Article V (Part 1): What is it?
Disclaimer: This is the first installment of a series discussing Article V. Not all issues will be covered here. Stay on the lookout for more!
Amidst the used and abused provisions of the Constitution of the United States (and those that are blatantly ignored or illegitimately expanded *cough, Article II, cough*), we find Article V. This part of the Constitution, dealing with the amendment process, is amongst the least used, but that’s a good thing! A Constitution is not a code of ordinances or a set of bylaws to be amended or expanded any time action is taken by a governing body.
[Article II deals with the presidency. If you don't know what I mean by this not-so-subtle jab, check out the number of executive actions taken by recent presidents, Republicans and Democrats alike. If this paragraph is irrelevant because you already know the Constitution well, good! If not, READ THE CONSTITUTION.]
The Constitution, any constitution, builds the framework, or the principles, upon which all government actions should be based and checked for legality. It doesn't pretend to deal with the little things, nor should it. It's like the Golden Rule to personal behavior: we check our actions against a guiding principle, and acting against it would be unethical; we check government actions against the Constitution, and acting against it would be illegal.
Article V gives us two general means of amending the Constitution. There is the "mainstream" way that has been used for all amendments to date, which is a congressional proposal and consideration of amendments, or there is the political hipster option, a Convention of the States (also called an Article V Convention). Typically when you hear people arguing over Article V, they're talking about the latter, just like we will in the follow-up articles to this one. Yay!
The first option (proposed by Congress => ratified by singular states), requires a supermajority approval of two-thirds in both houses before being sent to the state legislatures or a special purpose state convention created to consider ratification of the constitutional amendment(s). The second option (proposed by gathered states => ratified by singular states) calls a singular, federal convention to propose and consider amendments. The amendments accepted at the Convention are then sent for state approval, just like amendments proposed in Congress.
Providing the convention option empowers states (especially), in line with the federalist principles that comprise our great Constitution. Go states! Essentially, a Convention of the States is a gathering of state delegates to voice concerns and propose amendments to the Constitution that would solve issues common across the entire United States.
Expect a follow-up post soon about why we should call for an Article V Convention. Until then, here are some things to ask yourself:
-Why did the Founding Fathers create this provision?
-How hard is it to kill a proposed amendment?
-How realistic is the possibility of this even happening?
-What would be proposed at this convention?
http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/constitution/article-v.html