Written by Larry Greenley
Wednesday, 17 December 2008 14:08
Last week multitudes of concerned constitutionalists in Ohio killed a balanced budget amendment (bba) constitutional convention (con-con) resolution in their state legislature. Already this week we can see the early signs of a possible bba con-con call in Virginia in 2009.
The reason for widespread concern over state con-con calls is that 32 of the necessary 34 (two-thirds) states have already approved resolutions asking Congress to call a constitutional convention for the purpose of adding a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution (View the "Beware Article V" video below for reasons why this is a bad idea). Although ten states have already rescinded their bba and other con-con calls in the last 20 years, which means only 22 states should still be considered to have live bba con-con calls, pro con-con forces will almost certainly claim that these rescissions are not valid. Even though the 10th Amendment should guarantee the right of states to rescind their con-con calls, the prudent course is to work to stop any further bba con-con calls.
Yesteday morning local state legislators and business leaders met in Harrisonburg, Virginia at a forum sponsored by the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Chamber of Commerce and the National Federation of Independent Business. The four Republican lawmakers in attendance listened to concerns from the business community and outlined steps they would take to protect businesses in the current dangerous economy.
Republican State Senator Emmett Hanger revealed that he plans to sponsor a bill in the 2009 Virginia General Assembly that will "cause a few eyebrows to raise." According to a report on the forum posted today on DNRonline.com (The Daily News Record, Harrisonburg, Va.), Sen. Hanger "wants to get the states to call a constitutional convention to add an amendment to the U.S. Constitution requiring the federal government to balance its budget each year."
So there it is. Virginia state senator Hanger plans to introduce a bba con-con resolution in 2009. Many of the readers of this article have just gone through the con-con scare in Ohio last week, and therefore know what the reasons are for alarm at this new revelation of a planned con-con resolution in Virginia. If you don't already know why a con-con is a very dangerous proposal, then please take at look at this video, "Beware Article V."
