Hello Mary,

Thanks for the friend invitation. I am still looking into the process for initiative drives in Arizona and contemplating how to best go about initiating a grass-roots movement for calling a Constitutional Convention. While it is easier to view the intent from just an Arizona point of view, there are larger considerations that complicate being able to actually succeed.

The Congress has never been, nor is it now, of the mindset that the people would have the audacity to cast them aside as irrelevant. They view themselves as the ultimate authority in the promulgation of law. As such, any means that they can exercise to avoid a convention would be used, including even the most minor of sematics and technicalities. There are issues of common agenda in the petitions, as well as the timliness of the applications to congress for a convention. If the states send petitions that have differing agenda requests, and the applications for convention are spread over several years, the Congress can dismiss the movement as not meeting the requirements of Article V.

This means that any effort would need to be a coordinated one between the petitioning states. There would need to be, in essence, an offline convention so that the legislatures agree on the agenda, and submit identically worded applications at the same time. That would be a monumental feat, but would ensure that Congress could not deny a convention.

While I might be able to help get the ball rolling in Arizona, there are needs for folks elsewhere to move things along in their hometowns and states. If the individual legislatures are not responsive to people's request for resolutions calling on Congress for a convention, then local initiative processes would have to take place to permit the people to force their legislatures to act via ballot vote. That adds to the timeframe and further complicates matters as not all states have initiative processes in their state Constitutions.

Your thoughts on this are welcome. Thanks again for your interest.