Second Constitutional Convention would be a nightmare

Editorial by Gatehouse Media, published in Burlington Times-News, May 2, 2017.

So far, the United States has had exactly one constitutional convention — the original, held in 1787, which produced our brilliantly conceived Constitution, with all its checks and balances that have kept our republic functioning for the 230 years since the convention.

Now, lawmakers in some states want to convene our second constitutional convention. Members of our General Assembly want to become the 11th state to join the movement. The state Senate passed a resolution this week calling for a convention. We wouldn’t be surprised if the House follows suit shortly. The legislators want to make some fundamental changes in the Constitution, saying that the federal government is out of control. They are seeking, among other things, a balanced budget amendment, term limits for members of Congress and the federal judiciary, and a provision that would allow the states to reverse a U.S. Supreme Court decision if three-quarters of them vote to do so.

While we appreciate the sponsors’ concerns, we believe opening the Constitution to the whims of a national convention could be a dangerous thing, threatening the foundational principles that the Founders wrote into our country’s organizing document. Once the convention is gaveled into session, all manner of mischief could be introduced and passed. While we respect the collective intelligence of the American electorate, we have to acknowledge that we’ve been sold a bill of goods from time to time by our political leaders. That’s why we’re more comfortable with the alternative process this country has always used to amend the Constitution.

In a convention, it’s even possible that members could move to overturn portions of the Bill of Rights, the amendments that protect our core freedoms. Constitutional experts as politically disparate as Harvard Law School Professor Lawrence Tribe and the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia have warned about the potential for mayhem inherent in a second constitutional convention. Tribe called it, “putting the whole Constitution up for grabs.” Scalia said, “I certainly would not want a constitutional convention. Whoa! Who knows what would come out of it?”

We hope our N.C. House legislators will consider the many possible unintended consequences of a constitutional convention and refuse to follow the Senate’s resolution. Especially in these difficult and divisive times, we should leave our Constitution strong and intact. The document has held us together and prevented excesses for all of our history.

http://www.thetimesnews.com/opinion/20170502/editorial-second-consitutional-convention-would-be-nightmare