Could a Convention Gut the Second Amendment?

Recently some on the political left have tried to jump on the Convention of States train for their own purposes – most notably, Gov. Gavin Newsom of California. He seeks to call an Article V convention in order to propose a 28th Amendment for the purpose of gutting the 2nd Amendment. Of course, this is alarming to many 2nd Amendment advocates, and some are sounding the alarm about the danger of Article V.

Second Amendment advocates are right to be concerned about attempts to gut the 2nd Amendment, which could be theoretically viable through an Article V convention. The convention process is a tool to amend the Constitution that can be used for many purposes, both by the right and the left. Like voting, the tool in and of itself is not necessarily good or evil. 

However, many critics fail to recognize that the convention, once called, cannot be used for any and every purpose, but only for the planks that were approved by the 34 states that passed the resolution. Therefore, an Article V convention cannot be used to change the 2nd Amendment unless these specifications were already included in the resolutions passed by the states.

The current states that have passed our COS resolution have only approved of three planks: 1) fiscal responsibility; 2) term limits; and 3) limiting the scope and power of the federal government. Therefore, gun rights on either side would not be able to be addressed by the convention that our movement is calling. In the recent COSF Article V simulation, we were able to observe that topics that were not germane were prohibited by the convention.

Both Newsom and his opponents on the right are underestimating the effort that would be required for a convention to alter the 2nd Amendment. Getting 34 states to agree to any constitutional change is a tall order, as those involved with the Convention of States movement have discovered. Furthermore, 27 states already have laws that permit “Constitutional Carry.” These states would never pass a resolution like the one Newsom is proposing, so his particular Article V convention is Dead on Arrival.

In contrast, there is widespread support across the country for term limits and fiscal responsibility. While it is wise to be cautious and protective of efforts to erode our constitutional rights, we should not be afraid to use this constitutional process to create a better and “more perfect union.”