It’s Not Over Until It’s Over
In 1787 our Founding Fathers held a Constitutional Convention in which they designed a constitution and presented it to the States for adoption.
Several States made it clear that they would not even debate the question without some restrictions placed upon the proposed Federal government. A total of 39 proposed amendments were debated. Some were rejected, other combined and massaged until they were reduced in number, and from that came a proposed Bill of Rights, containing twelve Articles of Amendment. By 1790, ten of those Amendments were ratified by the States, and the Constitution became the Law of the Land.
There are those today calling for a second Article V Convention. What they may not have considered is this:
- The original Constitutional Convention placed twelve articles of amendment to the Constitution on the table for the States to ratify;
- Motions that have been “placed on the table” constitute unfinished business until they have been voted up or down;
- Therefore, the first Constitutional Convention has not yet ended, but is still in session, however currently not in session!
In 1982 a student at the University of Texas was researching this topic. To shorten the story, he got one state legislature after another to “take from the table” a “motion to ratify” the Constitution, as a matter of taking up “old business.” As soon as the State of Maine took up the debate, technically, that Constitutional Convention was back in session! (It matters not that the original members were all passed away – the institution lives, as do its laws and its official business.) Maine ratified in 1983.[1] By 1992 that proposed change – the Original Second Amendment – was passed overwhelmingly and became the 27th Amendment to the Constitution.
In terms of parliamentary procedure, only ONE MORE item of business remains “on the table.” That is the Original First Amendment.
As soon as ONE State legislature entertains the motion ratify, the First Constitutional Convention will be reopened for dealing with unfinished business.
YOU and I have the opportunity to become active participants in the Constitutional Convention of 1787! We will be joining with the Founding Fathers in completing the task! Nothing in the history of this country is more cool than that!
Have you ever had someone hand you a copy of the Declaration and urge you to sign it? That’s cool, but it’s purely symbolic. This is real. You and I have the privilege to sign on to, to participate in the implementation of the legal business of the Constitutional Convention of 1787!
How exciting is that?
If you want to be involved in restoring the Republic, you can find more information at http://tacticalcivics.southcentralus.cloudapp.azure.com
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twenty-seventh_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution#Historical_background
