Public Debate: Convention of States – December 3, 2014

Is it the rightful remedy at this time?

If Congress doesn't follow the Constitution now, why would they follow it if we change it?  Let's defend it, not amend it.

There is going to be a showdown at the Cherokee Cattle Company on Canton Rd. in Marietta, Wednesday, December 03, 2014 starting at 6:30 p.m., where activists are gathering to draw down on whether an Article V Constitutional Convention is the right way to remedy federal overreach.

A recently formed group, Restore and Preserve the Constitution, is sponsoring the event where participants will examine whether the Georgia legislature made the right move last session when they passed a resolution asking Congress to call a convention for the purpose of proposing changes to the Constitution.

“Georgia and other states backed away, rescinding their call for a convention back in 2004, and need to do so again.” said the group’s founder and chair Debbie Staver.

“People are so desperate to rein in runaway federal spending and the government’s gross overreach of its powers that they jumped on the convention bandwagon without really bearing in mind that it could result in wholesale changes to the Constitution that legitimize the powers the federal government has usurped”, says Staver.

The featured speaker at the forum will be Publius Huldah, a retired attorney who has gained a national following for her insights on how the states and citizens can peacefully restore federalism, the rule of law and their rights.

Group member Richard Arena of Roswell explained, “Leading advocates for the Convention of States (COS) have been invited to present their perspective with equal time, but so far none have accepted the challenge”. 

Staver explains that the convention issue began when radio columnist and author Mark Levin published his best-selling book “The Liberty Amendments” where he argues that a convention called under Article V of the Constitution is the mechanism the Framers provided in the event all three branches of the federal government overstepped their bounds.

About the same time Mark Levin’s book came out Citizens for Self Governance, a nonprofit advocacy group, began promoting a convention for the propose of proposing changes to the Constitution that would further clarify the limits of federal powers.  Whether a convention called under Article V will be controlled by the states, the Congress or through some compromise is a matter of speculation and debate because the Constitution is silent on the issue and there has never been an Article V convention, so there are no applicable precedents. 

The Convention of States advocates from both ends of the political spectrum are meeting to plan the convention rules and procedures – or maybe not depending on where Congress, and possibly the Supreme Court, come down on the issue once the threshold number of states required to call the convention is reached.

This December 3rd debate is open to the public and will be at the Cherokee Cattle Company located at 2710 Canton Rd, Marietta, GA 30066 at 6:30 p.m.