The very first thing that needs to be mentioned is; An Article-V is not, and can not, become a Con-Con.
Article-v was specifically put into the main body of the Constitution to prevent it from being opened and changed. Unlike the B. S. from the Congress-critters who would lose their self created exclusive powers, which were not granted to them by the Constitution, and the other nay sayers reacting to the propaganda, who moan and wail that it would open up the Constitution for change, don't believe them. If it could have done that, don't you think that the Congress-critters who have used it for the 27 current Amendments would have done that to enhance their control over America?
Some Items about the CoS.
1. "on the application of the legislatures of two-thirds of the several states"… to Congress. The process is ongoing, so far, 19 states have called for a COS:
2. Alaska April 19, 2014
3. Florida April 21, 2014
4. Alabama May 22, 2015
5. Tennessee February 4, 2016
6. Indiana February 29, 2016
7. Oklahoma April 26, 2016
8. Louisiana May 25, 2016
9. Arizona March 13, 2017
10. North Dakota March 24, 2017
11. Texas May 4, 2017
12. Missouri May 12, 201713. Arkansas February 14, 2019
15. Mississippi March 27, 2019
16. Wisconsin January 25, 2022
There are 13 additional states with "active" legislative action in process: Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, and Washington.
Should all 13 pass their legislation, just two more states would need to join the call for an Article-V/CoS.
The People cannot vote to directly amend our Constitution. Tney must use the Article-V format to propose Amendments. The whole point of an Article V Convention of States is to propose amendments utilizing the Constitution's alternative to Congress proposing amendments:
ARTICLE V, AmendmentsThe 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 1808, 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 text makes it clear that our Constitution provides just two methods for amending our Constitution: (1) By action of Congress and (2) by Convention of States. The former has been used for every amendment to our Constitution to date.
Our Founders recognized that the People should have the option to propose amendments to their Constitution.
The need is evident as Congress, being the critters they are, will never propose an amendment that restricts their federal power nor will it consider term limits for members of Congress (what? and kick them off the "gravy train"!).
Yes, it's true, we can use the ballot box to achieve "term limits" but if that worked well, we wouldn't have so many people serving (themselves) in Congress for a lifetime!
An amendment limiting all terms to two (whether consecutive or not) should concurrently change House terms from two to four years, half of each state's representatives being elected every other year. Such an amendment would go a long way toward cleaning the partisan deadwood out of Congress and keeping it clean and having it work as originally envisioned.
Besides it was tried with a Balanced Budget Act, The Gramm Ruddman Hollings Act which passed and ended the call for an Article-V. Two uyears later the Supreme Court ruled the balanced Budget Law was Unconstitutional.
Remember, an Article V CoS cannot ratify anything, it can only provide an alternative to Congress for proposing amendments.
Given a CoS isn't the easiest avenue to follow, but the ONLY avenue to overcome a corrupt Congress, it is only wise for such a Convention to consider a whole bevy of amendments that our Constitution is in dire need of.
You must also remember an Amendment does not change the wording of the Constitution, it only changes the way courts interpret those words. Amendments are also temporary, because one of them has already been repealed.
Some other examples:
Propose an amendment stating that EVERY bill passed by Congress specifically cite the constitutional authority under which it exists, then, prior to presentation to the President, the SCOTUS must certify bill as legitimate under the specific cited constitutional authority.Propose an amendment that prohibits any funding of foreign aid beyond 10% of the aggregate federal budget surplus. This would provide incentive for government solvency.Propose an amendment that requires government to shut down until a balanced budget is passed. And I mean "shut down"… exceptions for "critical services" like Miltary Pay, Social Security Pay, Border Patrol Pay, FBI, CIA, NSA, Homeland Security period. No pay for the Federal Bureaucracies, the Congress, the President. A financial penalty could be included that would confiscate the Congressional pay if they do not produce a balanced budget by a certain date. If we want teeth in an effort to get the "drunken sailors" (apologies to drunken sailors everywhere) in Congress to do their job and make the tough calls, then there have to be real consequences to their attempts to play games with annual budgets. Such an amendment should prohibit any such "work-arounds" as "continuing resolutions".Propose an amendment to secure all federal office elections that requires all such voting be held on the first Tuesday after the First Monday of November, that election day be a national holiday ("Election Day"), that elections be limited to a single day of polling with no advance voting in person permitted, that secure absentee ballots be provided on written application for those who cannot or choose not to vote in person, that no person be given a ballot without verifying a signature match to the signature on file, that all ballots be hand-marked on paper ballots that, subsequent to polls closing, are then hand-counted in public view with results revealed within 24 hours of when polls close (no early voting, no machines of any kind, either to cast a vote or count a vote, or both).Propose an Amendment that would outright forbid Government from creating new firearms laws, or enforcing existing firearms laws, unless the general public voted with a 3/4 majority on every single law to allow it. That would stop thje ongoing song and dance over the Seconmd Amendment.
I'm sure there are a number of other worth amendments to be considered for proposal at an Article V CoS.
Perhaps you now see why an Article V CoS is required. The people cannot vote for these measures… which would be difficult to manage long term anyway… and Congress simply doesn't have the incentive to act. But the biggest reason is that our Founders anticipated a need for an Article V CoS and there is really no good reason not to use that constitutional provision.
Probably the most important reason to have an Article V CoS would be to get a Term Limit in place for House and Senators… a move that would go a long way to solving some of the problems and perhaps getting more qualified people involved.
For more, see: https://conventionofstates.com/states-that-have-passed-the-convention-of-states-article-v-application
and
2. When 34 states legislatures have called for a CoS (Governors have no say… it is an action only of the legislature) and presented their action to the Congress, the Congress "shall call a convention for proposing amendments."
It is important to bear in mind that the CoS is ONLY for the purpose of PROPOSING AMENDMENTS… it CANNOT ratify or "change the Constitution". Article V describes two methods for amending our Constitution… by action of Congress proposing amendments, and by action of a Convention of States proposing amendments.
In BOTH cases, any proposed amendment(s) must be ratified by three-fourths of the states before becoming effective.
The Tradesman
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