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Convention of States has legitimate purpose

To the editor:

On Aug. 13 The Journal published an Associated Press story on the Convention of the States (“Conservative Push to Alter Constitution Focuses on Primaries”). In the story, the AP claims that a Convention of the States would have “the power to amend the 235-year-old document.”

That assertion has been repeated by numerous news sources, but it is completely false. If you read the actual text of the Constitution, you will find that such a convention would not have power to amend the Constitution. All it could do is propose amendments for the states to consider. The states would then have to decide whether to ratify each proposed amendment. The Constitution would only be changed if three-fourths of the states (38 states) ratified the proposed amendment.

Our founding fathers anticipated that there might come a day when the Constitution would need to be amended. They envisioned the potential for power-hungry leaders in Washington to usurp rights which had been intended for the states, and they foresaw a time when a corrupt federal government would be unwilling to propose needed amendments. For this reason, a way was provided for the states to by-pass the federal government and propose the needed amendments themselves.

It is important that Americans in each state understand the legitimate purpose, as well as the limited scope, of a Convention of the States so that they take advantage of this way of working to preserve the freedoms which are rightfully theirs. Our founding fathers foresaw the situation that we have today. Will we use the remedy that they provided?

Mary Thom

New Ulm

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