The COSA Arizona team held its third monthly outreach meeting at the Pima Canyon Church on July 18, 2023.
Thirty-six concerned citizens including two young patriots showed up, a 300% increase over the June meeting! Most participants were somewhat knowledgeable of the Article V Convention of States movement.
Kevin Fuhrman, Regional Captain for Maricopa County, gave an overview and answered questions along the way. AZ COS Team members Carole Wilson and Ernie Borgoyne were there for support.
Article V of the Constitution provides two ways to amend the Constitution. One way is 2/3 of Congress pass a proposed amendment and send it to the states for ratification by ¾ of the states. All twenty-seven current Amendments were implemented that way.
But thanks to Col. George Mason, a second way is for 2/3 of the States to pass a proposed amendment which is then sent to the states for ratification by ¾ of the states. Watch as Arizona State Rep. Kelly Townsend talks about "The Vision of Col. George Mason."
Five ladies from AZ Legislative District 3 mentioned the debate within their circles about COS being a Constitutional Convention and asked for clarification.
Kevin explained that this is the biggest misconception by distractors like the John Birch Society (JBS) and Andy Biggs of Arizona. Only one Constitutional Convention was held in 1787, during which the Articles of Confederation were rewritten to produce the Constitution of the United States. Kevin suggested following Robert Natelson, a leading expert. Read his article "The Liberal Establishment’s Disinformation Campaign Against Article V - and How it Misled Conservatives" found on our COS website.
The notion that an Article V Convention of States would be a Constitutional Convention was further entrenched in the late 1970s after many calls for a balanced budget amendment during the decade.
The powerful legal community (part of the swamp) changed the definition in the preeminent Black’s Legal Dictionary. This definition is the basis of the arguments made by JBS and Andy Biggs in his 2014 book “The Con of the Con Con: The Case Against the States Amending the U.S. Constitution.” Here is a rebuttal to that notion.
Arizona is one of the 19 passed states which passed its resolution in 2017 after Andy Biggs moved to the United States Congress.
Here is the resolution on file with the clerk of the U.S. Congress, which states the three areas: Impose fiscal restraints on the federal government; Limit the power and jurisdiction of the federal government; and limit the terms of office for federal officials and for members of congress.
“How many legislators supported this?” someone asked.
Here is the link to the Arizona Legislature archives that you can review the complete history of the resolution.
“What are you asking us to do?” asked another.
As a passed state, Kevin explained our mission is to keep it that way by educating the legislators through grass-roots efforts. Many new legislators are unaware of Article V COS, and it’s up to their constituents to let them know it’s important to them. It’s perhaps a downside of term limits, but it emphasizes the need for citizens to continue being activists.
“Do we get involved with other states in their efforts?” someone asked.
Not directly, Kevin explained, but sometimes our volunteers are asked to support national initiatives. Carole added that we have a tool called “TelePatriots” to text and motivate our peers in other states during calls for action. Ernie said another way is to educate our friends and family in other states.
“Why isn’t this more widely known?”
This is probably the second most asked question when people realize there is a real opportunity to make fundamental changes in our country. Simply put, people in power want to keep the power. There is a lot of focus by George Soros and other left-wing supporters to keep this under wraps. And by the way, Kevin explained, this is not about left and right politics. COSA is non-partisan. Most support comes from the Right, but resistance comes from both the Right and Left. The problem is Up-Down, not Left-Right.
“What is the progress towards the 2/3 (34 states) goal?”
Kevin referred to the COSA website that shows a map of 19 passed, 7 passed in one chamber, and 15 in active discussions.
“How would a Convention of States actually happen? Who’s in control? What would stop some of the dumber legislators from introducing radical ideas?”
There are many controls built into the process. For example, 34 states must agree on the topics for discussion. If any items are brought up outside of these topics, the motion is considered out of order.
There is a mock convention planned that will demonstrate how this works.
You're all encouraged to watch live or recorded.
“Election integrity a big issue. What is COS doing about that?”
Elections are a state issue and we want to ensure it stays that way. As such, this is not a national issue that COSA is taking on directly other than putting pressure on our legislators as we contact them. Here are some blogs that addressed Arizona election issues. "What's wrong with Arizona elections part 1", "part 2", and "part 3."
Also, you can check out https://causeofamerica.org which is not affiliated with COS.
Another great meeting!
Talk to your friends, contact your Legislators, get involved and be an activist. If you want to have someone from COSA meet with your group you can contact Kevin Fuhrman 763-427-5604 or Ernie Borgoyne 602-571-7983
