Dear Editor,
The type of legislation being proposed in HCR 2027 whereby multiple subjects with multiple amendments introduced is promoted by Convention of States group led by Michael Farris and Mark Meckler. This method of legislative call is extremely Risky and Dangerous.
1. This method will relinquish the states sovereignty to the delegates. Delegates will be deciding which amendments and how to write them. Article V allows the state legislatures to propose amendments. When congress proposes an amendment, it comes directly from congress. States should also be in control of what is produced by a convention.
2. It will be impossible to control the outcome of such a convention. Many possible amendments could be introduced. Delegates would be in control trying to write significant amendments with liberal delegate opposition. Think about how congress acts now with the bills that seem to be held up by opposition. In the last five years, we have gone from we cannot have a “con-con” to apparently calling out for an “Open Convention.” Article V prohibits convening an (Open) Constitutional Convention.
3. I would question the motivation behind Convention of States. The following is a quotation from Michael Farris in a discussion posted on the website for Convention of States.
“There is a constitutional process that gives the states the unilateral power to change the structure of American government…When the national government becomes drunk with abuses of power, the states were given the authority to reorganize the government…”
“There are two groups of elected bodies that have the power to propose constitutional amendments: Congress and the State legislatures. Either group may propose a single amendment, groups of amendments, or an entirely new Constitution.” Michael Farris is suggesting an entirely new Constitution, and he intends to be a delegate from Virginia when a convention is called.
I am a member of Citizen’s Initiatives and have been made aware of these issues. Citizen’s Initiatives is promoting a single amendment convention with delegate resolutions passed by the states to control the convention. Our US Sovereignty and States Rights Amendment provides the answer to many problems. It includes the power for 30 States to countermand any law, regulation, and executive orders, which the States consider detrimental to them. The countermands could be used for any law or regulation: past, present or future.
DELEGATE RESOLUTION FOR THE SOVEREIGNTY AND STATES RIGHTS AMENDMENT:
http://citizeninitiatives.org/Delegate_Resolution_Sovereignty_States_Rights.htm
CITIZEN INITIATIVES’ PROPOSED SOVEREIGNTY AND STATES RIGHTS AMENDMENT: http://citizeninitiatives.org/sovereignty_states_rights_amend.htm
Sincerely,
Jeffrey Townsend
Citizen’s Initiatives
AZ Director