Utah state representative Ken Ivory was the featured guest and the winning entry for naming the mailbag segment was announced during the informative and fun April 3 edition of "COS at Home".
Rep. Ivory discussed his longtime support for an Article V convention with COS regional director and political liaison Jonathan Viaud in a pre-recorded interview.
Rep. Ivory recounted his in-depth study of the responsibilities and obligations of state representatives in limiting and checking the power of the federal government, which resulted in his book Where's the Line?: How States Protect the Constitution.
He alluded to the writings of Alexander Hamilton and James Madison in "The Federalist Papers" in which they outlined the powers of the state legislatures. Rep. Ivory said that in his studies "It just became clear to me that we're focusing on the wrong thing. All the energy, all the focus on Washington -- we need to focus on right where we live and right where we stand and get our state leaders, our state representatives to use that ultimate sovereign power in the Constitution to restore that balance."
Rep. Ivory discussed his service as president of the 2016 simulated convention and why an Article V convention could not -- as critics allege -- "run away" to rewrite or destroy the Constitution, as it is merely a meeting of states to discuss and propose potential amendments.
(This episode of "COS at Home" began with the educational segment "5 for V" that featured a montage of the August 2023 Article V convention simulation in Williamsburg, Virginia. You can watch the entire simulation here.)
Rep. Ivory also recalled a proposed amendment that emerged from a committee he chaired during the 2023 simulation regarding federal land control. He pointed out that the federal government presently controls 640 million acres -- a third of the country's land -- which is "antithetical" to the concept of the protection of private property as a first principle of the republic.
This coincides with opposition to the Biden administration's 30x30 initiative that instructs federal agencies to "conserve" at least 30 percent of U.S. land and water by 2030. Convention of States Action co-founder and president Mark Meckler hosted a conversation about this topic in February:
Rep. Ivory detailed the natural resources under control of the federal government. He said "If we simply unleash land, liberty, property, and let Americans prosper...we have right there for the constitutional taking an economic, environmental, and constitutional renaissance simply in that one amendment that we did on having the land in the western states be treated equally...and have control of their land."
The importance of civic engagement and the significance of grassroots efforts such as those of Convention of States Action was also emphasized by Rep. Ivory, particularly the effectiveness of establishing relationships with state legislators in order for citizens to retain their voice in government and influence lawmakers to support efforts such as the COS resolution.
After Rep. Ivory's interview, Jonathan announced that Katherine Del Conte, a COS development team member and district captain and member of the state leadership in North Carolina, submitted the winning entry for the "COS at Home" mailbag segment: Minutemen Mailbag. Congratulations, Katherine!
Questions, comments, and suggestions for "COS at Home" can be sent via email to home@cosaction.com.
Following the announcement, Jonathan's daughter, Erin Viaud, made a brief cameo appearance to help answer this month's mailbag question and introduce the "COS Voices" segment in which New Jersey grassroots activist Trevon Gross delivered an eloquent elevator pitch for signing the COS petition.
The next must-see episode of "COS at Home" will air on May 1 at 8:00 p.m. and will feature COS endorser, actor, and film producer Kirk Cameron.
