The federal government is out of control and continues to exceed its Constitutional bounds. Left unchecked, this trend will continue. It is up to the states to rein in the federal government, because it will never restrain itself. Thankfully the framers of our great Constitution gave We the People, working through the states, a means to provide the necessary check.
Article V of the Constitution defines two amendment methods. The first method is Congress proposes the amendment(s). Once two-thirds of both chambers in Congress agree, the proposed amendment is sent to the states for ratification. The Constitution is officially amended after the proposed amendment is ratified by three-quarters of the states (38).
This method is how all 27 amendments have been accomplished.
Thankfully, the Framers understood human nature and knew that one day the federal government would become bloated and unresponsive to the will of the people. They knew that when this happened, Congress would never propose amendments that would restrain its power. So the Framers provided a second method in Article V, which allows the states to come together to propose amendments.
This method is often referred to as an amendment convention or Convention of States. After two-thirds of the states (34) agree to the topic(s) of the convention, they would appoint delegates to attend, propose, and debate germane amendment(s). Any proposed amendments agreed to at the convention still require ratification by three-fourths of the states to become part of the Constitution.
Convention of States (COS) is a nationwide grassroots organization that is working with state legislatures to pass a resolution calling for a convention to debate and propose amendments that would: impose term-limits on Congress and federal officials, impose spending restraints on the federal government, and reduce the size and power of the federal government.
People are joining the Convention of States movement en masse because they are realizing the need for a check on the federal government’s power. One-size-fits-all solutions and abuse of authorities reserved for the states has become standard operating procedure in D.C.
The South Carolina Convention of States movement has experienced explosive growth. Currently, there are 46,000 petition signers across the state. Nearly ten thousand signers are from the beginning of this year. There can be no doubt that South Carolinians are looking for their state legislatures to rein in the federal government.
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The South Carolina Convention of States team is the largest grassroots organization with pending legislation at the Statehouse. Due to a strong, dedicated, and rapidly expanding activist team, there is tremendous support for the Convention of States resolution in the South Carolina legislature. The South Carolina House passed the COS resolution (H3205) overwhelmingly, by a vote of 66 to 42, during the 2021 session. With a growing list of Senate Cosponsors (currently 22 of 46), the South Carolina team continues to build strong support in the South Carolina Senate, which is poised to take this issue up early in the 2022 session.
The South Carolina legislature is positioned to join the 15 states that have already passed the COS resolution. They include other conservative southern neighbor states, such as Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Texas. That’s a list South Carolina should be on.
The Convention of States movement is backed by a host of talk show hosts, conservative politicians, religious leaders, and lawyers that have carefully studied the process and endorsed COS. To name a few: Mark Levin, Glenn Beck, Ben Shaparo, Sean Hannity, Gov. Ron DeSantis, Gov. Greg Abott, S.C. Rep. Jeff Duncan, S.C. Rep. Ralph Norman, Lt.Col. Allen West, Pete Hegseth, Steve Deace, and Dr. James Dobson.
For more information about Convention of States, visit our website by clicking here.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
Chris Neely is the state director for Convention of States South Carolina. A native of Winnsboro, S.C., he lives in Lexington with his wife and three children. Chris has worked on the Convention of States project since 2016, and now leads a team of more than 100 district captains and more than 1,000 grassroots supporters.
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