A Constitutional Convention May Be Brewing

Texas has yet to join, but thus far eight states have signed resolutions calling for a Constitutional Convention. Could that mean Gov. Greg Abbott’s dream could be a reality?
 

By Rhonda FanningMay 31, 2016 2:04 pm

This time last year, you’d be hard pressed to find a serious news analyst who’d tell you with a straight face: Florida, Georgia, Alaska, Alabama, Tennessee, Indiana, Oklahoma, and now Louisiana – eight states have officially passed resolutions calling for a Constitutional Convention.

While much of the country is firmly focused on the spectacle of the Presidential race, a much more profound and potentially fundamental change could be in the making.  But how seriously should “We the people” take this?

Charles W. Rhodes, who teaches Constitution law at South Texas College of Law, says Article 5 of the Constitution has a mechanism for a convention – it would take two-thirds, or 34, states to petition Congress.

“Congress has to call a convention for the purpose of proposing amendments to the Constitution,” he says, “which then would have to be ratified by three-fourths of the states, which is now 38 states.”

What you’ll hear in this segment:

– What the states that have signed already have in common

– How this movement is related to Republican governorships

– The goal of the convention, which could alter the balance of power between the federal and state governments