Correll: Article 5 convention of states has no risky level of power

There is currently a resolution before the Delaware state legislature, Senate Concurrent Resolution 100, to call for a convention of states under Article 5 of the U.S. Constitution. The purpose of the convention would be to propose amendments to create term limits for Congress and federal officials, impose desperately needed fiscal restraints and more generally limit the overreach of the federal government.

The convention path is necessary for these kinds of amendments because they are not limitations that members of Congress will ever propose themselves, as they would restrict their own power.

Many people have the strange idea that such a convention is dangerous or risky. This is incorrect for several reasons, but most basically, the convention would have no power that Congress does not have every day of the week. As with changes originating from Congress, any amendments proposed by the convention would need to be ratified by three-quarters of the states.

Certainly, there are radical members of Congress who would support extreme or destructive amendments, but we can see that they are never proposed. This is because the ratification process creates a high bar, and it is understood that only amendments that enjoy a broad support among the American people have hope of being approved. The same is true of an Article 5 convention of states.

The dysfunctional Congress and federal government are already dangers to our nation. The time is now for an Article 5 convention to restore the balance of power in our constitutional system.

Sharon Correll

Bear

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