URGENT: OHIO ACTION ALERT!

 

URGENT: OHIO ACTION ALERT!   2nd Hearing on HB 607 (DEL) Tuesday!

We last blasted Ohio House members against the Delegate bill on June 10 — before the Sponsors’ hearing. It appears COS is in a hurry to get committee members thinking it’ll be safe to vote for the COS application if they pass a feckless delegate bill first.   Delegate bills, no matter how they’re written, are useless for their proclaimed purpose, in that Delegates to an Art. V Convention would have more power than state legislators or Congress; and therefore, aren’t subject to state law. As sovereign representatives of We the People, Delegates would have the “self-evident” Right to alter or to abolish our Form of Government, as recognized by the Declaration of Independence, para 2.   However, there’s a hidden objective that delegate bills serve — and for which they can be effective. They can give some legislators a false sense of security by fooling them into thinking they can control the Delegates, and thereby prevent a runaway convention — so that they will vote for the application. Thus, delegate bills are not harmless: they can cause the very runaway convention that they purport to prevent!   Please write another letter to remind the representatives that the delegate bill is just as controversial as the application — since it does nothing more than deceive legislators into thinking they can prevent a runaway convention. If HB 607 passes, COS could squeeze another vote or so out of the committee — which may be enough to send the COS application to the House floor.   Please write ASAP — committee members may ask a question or make a comment based on your letter. But if you miss the hearing, please write anyway. The committee won’t be voting on Tuesday, the bill will have at least one more hearing, and we’re educating all the representatives with this blast.   Let’s go get ’em!

The Legislation     Here is the delegate bill and application we oppose in the Ohio House:   HB 607 (Delegate) — Introduced May 20, 2024, and assigned to the House Government Oversight Committee. Second (which is the proponents’) hearing Tues., June 25 @ 11:00 am EDT.     HJR 3 (COS) — Third hearing before the House Government Oversight Committee was completed last Tuesday. The committee chair could schedule it for a vote at any meeting.

Your House Letter     The talking points are at the end of this blast.   Please write to all 99 Ohio Representatives and tell them why they should Vote “No” on HB 607, HJR 3, and any other applications asking Congress to call a convention. Let them know they need to rescind previously passed applications, and not pass new ones — even if based on misleading delegate bills!   A short letter is more likely to be read. So, it’s best to focus on one talking point per letter.

House Republicans’ Addresses     (Copy the addresses below as a block into “BCC,” and copy your own address into the “To” box; and place the bill# and description, e.g. Art. V convention, and perhaps something catchy, on the subject line.)   House Republicans (67) — Dear Representative: (If you’re a Republican or conservative, tell the Republicans so! And you might let them know that the Art. V Convention legislation is dividing our party in an election year.)   rep29@ohiohouse.gov, rep85@ohiohouse.gov, rep63@ohiohouse.gov, rep57@ohiohouse.gov, rep47@ohiohouse.gov, rep68@ohiohouse.gov, rep88@ohiohouse.gov, rep40@ohiohouse.gov, rep83@ohiohouse.gov, rep58@ohiohouse.gov, rep32@ohiohouse.gov, rep71@ohiohouse.gov, rep35@ohiohouse.gov, rep10@ohiohouse.gov, rep94@ohiohouse.gov, rep96@ohiohouse.gov, rep99@ohiohouse.gov, rep75@ohiohouse.gov, rep45@ohiohouse.gov, rep46@ohiohouse.gov, rep51@ohiohouse.gov, rep97@ohiohouse.gov, rep81@ohiohouse.gov,     rep76@ohiohouse.gov, rep92@ohiohouse.gov, rep95@ohiohouse.gov, rep98@ohiohouse.gov, rep84@ohiohouse.gov, rep82@ohiohouse.gov, rep70@ohiohouse.gov, rep73@ohiohouse.gov, rep61@ohiohouse.gov, rep55@ohiohouse.gov, rep60@ohiohouse.gov, rep65@ohiohouse.gov, rep78@ohiohouse.gov, rep52@ohiohouse.gov, rep56@ohiohouse.gov, rep87@ohiohouse.gov, rep42@ohiohouse.gov, rep69@ohiohouse.gov, rep67@ohiohouse.gov, rep48@ohiohouse.gov, rep17@ohiohouse.gov, rep72@ohiohouse.gov,     rep91@ohiohouse.gov, rep90@ohiohouse.gov, rep39@ohiohouse.gov, rep80@ohiohouse.gov, rep66@ohiohouse.gov, rep86@ohiohouse.gov, rep79@ohiohouse.gov, rep31@ohiohouse.gov, rep64@ohiohouse.gov, rep62@ohiohouse.gov, rep30@ohiohouse.gov, rep54@ohiohouse.gov, rep93@ohiohouse.gov, rep12@ohiohouse.gov, rep50@ohiohouse.gov, rep89@ohiohouse.gov, rep49@ohiohouse.gov, rep36@ohiohouse.gov, rep77@ohiohouse.gov, rep41@ohiohouse.gov, rep74@ohiohouse.gov, rep37@ohiohouse.gov,

