Longview Times

The next monthly meeting of the Convention of States (COS) Texas House Districts 5, 7 and 9 (in Senate District 1) will be held Saturday, July 10, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Posada’s Cafe, 110 Triple Creek Drive, Longview.

The guest speaker will be Ann Rhea Hinds from Walkaway Texas Movement and the host of the event will be Susan Hamilton, the Convention of States regional captain for Senate District 1. Discussion, plus a questions and answers session will be held following the presentation. For more information, contact Hamilton at susan.hamilton@cosaction.com.

“The Convention of States is quite different,” Michael Farris, co-founder of the organization, said in a video. “It operates under the rule specifically in Article 5, which means you have to follow the procedures and the limitations set out in Article 5 in the Convention of States… Article V of the Constitution gives the states the power to stop a runaway federal government. A convention of states to amend the Constitution — it’s the only solution as big as the problem. It’s time to stand up, speak up, and show up.”

The COS seeks to amend the Constitution, not call a constitution convention. An amending convention is far different from a constitutional convention. The latter seeks to fully rewrite the government’s framework and create a new Constitution. An amending convention is only specific to some amendments to the existing Constitution, which must then be ratified by 38 states before becoming officially part of the Constitution, its website stated.

Rita Dunaway, senior vice president of legislative affairs for the national COS team, told the Hawkeye Reporter in an interview “Our Convention of State resolution proposes amendment on the three subject matters, which include imposing fiscal restraints on Washington, limiting federal power and jurisdiction and setting term limits for federal officials.”

The Convention of States has already passed its resolution in 15 states, including Texas. It currently has more than 3 million supporters since it was founded nearly eight years ago, according to COS.