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The U.S. Constitution has 27 amendments; each was proposed by Congress and ratified by the states.
However, the Constitution sets forth another procedure, never before used, for amending the Constitution. At the request of two thirds of the states, a constitutional convention would be held, at which amendments could be proposed. Any proposals would become part of the Constitution if three fourths of the states ratified them, either at state conventions or in the state legislatures.
Currently, 27 of the needed 34 states have petitioned Congress for a constitutional convention, for the ostensible purpose of writing a balanced-budget amendment (BBA). However, the convention might propose other changes in addition or instead of a BBA—even a total rewrite of the Constitution—if 38 states agreed, the changes would become law.
In November, legislators from 30 states met in Salt Lake City to discuss the matter.
- Forbes article from 2014 (mirror)
- John Birch Society (has a map)
- utahpolicy.com
- Deseret News
- Yellowhammer News
- The Universe—Brigham Young University
- San Francisco Chronicle
- KSTU-TV
- The Columbian
- Washington Post blog about historical attempts at constitutional conventions
- The Spokesman-Review
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 11 2015, @11:01AM
Modded up for a) being polite and b) not being a defensive knee-jerk savaging[1] of the poster who disagreed with you.
I know it's of very minor consequence and amounts to bugger all in the real world, but thank you for being civil to someone you originally disagreed with.
[1] Now I've read that back, it looks like I'm describing a knee to the groin. Not entirely inappropriate given how this sort of back-and-forth usually goes.
(Score: 2) by aristarchus on Saturday December 12 2015, @06:08AM
And this is why I post to SoylentNews! The most off-beat (but, unfortunately, on topic) post can result in the meeting of minds and the setting straight of the historical record, and reconciliation amongst all but the truly deranged. Well done, AC and FatPhil! Well done.