HB264

I am a Selectman in Albany. Please oppose this legislation.

I vehemently oppose this bill. The proponents of it, including the sponsors, are quite simply traitors attempting to take away our constitutional rights by fraudulently claiming that a constitution of states is needed and that one would be limited. They are lying to us: There is a reason why there has not been a constitution of states since 1787 and all amendments have happened due to congressional action: People who understand this process and care about our country know it is a bad idea that will lead to the end of our democracy. There is no constitutional authority for a limited convention. There is no guidance on how delegates would be selected. There is no guidance on who could qualify as a delegate. There is no guidance on how many delegates each state could send. There is no provision for stopping a runaway convention. There is no provision for how rules would be established. There is no provision for how rules would be enforced. There is no role provided for the people to play in the process. There is no power provided for the people to stop a convention once it starts. There is no description of the ratification conventions Congress could choose to call. There are no rules governing the ratification conventions Congress could choose to call. There is no means provided for either the states or the people to challenge Congress’s choice of the method of ratification. There is no test provided for a qualifying application submitted by a state. The acceptance by one Congress of a state application for a convention does not bind subsequent Congresses from accepting that application. Application for a convention submitted by one state legislature does not prevent subsequent state legislatures from revoking the previous application. All these issues would be challenged in court and would take years to be decided. The issues to be addressed at a convention to propose amendments would likely be moot by the time the challenges reached the U.S. Supreme Court for final adjudication. If 100 percent of registered voters opposed an amendment proposed by a convention, but the requisite number of state legislatures or ratifying conventions (according to the process determined by Congress for consideration of proposed amendments) supported it, then that amendment would become part of the Constitution regardless of the will of the people. The same scenario is true if a proposed amendment were approved by 100 percent of registered voters but rejected by the ratification conventions or state legislatures (according to the process determined by Congress for consideration of proposed amendments).

I recommend voting against a Constitutional Convention. Given the present highly polarized state of our democracy at this point, I think a Constitutional Convention could just be a very difficult set of arguments and possibly even lead to violence. Given my position, HB264 is a moot point. Vote against it.

NO CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTIONS

This is shenanigans. You want to convict someone of a FELONY when they are trying to make things better? Absolutely not. This is garbage and you know it.