The latest media attack against Convention of States Action’s (“COSA”) motives accuses a COSA board member of proposing a new constitution. This source claims that the “new constitution” would endanger gun rights. Verifiable sources show that these claims are completely false:
FACTS:
- Robert George is a professor at Princeton.
- Robert George is a signer of the Jefferson Statement, which became the Legal Board of Reference for the Convention of States Project.
- The Legal Board of Reference assembled in 2014 to look at the language in the resolution that Convention of States uses in state legislatures, specifically to analyze if it was sound legal footing to call a convention limited to proposing amendments to the subject matter in the application under Article V of the U.S. Constitution.
Now, let's walk through the recent claims:
1. FALSE - An Article V convention will allow the delegates to write a whole new constitution.
A simple reading of the Article V text refutes this. Refer to highlighting in the image above obtained from the National Archives. Article V was written ONLY to address proposing and ratifying (approving) amendments, not re-writes of the entire constitution.
Links to both the Convention of States application template and the active Michigan application are consistent with this. Each state must pass similar applications to become part of the Convention.
2. FALSE – A new “constitution” containing gun control measures was drafted to be installed once the States create a convention.
As mentioned above, an Article V convention can only propose amendments, not entire re-writes of the constitution. As part of an unrelated academic exercise for the National Constitution Center, Robert George had been part of drafting a “Conservative” constitution. The National Constitution Center is a “museum” that “brings together people of all ages and perspectives" to learn about the Constitution.
Visit https://constitutioncenter.org/about to learn about the National Constitution Center. Try using “control + f” on the keyboard (or “Find”) to search for anything related to an Article V Convention of States (or any part of that) and you will see no specific results referring to the amendment and convention process.
Visit Constitution Drafting Project - National Constitution Center to learn about this academic exercise. The goal was to draft hypothetical Libertarian, Progressive, and Conservative Constitutions. Try a “control + f” or “Find” to search for anything related to an Article V Convention of States (or any part of that) and you will see no specific results referring to the amendment and convention process.
Finally, the author of the anti-COSA, pro-gun control article, Joanna Martin (aka Publius Huldah), is a known critic of COSA whose claims were debunked years ago.
Further, an impressive and growing list of legal/constitutional scholars and respected figures whole-heartedly endorse the Convention of States mission.
Closing thoughts
Today, if enough of Congress (two-thirds) wanted to take away gun rights, it could certainly make that proposal to the States. A Convention of States is simply ANOTHER way of initiating the amendment process.
We know some state legislatures are broken too, but did you know the Convention of States Resolution almost passed in the Michigan Senate in 2020? It missed passing by one vote and this was even before the craziness we see today from the government.
As a reminder, the Convention of States Action project's topics are to:
1. Impose fiscal restraints on the federal government,
2. Limit its power and jurisdiction, and
3. Impose term limits on its officials and members of Congress
If you're waiting for two-thirds of Congress to start requiring the above for the federal government, we have bad news for you. You'll be waiting a REALLY long time!
Americans taking back their power from the federal government obviously scares the heck out of the swamp - and for once, I agree with the swamp monsters' thought process. They should be very afraid.
Additional Resources
Convention of States in 3 Minutes (video)
What the Founders believed about a Convention of States (video)
Can We Trust the Constitution? Answering The “Runaway Convention” Myth
An Article V Convention Is Not a Constitutional Convention (side-by-side comparison)
The States Control the Article V Process
