SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
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: 2) by isostatic on Friday December 11 2015, @09:26AM
What's the penalty in the constitution for a supreme court that ignores the constitution?
(Score: 1) by Delwin on Friday December 11 2015, @03:04PM
Impeachment.
(Score: 2) by isostatic on Friday December 11 2015, @06:07PM
Excellent, that means that the last time the supreme court was even thought to have ignored the constitution was 1805, but turns out they hadn't.
What's the practical punishment for a supreme court justice who ignores the constitution?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 11 2015, @09:07PM
Indeed. The Constitution says that federal judges serve "during times of good behavior".
That means that they have a lifetime appointment--unless they screw up royally.
(Federal Judge Mark Fuller, an extremely partisan (Read: crooked) [google.com] Alabama Republican, recently lost his job after punching/beating his wife.)
If you were in The South during the 1960s, you probably saw bumper stickers, printed buttons,
billboards, and such calling for the impeachment of integrationist Earl Warren. [google.com]
-- gewg_