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What is an Amendments Convention “Application?” What is a “Call?”

February 25, 2016 Rob Natelson 0

Article V of the Constitution states that “The Congress . . . on Applications of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments.”
As I pointed out in my book, The Original Constitution: What It Actually Said and Meant, 18th century writers were imbued heavily with Latin language […]

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When They Start Throwing Black’s Law Dictionary at You—Duck!

February 17, 2016 Rob Natelson 0

If you are involved in politics, sooner or later someone will “prove” his point by quoting to you a line from Black’s Law Dictionary, Corpus Juris Secundum, or a similar source. He may tell you that these are “definitive” legal sources, not to be doubted.
Whatever he’s selling, don’t buy it. These sources are not definitive, […]

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The Impending “Convention for Proposing Amendments” – Part I

December 13, 2015 Rob Natelson 0

Note: This is Part I of a six-part series I wrote on Amendment Conventions for the Washington Post’s “Volokh Conspiracy,” a leading constitutional law website. Links have not been reproduced, because all supporting information is on this website and can be found with by word search.
Part I: How Past Conventions Inspired the Constitution’s “Convention for […]

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Soros-Funded Groups Attack the Article V Movement

December 6, 2015 Rob Natelson 0

Article V activists have had to deal with the defamatory, and potentially actionable, charge that they are supported by socialist billionaire George Soros.
As far as I can determine, however, no one in the movement has been able to identify any pro-Article V Soros money at all.
On the contrary, Soros-funded groups have repeatedly assailed Article V […]

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Answering Questions About the Voting Rules at a Convention for Proposing Amendments

November 2, 2015 Rob Natelson 0

Note: This column appeared originally at the American Thinker.
In a recent post, I examined suggestions that a convention of the states for proposing amendments adopt a supermajority rule for proposing any amendment. Most commonly suggested is that the convention replace the traditional “majority of states decides” standard with a two thirds requirement.
I explained that this […]