Action Alert – A Constitutional Convention is Still a Bad Idea

AFA of PA ACTION ALERT

March 9, 2021

Issue

A Constitutional Convention is Still a Bad Idea

Details

HR 57 is a bill calling for an Article V Convention.  This would be a constitutional convention which opens up the US Constitution for amendments, supposedly limiting the proposals in scope.  However, there is nothing within Article V of our Constitution which contains any specific rules for holding such a convention.  Only once has such a convention been held in our nation’s history and that was the first one when the US Constitution was first adopted!  Let’s face it that first convention was held by our Founding Fathers and they are gone.  At this point in our nation’s history, by and large, who runs the political narrative??  The media does . . . . the cancel culture does!

Bills such as HR 57 sound like the answer to many of our nation’s problems, but even though it promises to be limited in scope, in reality, there is nothing to limit it.  Our US Constitution would be opened up and quite possibly eviscerated — gone would be the Second Amendment, abortion and “same-sex marriage” could be enshrined in the Constitution.  Those are just a few examples of what could happen in a modern-day constitutional convention influenced by the media and our modern day culture.

Last year I interviewed Andy Schlafly with Phyllis Schlafly Eagles specifically about last year’s version of this bill.  Click here to listen to that interview.

In October 2018 Andy testified before the PA Senate State Government Committee, here are some of the reasons he outlined as to why a constitutional convention is a bad idea:

1. The late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia called the idea of a “Convention of States” a “horrible idea,” recognizing that such a convention would put the Constitution at great risk.
2. Chief Justice Warren Burger agreed with Andy’s mother, Phyllis Schlafly, saying in a letter he wrote her, “I have also repeatedly given my opinion that there is no effective way to limit or muzzle actions of a constitutional Convention.  The Convention could make its own rules and set its own agenda.”
3. The text of Article V confirms there is no limit to what a convention could do.
4. The original Constitutional Convention was written free of modern pressures by the media.
5. The 17^th Amendment is a perfect example of how state legislatures can rush to ratify an amendment even though it takes away the rights of states. 

The 2016 Republican National Platform rejected an attempt by pro-Article V convention promoters.

Action Steps

1. HR 57 is currently in the House State Government Committee.  Contact committee chair Representative Seth Grove and ask him not to bring HR 57 forward.  His number is (717) 783-2655.
2. Contact your State Rep and ask him or her not to support HR 57 if it reaches the floor of the House.