Keep Pressing On!
by Christian Gomez, Research Project Manager
Article V convention promoters — those who wish to change the Constitution under the banner of “proposing amendments” — are already busy at work, and you should be too. Already this year, resolutions applying to Congress to call a convention to propose amendments, under Article V of the U.S. Constitution, also known as a constitutional convention (Con-Con), have been introduced in Arizona (HCR 2016), Iowa (SJR 1, SJR 2), Kentucky (HJR 8), Minnesota (SF 226), Montana (SJ 2), New Hampshire (HCR 1, HCR 4), New York (B272), Oregon (HJM 1), South Carolina (H3676, S369), Tennessee (HJR 5), Virginia (HJ 457, SJ 235), and Washington (SJM 8000).
As we recommended last month, use the July 11, 2022 TNA Special Report “Article V Convention: Will It Work?” and the reprint “COS Endorses JBS — Except for One Blind Spot” to help inform legislators and other persons of influence in your state in order to expose and stop the push for a convention.
Building on last month’s “Stop a Con-Con” action-point article “Stop, Nullify, and Rescind,” be sure to go to JBS.org/alerts/state/ and use the following three legislative alerts:
- “Rescind All Applications for an Article V Constitutional Convention,” at https://gojt.us/u5nm
- “Support Nullification to Enforce the Constitution,” at https://gojt.us/k88a
- “Stop Article V Convention Applications,” at https://gojt.us/pw48
These three legislative alerts target all 50 states. However, be sure to click on your own state for legislative alerts tailored specifically to your state. Additionally, The John Birch Society encourages your chapter to schedule regular legislative days to visit your state Capitol to meet with legislators and their staff to encourage the legislators to:
- stop any new Con-Con application;
- use nullification to rein in big government in Washington; and
- rescind all your state’s active or live applications applying for a convention.
The debate over whether we should have a Con-Con, or so-called convention of states, is one that can succinctly be summed up and ended with the following question: Are the problems that our nation faces the result of a failed or flawed Constitution, or are they because of lawmakers with a poor and flawed understanding of the Constitution?
How an individual answers that one simple question ought to determine where he or she stands on this issue. Don’t get caught up and distracted in the minutia that convention promoters purposefully use to distract from the real problem. If people are distracted or led away from seeing the real problem, then it becomes easier to sell false solutions. That is precisely how an Article V convention is being used as a false solution intended to address the symptoms of the problem rather than the actual problem itself.
So, how then do we solve the real problem of a constitutionally uninformed or misinformed government? It begins with educating the electorate. Consider hosting a Constitution Is the Solution workshop/lecture series in your vicinity. Next, distribute copies of our Congressional Scorecards and Legislative Scorecards (both are available at TheFreedomIndex.org and TheNewAmerican.com) to educate voters on how their federal and state lawmakers, respectively, are voting. These are powerful tools for holding our elected officials accountable to their oaths. There are no quick and easy solutions. Real solutions require real work. Working together — with God’s help — we will preserve the blessings of liberty.
As the Apostle Paul penned in the epistle to the churches of Galatia: “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”