguments of opponents of birthright citizenship for children of aliens living here illegally. For children to be American citizens […]
New Independence Institute Issue Paper: The Untold Story of the Colorado State Song!
The year 2015 is the centennial of the Colorado General Assembly’s designation of Where the Columbines Grow as the first state song. (The original sheet music appears at the end of this Issue Paper.) Despite the legislature’s direction that the song be played and sung “on all appropriate occasions,” it has been neglected and even maligned.
Birthright Citizenship Opponents Should Not Rely on 14th Amendment Congressional Debates
An earlier version of this article first appeared in The American Thinker. Opponents of birthright citizenship often cite fragments of the congressional debate over the Fourteen Amendment’s Citizenship Clause to argue that the amendment’s drafters intended to exclude the children of visiting foreigners. However, reliance on these fragments is a mistake. Opponents of birthright citizenship […]
An Objective Guide to Birthright Citizenship
An earlier version of this article appeared in The American Thinker. This is a guide to the constitutional issue of whether a child is a citizen if born in the United States to alien parents here illegally. If you are simply looking for arguments to bolster your political views, look elsewhere. If you are genuinely […]
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 […]
Rob Responds to Editorial Praising Order Forcing Baker to Make Same-Sex Wedding Cake
The following response to a Denver Post editorial first appeared in the Aug. 23, 2015 Denver Post. Are those signs that say “no shirts/no service” now illegal? Your August 14 editorial endorses a court ruling forcing a baker—at the cost of his livelihood!—to assist conduct his religious faith says is immoral. “Commercial establishments can’t pick […]
