Is a Constitutional Convention in the offing?

thisnumbersdisconnected · Apr 2, 2014

Fox News: Did Michigan just trigger 'constitutional convention'? Bid gains steam

WASHINGTON – Momentum is building behind what would be an unprecedented effort to amend the U.S. Constitution, through a little-known provision that gives states rather than Congress the power to initiate changes.

At issue is what's known as a "constitutional convention," a scenario tucked into Article V of the U.S. Constitution. At its core, Article V provides two ways for amendments to be proposed. The first – which has been used for all 27 amendment to date – requires two-thirds of both the House and Senate to approve a resolution, before sending it to the states for ratification. The Founding Fathers, though, devised an alternative way which says if two-thirds of state legislatures demand a meeting, Congress “shall call a convention for proposing amendments.”

The idea has gained popularity among constitutional scholars in recent years -- but got a big boost last week when Michigan lawmakers endorsed it.

Michigan matters, because by some counts it was the 34th state to do so. That makes two-thirds.

In the wake of the vote, California Republican Rep. Duncan Hunter pressed House Speaker John Boehner on Tuesday to determine whether the states just crossed the threshold for this kind of convention. Like Michigan lawmakers, Hunter's interest in the matter stems from a desire to push a balanced-budget amendment -- something that could potentially be done at a constitutional convention.
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The issue is whether or not applications offered by some states and later rescinded, including some that have voted again to make application for a convention, can be counted toward the two-thirds majority requests that must be made.

Article V reads:

The 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 one thousand eight hundred and eight 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.
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So, what's your opinion of the situation, if we have a Constitutional Convention? As I've stated on the board before, I'm wary of such a convention. Everyone with an axe to grind, an agenda to fulfill, an issue to be fanatical about will manage to get representation at the convention and we could wind up scrapping the nearly perfect document we've got.

All in all, I'd be in favor of revolution before I would favor a Constitutional Convention.

NaasPreacher (C4K) · Apr 2, 2014

thisnumbersdisconnected said: ↑

The issue is whether or not applications offered by some states and later rescinded, including some that have voted again to make application for a convention, can be counted toward the two-thirds majority requests that must be made.

Article V reads:So, what's your opinion of the situation, if we have a Constitutional Convention? As I've stated on the board before, I'm wary of such a convention. Everyone with an axe to grind, an agenda to fulfill, an issue to be fanatical about will manage to get representation at the convention and we could wind up scrapping the nearly perfect document we've got.

All in all, I'd be in favor of revolution before I would favor a Constitutional Convention.
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I almost agree, except that I would see them both as equally abhorrent as both would lead the the death of the US as a major world power.

poncho · Apr 3, 2014

thisnumbersdisconnected said: ↑

The issue is whether or not applications offered by some states and later rescinded, including some that have voted again to make application for a convention, can be counted toward the two-thirds majority requests that must be made.

Article V reads:So, what's your opinion of the situation, if we have a Constitutional Convention? As I've stated on the board before, I'm wary of such a convention. Everyone with an axe to grind, an agenda to fulfill, an issue to be fanatical about will manage to get representation at the convention and we could wind up scrapping the nearly perfect document we've got.

All in all, I'd be in favor of revolution before I would favor a Constitutional Convention.
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I'm not in favor of a con con either but who would you revolt against, the puppets or their masters?

Is a Constitutional Convention in the offing?

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Is a Constitutional Convention in the offing?

thisnumbersdisconnected New Member

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