URGENT: HCR 57, a deceptive Con-Con aggregation-scheme resolution, is still pending in the West Virginia Senate after passing the House of Delegates. The Senate could vote on it on very short notice, so it’s imperative that everybody contact their senators and urge them to stop HCR 57. Please contact your state senators, and urge them to defend the U.S. Constitution by opposing this dangerous resolution!
Members of the West Virginia Legislature are seeking to pass a resolution that tries to force Congress into calling an Article V convention by aggregating old, unrelated Con-Con resolutions.
House Concurrent Resolution 57 (HCR 57) is sponsored by 24 delegates, nearly a quarter of the entire state House. Notably, it does not actually apply for an Article V convention. Rather, HCR 57 aggregates 39 separate applications ranging from 1788 to 1979 that it claims apply “for any subject [i.e., a plenary convention] or inflation-related fiscal responsibility.” Although the resolution doesn’t list the 39 applications, similar resolutions from Utah and South Carolina do.
By aggregating these unrelated applications, HCR 57 seeks to force Congress to call an Article V constitutional convention:
… the Legislature calls on the Congress of the United States to do their duty under the Constitution and call a convention of states for proposing amendments to the Constitution of the United States specifically to consider and propose a fiscal responsibility amendment.
House Bill 4481 (HB 4481) has also been introduced. It would enact provisions purporting to punish delegates who violate the Legislature’s guidelines. These bills are designed to give false assurance that a convention won’t get out of control. Such a bill would be completely useless at preventing a runaway convention — for example, HB 4481 doesn’t regulate delegates from other states, and it doesn’t prevent delegates from proposing an entirely new constitution (in the 1787 Convention, states also attempted to limit delegates’ authority).
Any Article V convention, no matter how well intentioned, could lead to a runaway convention that would reverse many of the Constitution’s limitations on government power and interference. In other words, a Con-Con could accomplish the same goals that many of its advocates claim to be fighting against. As evidence, both a 2016 and 2023 simulated “Convention of States” resulted in amendments massively increasing the federal government and expanding its spending powers.
The late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia understood the danger of a constitutional convention. In 2015, Scalia reiterated his opposition to an Article V convention, stating “this is not a good century to write a constitution.” Furthermore, what kind of delegates would West Virginia send to such a convention? Constitutionalist conservatives or RINO moderates and liberals?
Furthermore, On, December 9, 2021, constitutionalist U.S. Representative Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) tweeted on X:
Show me a single state where Constitutionalists comprise a majority of the state legislature.
At this point in history, an Article V Convention of the States would be a disaster.
Congressman Massie’s assessment is correct. A modern-day Article V convention would most surely be led and controlled by a mixture of Establishment (RINO) Republicans and progressive Democrats, neither of whom hold to a strict or originalist interpretation of the Constitution. This is evidenced by their mutual acceptance of unconstitutional federal subsidies and grants to the states and/or their refusal to use nullify (based on Article VI and the 10th Amendment of the Constitution) the enforcement of any unconstitutional federal laws, rules, regulations, or rulings within their state.
Overall, HCR 57 is nothing more than a sneaky ploy by BBA Con-Con advocates to reach the necessary 34-state threshold without actually attaining 34 states specifically with a call for a BBA convention. Rather than passing Article V convention applications, which risk a runaway convention threatening our individual freedoms, the Legislature should consider Article VI and nullify unconstitutional laws.
Furthermore, state lawmakers should also consider rescinding any and all previously passed Article V convention applications to Congress, regardless of the desired amendment(s). Passing rescission resolutions will help prevent aggregating past Article V convention applications with those from other states to force Congress to call a convention.
Urge your state senators to oppose HCR 57, along with any pro-Article V convention resolution, and to instead consider nullification as a safe and constitutional means to limit government.
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