Posted on 12/09/2013 2:17:19 PM PST by dontreadthis
Close to 100 legislators from 32 states met in Mount Vernon, Va., Saturday to discuss the possibility of adding amendments to the U.S. Constitution through a convention of the states.
Such a convention, as outlined in article five of the Constitution, would allow state legislatures to vote on amendments to add.
Two-thirds of the state legislatures, or 34, must approve an application for a convention to occur, according to the Constitution’s article five. State legislatures would then send delegates to the convention, each state getting one vote on proposed amendments. For an amendment to pass and become a part of the Constitution, it would have to be approved by three-fourths, or 38, of the state legislatures.
Lawmakers on Saturday discussed term limits on U.S. lawmakers and certain limits on federal taxation and spending as possible amendments, Red Millennial noted.
State legislators stressed Saturday the bipartisan nature of support for the discussed amendments, citing a recent poll that shows 74 percent of Americans support a balanced budget amendment while another 75 percent support congressional term limits.
Saturday’s Mount Vernon meeting was organized by Indiana state Sen. David Long and Wisconsin Rep. Chris Kapenga. Close to 100 legislators from 32 states met in Mount Vernon, Va., Saturday to discuss the possibility of adding amendments to the U.S. Constitution through a convention of the states.
No constitutional amendment has been added this way, but some say the Constitution specifically allows for states to use the convention as a means to push back against the federal government.
(Excerpt) Read more at theblaze.com ...
Let’s hope something good comes from it.
DO NOT get scared away by talk of a “runaway convention” of libtard agenda...
If there was a real possibility of that the libtards would be running full-tilt for this, not trying to scare us away from it
It is very hard to get an ammendment for just that reason- they could not even get the ERA through (and that was a libtard dream hidden in nice language)
see p 16 The Myth of a Runaway Convention
http://www.scribd.com/doc/126641416/Article-V-Handbook
On the other hand if one does come about a break up is likely. That would leave China and India as the greatest powers.
The thing is that the GOP holds twice as many states as the democrats. I think the democrats would have a hard time bullying them.
The RINOs are another matter.
Ah... another 1st for Obama as prez...
The first US president in history to trigger the need for a constitutional convention.
I hope these legislators are smart enough to figure out that they shouldn’t be adding redundant amendments. If anything, they should add a DEFINITIONS amendment to put a stop to this constant undermining of our constitution via semantics.
Define Marriage
Define Natural Born Citizen
Add term limits
Impeach Obama
Problem solved.
Excellent
Emphatically and unequivocally reaffirm the intended meaning of the second amendment. Use more words if necessary.
absolutely
“Use more words if necessary.”
No. The fewer words, the better. More words = more “open to interpretation” in the mind of a liberal lawyer.
Ping.
***
The amendatory process under Article V consists of three steps: Proposal, Disposal, and Ratification.
Proposal:
There are two ways to propose an amendment to the Constitution.
Article V gives Congress and an Amendments Convention exactly the same power to propose amendments, no more and no less.
Disposal:
Once Congress, or an Amendments Convention, proposes amendments, Congress must decide whether the states will ratify by the:
The State Ratifying Convention Method has only been used twice: once to ratify the Constitution, and once to ratify the 21st Amendment repealing Prohibition.
Ratification:
Depending upon which ratification method is chosen by Congress, either the state legislatures vote up-or-down on the proposed amendment, or the voters elect a state ratifying convention to vote up-or-down. If three-quarters of the states vote to ratify, the amendment becomes part of the Constitution.
I have two reference works.
The first is from the American Legislative Exchange Council, a conservative pro-business group. This document has been sent to every state legislator in the country.
Proposing Constitutional Amendments by a Convention of the States: A Handbook for State Lawmakers
The second is a 1973 report from the American Bar Association attempting to identify gray areas in the amendatory process to include an Amendments Convention. It represents the view of the ruling class of 40 years ago. While I don't like some of their conclusions, they have laid out the precedents that may justify those conclusions. What I respect is the comprehensive job they did in locating all the gray areas. They went so far as to identify a gray area that didn't pop up until the Equal Rights Amendment crashed and burned a decade later. Even if you find yourself in disagreement with their vision, it's worth reading to see how the ruling class will try to dominate an Amendments Convention.
Report of the ABA Special Constitutional Convention Study Committee
I have used your post nearly verbatim to email state reps, so keep it up.
I only want a Convention if the first and only order of business is kicking the blue areas out of the USA. I want them gone. I want them gone for good.
Respectfully, the problem won’t be solved because the 65 million anti-Americans who voted for this fool would still be living in American territory. No, we need to rid ourselves of them once and for all. Everything else is just more conservative forestalling the inevitable. I say face the real problem now and deal with it.
Can you believe this explosion of Article V interest these past few days?
“When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.”
Nuff said and well said...it’s time. This government is out of control. It needs a reset and some in government need to be treated like the traitors they are....and dealt with as such.
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