The following originates from: http://www.conventionofstates.com/news.
Convention of States Project Provides Mechanism to Implement Mark Levin’s “Liberty Amendments” Strategy Citizens for Self-Governance Launches New Project to Call a Convention of States
PURCELLVILLE, Va., Aug. 15, 2013 – Citizens for Self-Governance (CSG) is pleased to announce the launching of its Convention of States Project (COS), which offers a grassroots plan to implement the important ideas Mark Levin has begun to publicly advocate. Levin’s bestselling book, Liberty Amendments, is opening the eyes of many Americans to the possibility of using the power of the States, under the Constitution, to rein in the abuses of power by the federal government.
COS believes Washington, D.C. is broken and can only be fixed if the states call a convention of states to propose constitutional amendments that would curtail the runaway power of the federal government. Article V of the Constitution says that if 34 states submit applications for a convention on the same subject, Congress must call such a convention.
Historical and legal precedent dictate that delegates at this convention can only propose amendments that align with the original subject. If the states call a convention for proposing a balanced budget amendment, for example, delegates may only discuss a balanced budget amendment.
Rather than calling an Article V convention for a particular amendment, COS seeks to call a Convention of States for a particular subject—limiting the jurisdiction and power of the federal government. This strategy would allow the states to formally consider almost all of Mark Levin’s “Liberty Amendments,” giving delegates the freedom to propose the necessary amendments to stop the runaway power of Washington, D.C.
“Of [Mark Levin’s] 11 proposed amendments, ten would be germane at the Convention of States using the CSG model application,” said Michael Farris, Senior Fellow for Constitutional Studies at CSG.
These include amendments limiting Congressional and Supreme Court terms of office, restoring the Senate, limiting federal taxing and spending (two amendments), limiting the federal bureaucracy, promoting free enterprise, giving states direct authority to amend the Constitution and check Congress, and protecting the vote. Only Levin’s property rights amendment would not be eligible for discussion, Farris said.
“Our model would not be limited to Levin’s proposed texts; the COS could consider other proposals as well so long as they relate to the subject matter of reducing the power of Washington, D.C., and imposing fiscal restraint on the federal government.”
“Of all the Article V projects that have been proposed, ours is the only one that has the breadth to actually solve the core problems caused by the federal government’s persistent abuse of its power,” Farris added.
The leadership of COS also believes grassroots mobilization is the key to calling a convention of states, and they will rely heavily on American citizens to push this project forward. Farris (founder of the Home School Legal Defense Association) and CSG President Mark Meckler (co-founder of the Tea Party Patriots) have years of experience in this arena, giving the COS project a clear advantage and heightening the chance of success.
Contact Mark Wohlschlegel at markw@selfgovern.com or visit conventionofstates.com for more information.
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http://dqdqcwd2kvidt.cloudfront.net/sites/default/files/ConventionOfStates_Handbook_0.pdf
