Members of the Connecticut General Assembly are attempting to pass legislation to rescind every live application to Congress calling for a federal constitutional convention (Con-Con), including one from 1949 to propose amendments to the Constitution authorizing the federal government to negotiate with other nations the creation of a constitution for a one-world government.
House Joint Resolution No. 49 (H.J. No. 49) was introduced by the Government Administration and Elections Committee. If passed by the General Assembly, it would rescind all of Connecticut’s Con-Con applications. It declares:
WHEREAS, the Connecticut General Assembly, pursuant to said Article V, previously made application to the United States Congress to call such a convention for the purpose of proposing such an amendment or amendments concerning participation in a world federal government, through the adoption of Senate Joint Resolution 15 of the 1949 January regular session; and
WHEREAS, the Connecticut General Assembly, pursuant to said Article V, also previously made application to the United States Congress to call such a convention for the purpose of proposing such an amendment or amendments concerning taxation of income of residents of one state by another state, through the adoption of Senate Joint Resolution 9 of the 1958 March special session; and…
WHEREAS, the Connecticut General Assembly no longer wishes the United States Congress to consider its previous applications to call any such convention pursuant to said Article V.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that Senate Joint Resolution 15 of the 1949 January regular session and Senate Joint Resolution 9 of the 1958 March special session are rescinded, canceled, voided, nullified and superseded upon passage of this resolution….
Senate Joint Resolution 15 of the 1949 regular session of the Connecticut General Assembly declares:
Resolved by this assembly:
Whereas war is now a threat to the very existence of our civilization because modern science has produced weapons of war which are overwhelmingly destructive and against which there is no sure defense; and
Whereas the effective maintenance of world peace is the proper concern and responsibility of every American citizen; and
Whereas the people of the State of Connecticut, while now enjoying domestic peace and security under the laws of their local, State, and Federal Government, deeply desire the guaranty of world peace; and
Whereas all history shows that peace is the product of law and order, and that law and order are the product of government; and
Whereas the United Nations, as presently constituted, although accomplishing great good in many fields, lacks authority to enact, interpret, or enforce world law, and under its present Charter is incapable of restraining any major nations which may foster or foment war; and
Whereas the Charter of the United Nations expressly provides, in articles 108 and 109, a procedure for reviewing and altering the Charter; and
Whereas several nations have recently adopted constitutional provisions to facilitate their entry into a world federal government by authorizing a delegation to such a world federal government of a portion of their sovereignty to endow it with powers adequate to prevent war; and
Whereas the State of Connecticut has memorialized Congress, both through passage by the general assembly in 1943 of the so-called Humber resolution and through the world government referendum of 1948, overwhelmingly approved by the voters of the State, to initiate steps toward the creation of a world federal government; Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the General Assembly of the State of Connecticut, That application is hereby made to the Congress of the United States, pursuant to article V of the Constitution of the United States, to call a convention for the sole purpose of proposing amendments to the Constitution which are appropriate to authorize the United States to negotiate with other nations, subject to later ratification, a constitution of a world federal government, open to all nations, with limited powers adequate to assure peace, or amendments to the Constitution which are appropriate to ratify any world constitution which is presented to the United States by the United Nations, by a world constitutional convention or otherwise; and be it further
Resolved, That the secretary of the State of Connecticut is hereby directed to transmit copies of this application to the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Congress, to the Members of the said Senate and House of Representatives from this State, and to the presiding officers of each of the legislatures in the several States, requesting their cooperation.
And Senate Joint Resolution 9 of the 1958 regular session of the Connecticut General Assembly declares:
Resolution concerning application to Congress to call a convention for proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States
Resolved by this assembly, That pursuant to the provisions of article V of the Constitution of the United States, the Legislature [*8086] of the State of Connecticut applies to the Congress to call a convention for the purposes of proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States preventing the taxation of the income of the residents of one State by another State; be it further
Resolved, That the secretary of the State cause copies of this resolution to be sent to the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, and to the respective clerks of the several State legislatures.
Connecticut’s Senate Joint Resolution 15 of 1949 highlights the dangers of a Con-Con, how in the fervor of the moment, such as the aftermath of a destructive world war, it can be used to promote goals contrary and downright subversive to our nation’s republican form of government and independence. Even a so-called “limited world federal government” or “world federation” could easily grow to become a much larger and oppressive, totalitarian world government, with little-to-no accountability to the American people. As long as this application remains un-rescinded it may still be counted towards a future convention for the same or other topic.
Nevertheless, 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.
Additionally, in the last years of his life, the late Justice Antonin Scalia stood opposed to an Article V convention. Asked about it in a 2015 interview, he remarked that “This is not a good century to write a constitution.” Furthermore, what kind of delegates would Connecticut send to such a convention? Constitutionalist conservatives or RINO moderates and liberals?
On December 9, 2021, constitutionalist U.S. Representative Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), warning against a Con-Con, tweeted:
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.
In 1979, then-U.S. Senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona, correctly warned about an Article V convention:
If we hold a constitutional convention, every group in the country — majority, minority, middle-of-the-road, left, right, up, down — is going to get its two bits in and we are going to wind up with a constitution that will be so far different from the one we have lived under for 200 years that I doubt that the Republic could continue.
An Article V convention possesses the inherent power to propose any changes to the U.S. Constitution, including drafting and proposing an entirely new “modern” (i.e. socialist) constitution. Instead, the Connecticut General Assembly should consider Article VI and nullify unconstitutional laws.
Above all, urge your state representative and senator to support H.J. No. 49, rescind all Article V convention applications, and to consider nullification as a safe and constitutional means to limit government instead.
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