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Passed unanimously moments ago in the Inter Occupy Article 5 Work-group call, still subject to some language revisions but the action was approved:
What is an Article V Convention? The only direct way citizens can propose amendments to the Constitution of the United States.
Why should OWS do this? Because OWS stands for fundamental changes to our democratic institutions and such a convention, an institution unto itself, is our brightest hope towards bringing about these changes.
What would OWS be proposing as amendments? This is something that needn’t be answered specifically at this time. We can say now though, that our moniker—Occupy Wall Street—is a direct statement about where we see a fundamental problem, the solution to which must take place outside the current nexus of government and corporate institutions.
The proposal today is not about what amendment(s) to discuss and debate at a convention. It is simply about supporting the idea of holding a convention because we recognize it is the only way we citizens can participate directly in our constitutional form of government.
If OWS gets behind the Article V Convention it will create the awareness and political circumstance necessary to bring it about.
**Inter-Occupy Article V Working-group Acknowledgment Action**
We involved with Inter-Occupy Article V Conference call acknowledge the fact that the States have satisfied the required two-thirds numerical threshold to call for a National Constitutional Convention under Article V of the US Constitution and Congress should call a National Constitutional Convention to order.
(We offer the attached data to support our agreement of fact. http://foa5c.org/file.php/1/Articles/AmendmentsTables.htm)
5 Comments
I left a reply for you in your previous thread on this subject:
http://my.firedoglake.com/danielmarks/2012/02/01/this-changes-everything/#comment-30
I couldn’t find any information at InterOccupy about the attendance rate on the conference calls, nor what process may have been used (or indeed if any process had been) to ‘elect’ reps from the various GAs nationally.
Unless those issues are made clear as a bell, anything but discussions or debates coming out of this body will be murky, and seem questionable. Too many small groups purport to speak for the movement, whether with demands or supporting issues. Could prove deleterious to a horizontal movement in which amorphous is better for now.
Zapkitty’s arguments seem worth reading and considering.
aloha wendy, this did pass unanimously in my GA here on the big island of hawaii on monday night before this meeting. the vote was tabled in last weeks meeting so we could take this back to our different groups for authorization. we had only 6 in attendance last night in the call. however it doesn’t really make the records or the action less authentic. the previous week we had support but hesitated on this motion, i would guess there were 20+ in the call last week. it isn’t an issue where there are 100 people with opinions that need to be shared. it is our job to look over Article 5, determine whether it is a viable option for OWS goals, see where we are at today, and figure out how to get to a convention. We determined that a concon is a great method to implement change by the people. Now we are at the point where there was much disagreement as to weather we needed to get a fresh round of 34 states to call for convention. the truth is, no. we have records of over 700 applications to congress. If we spent the next year putting states in the done column, it would only be redundant and bring us back to where we are now again. we have to acknowledge that the 2/3rds requirement has already been met many times over. we will get to step 3 soon, but for now this action is to show the records to the world.
Aloha Wendy, one more thing. Please attend our next meeting on Thursdays. It hasn’t been posted yet but is usually here: http://interoccupy.org/articlevcall/
Article V Convention Call – 2/2/12 – 9:30pm EST / 6:30pm PST
by INTEROCCUPY ADMIN on Jan 18, 2012 • 2:00 pm 3 Comments
Thursday 2/2/12 – 9:30PM EST / 8:30PM CST / 7:30PM MST / 6:30PM PST
Article V Convention Call
FOR WHO: This is an InterOccupy subgroup of the Monday night general call. Audience is all Occupations.
PURPOSE: Discuss feasibility of Occupy organizing to convene an Article V Constitutional Convention to write a new citizen’s Bill of Rights. Also, to discuss how to invite all US Occupations to consider resolution of such, perhaps through the Committees of Correspondence.