The Lamp of Experience: Constitutional Amendments Work
(This article originally appeared in the American Thinker.) Opponents of a Convention of States long argued that there was an unacceptable risk a convention might […]
Welcome to Article V Information Center
A Project of the Independence Institute
The Article V Information Center promotes truthful, unbiased information about the U.S. Constitution's amendment process. It does not take stands on particular amendments, but instead functions much like a non-partisan voter information center. Just as a voter information center provides correct information and helps prevent efforts to suppress the vote, the Article V Information Center corrects misinformation so citizens may exercise an important constitutional right.
What's New
A New Theory Supporting The Use of the Tenth Amendment to Control the Article V Process—and Why the Theory Doesn’t Work
The state legislative power to issue binding applications for an amendments convention derives either directly from the Constitution (Article V) or from authority retained (“reserved”) by the states under the Tenth Amendment. Which is it?
A lot hinges on the question. One thing that does is the legal validity of the “Compact for America” approach. The […]
What is an Amendments Convention “Application?” What is a “Call?”
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 […]
When They Start Throwing Black’s Law Dictionary at You—Duck!
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, […]
The Constitution’s Article V, Not the 10th Amendment, Gives State Legislatures Their Power in the Amendment Process
Note: An earlier version of this article appeared inThe American Thinker. Some advocates of a convention for proposing amendments are endangering the Article V movement […]
The Impending Convention for Proposing Amendments — Part VI
Note: This is the last in a series of six articles that originally appeared in the Washington Post’s “Volokh Conspiracy,” a leading constitutional law website. […]