House Democrats’ Addresses     House Democrats (32) — Dear Representative:   rep09@ohiohouse.gov, rep27@ohiohouse.gov, rep38@ohiohouse.gov, rep14@ohiohouse.gov, rep22@ohiohouse.gov, rep18@ohiohouse.gov, rep05@ohiohouse.gov, rep15@ohiohouse.gov, rep26@ohiohouse.gov, rep21@ohiohouse.gov, rep43@ohiohouse.gov, rep02@ohiohouse.gov, rep24@ohiohouse.gov, rep01@ohiohouse.gov, rep08@ohiohouse.gov, rep59@ohiohouse.gov,     rep06@ohiohouse.gov, rep53@ohiohouse.gov, rep28@ohiohouse.gov, rep03@ohiohouse.gov, rep04@ohiohouse.gov, rep19@ohiohouse.gov, rep44@ohiohouse.gov, rep07@ohiohouse.gov, rep33@ohiohouse.gov, rep13@ohiohouse.gov, rep11@ohiohouse.gov, rep16@ohiohouse.gov, rep25@ohiohouse.gov, rep23@ohiohouse.gov, rep20@ohiohouse.gov, rep34@ohiohouse.gov,

Thank you for defending our Constitution!

Talking Points — for Either Party     “State Legislatures cannot dictate Amendments to be considered at an Art. V Convention” (flyer) shows that Lobbyists’ assurances that a convention would be limited to considering only amendments requested by 34 State Legislatures, are false. A proposed congressional “call,” H.CON.RES. 24 (2023–24), proves that Congress may pool all state applications together — regardless of subject — to reach the 34-State threshold and trigger an unlimited convention. This contradicts what Convention lobbyists are telling State Legislators in order to secure their votes on the applications.     “State Legislatures have no power to select & control Delegates” (flyer) shows that those who promise that State Legislators will select and control the Delegates are making stuff up! Furthermore, Delegates have the “self-evident” Right “to alter or to abolish” our existing “Form of Government,” as recognized by our Declaration of Independence, 2nd para. So, no one has power over the Delegates!     “George Mason Never Said It!” shows that James Madison warned that those who secretly wish for a new Constitution would push for an Article V Convention under the pretext of getting Amendments. No Framer, including George Mason, ever said that the convention method was added to Article V in order to rein in the federal government, should it become tyrannical.     “Brilliant Men” shows that James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, four US Supreme Court Justices, and other jurists and scholars warned that Delegates to an Article V convention can’t be controlled.     The “Declaration of Independence” flyer shows why Delegates to an Article V convention (A5C) have the power to throw off the Constitution we have and set up a new one, with a new and easier mode of ratification. James Madison, who was a Delegate to the Federal “Amendments” Convention of 1787, invoked this Principle as justification for those Delegates’ ignoring their instructions and writing a new Constitution with its own mode of ratification.     The “Myths v. Facts” flyer explains WHO has the power to do WHAT under Article V of the US Constitution. By passing HB 607, Ohio would be assuming powers not granted them by the US Constitution, in order to make Art. V convention-applications palatable to legislators!

Attendee panel closed