The time is now, Oklahomans!
The Senate committee hearing on the Convention of States resolution (SJR 4) has been moved to 11:00 a.m. on Thursday morning. This gives us yet another chance to let the committee members know that we want them to vote YES on our resolution.
The contact information and talking points are listed below, but before I get to that, I want to tell you about some additional opportunities you have to help.
1. The committee hearing will be in House Room 512A at 11:00 a.m. If you can, please join us to show your support. We will be gathering outside the room 20 minutes prior to the meeting and will have "I Support COS" stickers for you to wear. If the last committee hearing is any indication, the opposition will have a lot of people in that room. So come join us and show your support!
2. The GOP State Convention is Saturday, and we need volunteers to help us work our table. Our goal is to get information in the hands of people at the convention and to get as many petition signatures as we can.
If you can make it to the meeting and/or help us with the table on Saturday, please contact myself or my wife (who is also our Legislative Liason), and we can give you more information. Our contact information is:
Steve Montgomery - 405-593-1242 cosdirector.ok@gmail.com
Tracey Montgomery - 405-255-2560 cosdirector.ok@gmail.com
Even if you can't come to the capitol, please take the time to contact the members of the committee. If you have already contacted them about this hearing, please contact them again!
Remember, every email, phone call, and especially visit to the capital matters. Please don't underestimate the power of your voice. I realize that you might not be comfortable or might feel like you don't know what to say; I understand completely. I would rather not give you a script because it doesn't carry the same weight if every email and phone call has exactly the same wording, but here is an outline of what you want to say:
1. Tell them that you want them to honor their oath to uphold and defend the Constitution and vote for SJR4 when it is heard in committee.
2. If they ask you why, tell them that it is the solution that our founders built into the Constitution and it is the only solution that is big enough for the problem.
3. If they share one of the following concerns, answer with the corresponding facts:
a) Runaway convention? - Tell them that the language in the Constitution ensures one state, one vote. That is true for ratification for every amendment we currently have, and it would be true for a convention to propose amendments as well. Also, tell them that in the more than 30 State Conventions we have had in this country, it has always been one state/one vote, and it has always been limited to the agreed upon subject matter.
b) Liberal takeover of the convention? - This one is easy. Right now, if the liberals had enough support, they could call their own convention. They don't need to take over ours. In fact, they can't take over ours. Republicans control 69 of the 99 houses of State Legislature; we will call the convention, we will select delegates, and we will determine how it runs.
c) Congress ignores the Constitution anyway, so why bother? - They don't ignore it outright. Rather, they obey the Constitution as interpreted by the Supreme Court and 200+ years of evolving jurisprudence. It takes them a long time to misconstrue language, so if we can fix things with clear language now, we will bind them to that language for the foreseeable future.
We have been successful so far because our grass roots volunteers (you) are intelligent and educated; when we call in, we know what we want and why we want it. We can answer concerns and clearly state why we believe this is the best course of action. That is why SR4 has been able to make so much progress.
So please call, email, and if you can, visit the Representatives on the Rules Committee and tell them to vote yes on SJR4.
Here is the contact information for the committee members:
Chairman, Rep. Tommy Hardin - tommy.hardin@okhouse.gov, (405) 557-7383
Vice Chair. Rep. Jason Nelson - jason.nelson@okhouse.gov, (405) 557-7335
Rep. Gary Banz - garybanz@okhouse.gov, (405) 557-7395
Rep. Chris Kannady - chris.kannady@okhouse.gov, (405) 557-7337
Rep. Weldon Watson - weldon.watson@okhouse.gov, (405) 557-7330
Rep. Chad Caldwell - chad.caldwell@okhouse.gov, (405) 557-7317
Rep. R..C. Pruett - rcpruett@okhouse.gov, (405) 557-7382
Rep. Harold Wright - harold.wright@okhouse.gov, (405) 557-7325
Rep. Donnie Condit - donnie.condit@okhouse.gov, (405) 557-7376
Rep. Jerry Shoemake - jerryshoemake@okhouse.gov, (405) 557-7373
Please let us know if there is anything we can do for you. You can reach me directly via email at cosdirector.ok@gmail.com.
Thank you for your support and your willingness to act. Only by being involved can we truly be a government of the people, by the people, and for the people.
Thank you for your support.
