The following was written by Nebraska State Sen. Steve Halloran (pictured above) and originally published in the Lincoln Journal-Star.
University of Nebraska-Lincoln law professor Eric Berger misrepresented a convention of states in his Local View ("Treasure Constitution; oppose convention," Sept. 15).
The Convention of States Project is not a special interest group. Its members are Democrats, Libertarians and Republicans, who are concerned about the direction of our country. Berger indicates we are an “insignificant group.” The Convention of States Project has more 3 million supporters nationally, and 1 million-plus petition signers.
Additionally, Professor Berger continues to reuse unproven myths and speculation to justify his position while introducing no new facts.
He supports the spreading of misinformation started by Arthur Goldberg and Ted Sorensen in the 1960s to eliminate Article V as a pathway to rein in an out-of-control government, which would therefore empower the Supreme Court to legislate new laws from the bench rather than functioning as guardian and interpreter of the Constitution. Readers are encouraged to research Robert Natelson’s work on the topic as a resource for the grounded truth on Article V.
Professor Berger warns of possible chaos at an Article V convention of states; yet, at this moment we've just witnessed a trial without due process in the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee hearings over the confirmation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh.
Additionally, Congress has failed to pass the 13 appropriations bills to fund the government in 2019 and is now cobbling together a patchwork of funding bills and continuing resolutions.
Department of Human Services, Government Accountability Office, Department of Justice and Internal Revenue Service employees are exposed for unprofessional and threatening behavior daily.
Federal government approval ratings are at an all-time low — and for good reason.
Col. George Mason recognized the federal government may become too powerful. He argued and persuaded members of the Philadelphia Convention to adopt a second process to amend the Constitution. Mason foresaw what we are experiencing today. The process allows state legislatures to call a convention for proposing amendments to make amendments to the Constitution in which the legislatures of two-thirds of the several states (34 states today) apply to Congress.
Please note the very important word, “proposing.” An Article V convention of states itself does not make amendments to the Constitution; rather it just proposes amendments. Amendments through Congress or a convention of states shall become part of Constitution, when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the states (38 today) or by convention in three-fourths of the states.
Please think about the three-fourths of the states threshold for a moment.
To ratify an amendment to our U.S. Constitution, 76 different houses of state government must all pass a motion to ratify out of each of those houses. To pass those 76 houses by a 51 percent majority, that takes roughly 2,800 state legislators, across 38 different states, who must vote yes to ratify a proposed amendment and make it part of the U.S. Constitution.
This is a very high threshold for ratification. As it should be.
The runaway convention argument is erroneous because it is based on the dubious assumption that an incredibly unbelievable series events will all occur without a single one of them being challenged. There are far more political and legal constraints on an Article V convention of states than there are on a runaway Congress.
Our federal government is “running away” right now — every day. That is why the Nebraska Legislature must join with the other states that have called for a convention of states. Encourage your senator to vote for Nebraska’s participation in a convention of states.
Want to join those 3 million supporters? Then sign the Convention of States Petition below!
