StarNews Editorial Board <\/p>\n
North Carolina dodged a bullet the other day when state House members torpedoed a proposal to call a national convention to amend the Constitution. <\/p>\n
Actually, it probably dodged a land mine. It's scary that the state Senate actually approved the notion. <\/p>\n
First a quick civics lesson: According to Article V, there are two ways to amend the Constitution. First, an amendment has to pass both houses of Congress by a two-thirds vote, then be ratified by three-fourths of the states. <\/p>\n
Obviously, this takes a long time. After the 10 amendments in the Bill of Rights were adopted early in the nation's history, only 27 amendments have been ratified in 128 years, and one of these (Prohibition) was later repealed. <\/p>\n
The other, presumably quicker, version is to call a national convention, sort of like the one that met in Philadelphia in 1787. It takes a vote of two-thirds of the states to call such a convention, and there's an active move afoot to get one going. <\/p>\n
Supporters generally say they want the convention to write a balanced-budget amendment. Other ideas are floating out there, too, including term limits for Congress, refiguring how federal judges are chosen or allowing a vote of state legislatures to override Supreme Court rulings. <\/p>\n
As New Hanover County's Rep. Deb Butler wisely pointed out, this is a dangerous proposition -- a bit like putting an Uzi in the hands of a toddler with a tantrum. <\/p>\n
Feelings are high right now, and an angry faction could do things that the rest of us will regret for a long, long time. <\/p>\n
Back in the 1950s Red Scare, for instance, John Wayne and others wanted to repeal parts of the Fifth Amendment so it would be easier to jail Communists. <\/p>\n
These days, with lots of folks angry at \"The Media,\" someone's likely to take a sledgehammer to the freedom of speech and press. You don't have to like the StarNews or CNN to see that's a bad idea; a few years from now, a liberal might be elected president again, and Fox News could be the target. <\/p>\n
Supporters say the states could put limits on their convention delegates. Ohio, for example, approved a convention only for the purpose of the balanced-budget amendment. <\/p>\n
Many legal scholars, however, don't think that would fly. The states put plenty of limits on their delegates to the 1787 Convention -- most of which were flatly ignored. That convention threw out the Articles of Confederation and wrote a whole new basic law of the land. <\/p>\n
Article V, moreover, makes no provision on how many delegates each state gets, or how delegates could be elected. A minority rump could theoretically push major changes against the wishes of most of the people. <\/p>\n
Those old guys in wigs, back in the 1700s, knew what they were doing. Changing our basic rules, including those dealing with our liberties, should be a long, drawn-out process. A convention is just too risky. <\/p>\n
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EDITORIAL, July 11: NC House wisely sinks constitutional convention - StarNewsOnline.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" StarNews Editorial Board North Carolina dodged a bullet the other day when state House members torpedoed a proposal to call a national convention to amend the Constitution. Actually, it probably dodged a land mine. Continue reading