America's founding was based on the idea of a government "by the people". A Convention of States is nothing more than the people contolling their own destiny.
With the election of Donald Trump and the tidal wave of republicans elected in the state legislatures, there has never been a better time to reclaim our founding principles and restore our national framework to what it was originally intended. Over the past 50 plus years our federal government has, little by little, usurped power originally reserved for the states and the American people. The U.S. Government has grown into a multi-headed monster with each head wanting their ‘fair share’ of your hard earned tax dollars.
Article V of the U.S. Constitution lays out the process by which amendments are added to the Constitution. Amendments can either be proposed by the states or by Congress. Historically, amendments have only been proposed by Congress but a grass-roots movement is gaining traction to call for a convention. If an amendment is proposed by the states via a convention, then it must then be ratified by three-quarters of the states or by conventions within the states. Quite an arduous process and that alone should squelch any fears that might exist about having a Convention of States for the purpose of proposing amendments to the Constitution.
Recent articles and pundit pieces have focused primarily on the fear of a run-away convention. It is the initial convention called for by the states to propose amendments that naysayers, including some on the right, claim may cause dangerous changes to the Constitution, even though it has never happened before and as stated above, would require a majority support of not only the state legislators but the people themselves.
Much of the confusion and opposition stems from a misunderstanding of the original purpose of Article V. In Federalist No. 85, as Alexander Hamilton explained it, states did not need to call for a full “constitutional convention” since Article V provides full power to amend the Constitution. James Madison specifically supported the use of Article V in Federalist No. 43. False accusations that an Article V Amendments convention will result in a full-blown convention are not correct. There is no such thing as a constitutional convention – it can be found nowhere in the Constitution.
The American heritage has always been one of fixing things, making things better, and providing the best possible life for all people here and around the world. Nearly all agree that the government has grown out of control, resulting in a bureaucratic leviathan of inefficiency that is ineffective at providing for the common good, as it was originally chartered to do.
What could be more American than improving our ability to provide for the betterment of our society and the world by reigning in our federal system that has way overstepped its original purpose? In a way that restores power back to the states and the people just as our founders intended.
Want things to change?? Get involved: Convention of States Project
