Mark Meckler, President of Convention of States Action, recently traveled to Lawrenceville, New Jersey, to speak to the Turning Point USA chapter at Rider University.
While Rider has been in the news recently for refusing to establish a Chik-Fil-A on campus due to the restaurant's so-called "stance" on LGBT issues, this group of students was receptive to a variety of views and opinions.
According to The Rider News,
Rider’s chapter of Turning Point USA hosted Mark Meckler, president of the Convention of States Action, who discussed the organization’s advocacy for state legislatures to call on a Convention of States, a power granted by Article V of the U.S. Constitution on Nov. 27.
In order for states to utilize this power, applications from 34 states are required to call the convention, and approval from 38 states are required to ratify any amendments that are proposed.
In his talk, Meckler emphasized the importance of holding representatives accountable for policy-making in the nation’s capital.
“The problem is that we should not be making all of these decisions in Washington D.C.,” Meckler said. “We should not be always looking to Washington D.C. to solve everything for us. I have a lot more faith in the American people than in Washington D.C.”
If a convention is called, the states would only be allowed to propose amendments which “limit the power and jurisdiction of the federal government, impose fiscal restraints and place term limits on federal officials,” according to the Convention of States Action website.
Meckler assured that a call for a convention would be an opportunity to return power to the American people.
“I think the most important thing to remember is that we are not trying to reinvent the wheel,” Meckler said. “We are trying to go back to what the wheel was intended to be.”
There have been over thirty conventions in the history of the U.S. and Meckler remains hopeful that the next convention will take place in the year 2021.
“We are over one-third of the way there,” Meckler said. “Twelve states have passed this. We have a couple of states that I think there is a good chance will pass before the end of this calendar year.”
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