Alaska Constitution Party

The Alaska Constitution Party affirms the legitimacy of the Declaration of Independence, the United States Constitution, and the Bill of Rights as interpreted by the Original Intent of the Framers of these documents.

Both the National Constitution Party and the Alaska Constitution Party oppose an Article V Convention of the States.

Article V states, “The Congress, whenever two thirds of both houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose amendments to this Constitution, or, on the application of the legislatures of two thirds of the several states, shall call a convention for proposing amendments, which, in either case, shall be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of this Constitution, when ratified by the legislatures of three fourths of the several states, or by conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other mode of ratification may be proposed by the Congress; provided that no amendment which may be made prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any manner affect the first and fourth clauses in the ninth section of the first article; and that no state, without its consent, shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in the Senate.”

The Framers recognized that situations or issues may arise which they did not foresee, and they provided a mechanism by which the Constitution of the United States could be amended, and that such amendments, if ratified in the manner provided for in Article V, would become part of the Constitution and Bill of Right, on an equal status with the original documents.

Article V provided for two procedures for proposing amendments. 

1. Single amendments: Two-thirds of both houses of Congress shall propose amendments (which must be ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the states);
2. Convention of the States: Two-thirds of the states shall call for a convention to be held in order to propose several amendments, which must then be ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the states.

Article V also provides two restrictions.

1. Before the year 1808, no amendment affecting the importation and migration of people (slave trade) into any state is to be proposed, at which time (1808) the importation of people was to end in within the borders of the United States of America.
2. No head tax or direct tax could be imposed except it was a proportional tax on the states based on the census count.
   1. This was changed by the 16^th Amendment in 1909.

Proponents of an Article V Convention of the States feel that several “corrections” could be made to the Constitution at once, saving time and money in order to provide a quick fix for several “problems”. Below are some of the ideas proposed.

From the Convention of the States website:

• A balanced budget amendment.
• A redefinition of the General Welfare Clause (the original view was the federal government could not spend money on any topic within the jurisdiction of the states).
• A redefinition of the Commerce Clause (the original view was that Congress was granted a narrow and exclusive power to regulate shipments across state lines–not all the economic activity of the nation).
• A prohibition of using international treaties and law to govern the domestic law of the United States.
• A limitation on using Executive Orders and federal regulations to enact laws (since Congress is supposed to be the exclusive agency to enact laws).
• Imposing term limits on Congress and the Supreme Court.
• Placing an upper limit on federal taxation.
• Requiring the sunset of all existing federal taxes and a super-majority vote to replace them with new, fairer taxes.

Hot Button Issues might include:

• Gun Control
• Abortion
• Free Speech Issues
• Universal Healthcare
• Anything anyone wants

Proponents feel that a Convention can be limited to one or more specific issues, however in practice, this may not be the case, as outlined in this article, “U.S. Constitution Threatened as Article V Convention Movement Nears Success.”

Over the past three decades, Convention of the States simulations have been held by universities and private organizations across America.  Many members of the Constitution Party have participated in some of these events.  The simulations showed that, once a convention is open, limitations can be removed through the rules of order process.  Amendments can also be changed and altered from their original intent. 

Many of the current Congressional leadership as well as many state leaders have shown that they do not respect or honor the principles of Liberty in America’s Constitutional Republic.

Therefore,

The Alaska Constitution Party believes that an Article V Convention of the States at this time in the history of America would open a pandora’s box of problems which could very well lead to the destruction of Liberty within the United States and thereby the world at large.