Convention to propose amendments to the United States Constitution

[7][8] They include Michael Farris, Lawrence Lessig, Sanford Levinson, Larry Sabato, Jonathan Turley, Mark Levin, Ben Shapiro, and Greg Abbott.

[15] Similarly, the group Wolf-PAC chose this method to promote its cause, which is to overturn the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United v. FEC.

The Articles of Confederation provided that amendments were to be proposed by Congress and ratified by the unanimous vote of all thirteen state legislatures.

"[25] This was subsequently modified by the Committee of Detail to include a process whereby Congress would call for a constitutional convention on the request of two-thirds of the state legislatures.

[27] Several delegates voiced opposition to the idea of the national legislature retaining sole power to propose constitutional amendments.

[31] On at least one occasion though, the Congressional Record has included such a tabulation, which indicated that, as of September 22, 1981, thirty states had made a request for a balanced budget amendment.

"[36] James Madison also affirmed Hamilton's contention that Congress was obligated to call a convention when the requisite number of states requested it.

As the legislature opted not to send new delegates, Alexander Hamilton accepted the authority of the state and was unable to cast a vote for the remainder of the convention.

The delegates to the 1787 Constitutional Convention did disregard Congress's recommendation to "solely amend the Articles"[45] but as Madison noted in Federalist No.

Since 2016, 10 state legislatures (Delaware in 2016; New Mexico, Maryland, Nevada and Texas all in 2017; South Dakota in 2019; Colorado and New Jersey in 2021, Illinois in 2022, and Oregon in 2023) have rescinded previous applications to call for such a convention.

While the Supreme Court has never definitively interpreted the meaning of Article V, it has, on four occasions, referred to the Article V convention process: Dodge v. Woolsey, 59 U.S. 331 (1855): "[The people] have directed that amendments should be made representatively for them, by the Congress ...; or where the legislatures of two thirds of the several States shall call a convention for proposing amendments, which, in either case, become valid, to all intents and purposes, as a part of the constitution, when ratified ..." Hawke v. Smith, 253 U.S. 221 (1920): "[Article V] makes provision for the proposal of amendments either by two-thirds of both houses of Congress or on application of the legislatures of two-thirds of the states, thus securing deliberation and consideration before any change can be proposed.

"[50] United States v. Sprague, 282 U.S. 716 (1931): "[A]rticle 5 is clear in statement and in meaning, contains no ambiguity and calls for no resort to rules of construction.

[53] In the late 1890s, the House of Representatives passed multiple resolutions for a constitutional amendment providing for direct election of senators.

By 1911, 29 states had Article V convention applications on file for an amendment providing for direct election of senators,[55] just two short of the 31-state threshold.

The attempt fell only one state short of reaching the 34 needed to force Congress to call a convention in 1969, but ended by the death of its main promoter Senator Everett Dirksen.

After this peak, several states (whose legislatures by this point had been re-engineered in the wake of the rulings) rescinded their applications, and interest in the proposed amendment subsided.

[61] In addition, at least four states (California, Illinois, Kentucky, and Montana) had adopted resolutions requesting that Congress propose a deficit spending amendment.

[62] Similar rescissions were approved in Louisiana (1990), Oregon (1999), Idaho (2000), Utah, (2001), North Dakota (2001) Wyoming (2001), Arizona (2003) and Georgia (2004).

On November 20, 2013, the Ohio General Assembly applied to Congress for a convention to propose a balanced budget amendment.

A political action committee called Wolf-PAC emerged from New York's Occupy Wall Street movement in October 2011.

Wolf-PAC calls for a convention of states in order to propose a constitutional amendment that addresses the issue of campaign finance.

[76][78] In January 2016, Texas Governor Greg Abbott called for a Convention of States to restrict the power of the federal government.

Senator and former Heritage Foundation president Jim DeMint announced his role as a senior adviser for the Convention of States project.

[79] In September 2016, CSG held a simulated convention to propose amendments to the United States Constitution in Williamsburg, Virginia.

It is actively engaged in an effort to call an Article V Convention for the limited purpose of proposing an amendment to provide every law enacted by Congress shall embrace only one subject which shall be clearly expressed in the bill's title.

In April 2014, Florida became the first state to make an application for an Article V Convention to constitutionally prohibit unrelated riders in Congress.

On June 8, 2023, Gavin Newsom proposed a 28th amendment to the constitution to address gun control, specifically by raising the minimum age to purchase firearms to 21, instituting universal background checks for firearm purchases, requiring mandatory waiting periods, and banning assault weapons.

[106] Resolutions calling for such a convention have been passed by the state legislatures of Florida,[107] Alabama,[108] Missouri,[109] West Virginia,[110] Wisconsin,[111] Oklahoma,[112] and Tennessee.

By the fifth article of the plan, the Congress will be obliged "on the application of the legislatures of two thirds of the States [which at present amount to nine], to call a convention for proposing amendments, which shall be valid, to all intents and purposes, as part of the Constitution, when ratified by the legislatures of three fourths of the States, or by conventions in three fourths thereof."

If the foregoing argument is a fallacy, certain it is that I am myself deceived by it, for it is, in my conception, one of those rare instances in which a political truth can be brought to the test of a mathematical demonstration.