The concept of a Convention of States (COS), as outlined in Article V of the Constitution, has been the topic of great conversation recently. From Mark Levin’s book, The Liberty Amendments: Restoring the American Republic, to the gathering of state legislators at Mount Vernon last month, the idea of a COS is gaining momentum. On radio this morning, Mark Meckler of Citizens for Self Governance joined Pat and Stu to discuss the ins-and-outs of what a COS would mean for America.
“Well, so you know, I think all of us can identify the problems. We know there are plenty of problems in Washington D.C., and I think one of the things we all acknowledge is over the last few years we've seen [politicians] not going to fix the problems in Washington D.C.,” Mark said. “We'll complain about it and whine about it. We do plenty of that… What we don't do is provide an answer.”
“There's really is the answer the answer is the American people. It's found in Article V of the Constitution – that second clause says that we have the right to call a Constitutional Convention,” he continued. “It was set up that way for this situation where the federal government had become tyrannical, needed to be restrained by the people. And so we are calling for an Amending Convention under Article V.”
According to Article V, two-thirds of the state legislatures, or 34 states, must approve an application for a convention to occur. State legislatures would then send delegates to the convention, with each state getting one vote on proposed amendments. For an amendment to pass and become a part of the Constitution, it would have to be approved by three-fourths, or 38, of the state legislatures. Mark admitted that just a couple of years ago he would not have believed the support for such a gathering existed, but he has recently had a change of heart.
“I've spent the last couple years studying the issue, and then I had Michael Farris, founder of the Home School Legal Defense Association, one of the few lawyers ever to take an Article V case before the Supreme Court case. The plan, for me, is pretty simple,” Mark explained. “You need to argue: In roughly 4,000 state legislative districts around the country, you need roughly 100 people in each district to be willing to call their legislative representative and ask for a convention… That's not a high bar. And I started to talking to reps all over the country and they said, ‘We don't get 100 calls on anything. If you can generate a hundred calls then we're going to be motivated to at least take a serious look.’”
Regardless of how you feel about the idea of a COS, it is important to recognize the power Article V of the Constitution grants the American people and the states.
“This is the most important thing: Literally, only the people can do this. The people have to take control,” Mark concluded. “They do that by going to ConventionOfStates.com. There they can sign up to be a district captain or a volunteer. We still have a few states that don't have state captains yet. We've got legislative liaison volunteers, coalition volunteers. You can absolutely get involved. You have to get involved. Only you are going to fix the country. The politicians in D.C. are never going do it. ConventionOfStates.com is the place you can get involved.”
Check out the entire interview below:
