When setting up a Constitution by which to govern, you have to think like a lawyer to ensure that no loopholes have been left behind. Even with the carefully laid plans of our ingenious Framers, legislators still try to subvert our country’s blueprints by twisting our Constitution to suit their own political agendas. No matter how far-thinking you are, it is virtually impossible to anticipate and protect against every subversion, both present and future. However, James Madison and Roger Sherman came close to the impossible when they drafted Amendments 9 and 10.
Federalist framers were wary of adding any amendments to the Constitution. They argued that citing specific rights for citizens would set a precedent for government to trample on any right not specifically mentioned in that document. They argued the Constitution was sufficient without amendments since man is endowed by their creator and by nature with certain unalienable rights.
Madison proposed a compromise; rather than leave out important rights from the Constitution, such as the right to trial by jury, freedom of speech, and the right to bear arms, the 9th Amendment was proposed, which reads: "The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people."
Stated simply: Just because there is a list of rights in the Constitution, it doesn't mean that the government can take away other rights of the people that are not listed. [1]
Amendment 10, drafted by Connecticut representative Roger Sherman, states: “the federal government has only those powers delegated to it by the Constitution, and that all other powers not forbidden to the states by the Constitution are reserved to each state.”
In other words, if a right is not specifically mentioned in the Constitution, it defaults to the rights of individual citizens as protected by their state legislatures.
But even with our two guardian amendments, legislators will continue to contort the original intent of our Constitution to meet their own agendas, including overtaxing their citizens into insurmountable debt, imposing Critical Race Theory onto our educational institutions, strangling our private enterprise from pursuing energy independence, neglecting protection of our borders, and the list goes on and on.
Overturning the political winds of our radical adversaries would seem an impossible task while they are in control of our government, but there is yet a solution given by our forefathers: Article V of the U.S. Constitution provides for a Convention of States as called for by 2/3 of our state legislatures. Thirty-four states can agree to call for such a convention whereby amendments may be proposed and voted upon to be ratified by ¾ of our states. But state legislators are reluctant to support such a call unless they know YOU are behind it.
Currently, Maryland has 25,000 signatures calling for a Convention of States. We are in the midst of a campaign – a “50K Race to Liberty.” Our goal is to double our signature count to 50,000 by the end of 2021. The more signatures we secure, the more likely legislators in Annapolis will heed your demands to support a Convention of States in Maryland.
Just as our forefathers put their lives and livelihoods on the line to sign our Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution, all we ask of you is to sign our petition, calling to impose term limits, ensure fiscal responsibility, and restrain federal overreach. And once you’ve signed, spread the wildfire of Liberty and get everyone you can to sign the petition calling for a Convention of States.
Sign the petition below, and send this link to your friends and family!
The Following footnote gives credit for the simplified statement from James Madison's 9th Amendment.
[1] Duckster’s United States Government for Kids website: https://www.ducksters.com/history/us_government/ninth_amendment.php
