February 16, 2024
Convention of States?
Will COS save the country or destroy it?
by: Christy Zito, Candidate for Idaho Senate, District 8
Don’t be fooled by a Convention of States.
I don’t oppose the intent of a Convention of States (COS); I oppose one held in the current political environment for various reasons, mainly concerns over potential threats to the 2nd Amendment.
Senate Concurrent Resolution (SCR)112 was moved from Senate Judiciary and Rules Wednesday to the Senate floor.
A Convention of States is a mechanism to amend the United States Constitution. Two-thirds of the states must request one.
If 38 states make the call, states would send delegates to the convention. There is no set process for selecting the delegate that will go. Each state will determine that process.
The fundamental question is, who would you trust to send to a convention that could potentially alter our Constitution as we know it?
How would we prevent an anti-gun activist from attending?
At the convention, the delegates could make any amendments to the U.S. Constitution; there are no rules outlined in the Constitution for a convention; the delegates will have to form the regulations after the call for the constitution has been made.
Is there a threat to the 2nd Amendment during a COS? The answer is unequivocally yes.
California’s Governor is already trying to propose an attack on the 2nd Amendment at a potential COS. Let’s look deeper at the issue.
Some have asked, “Do you believe 38 states would ratify an amendment that threatens the 2nd Amendment?” My response is, “Yes, depending on the wording and what it did, I believe that infringements on the Second Amendment would pass.”
Take Idaho as an example of how massive government overreach can be achieved, even in the reddest states.
Not even the far-left groups and media thought Idaho would pass Medicaid expansion through a ballot initiative. But we did, and the legislature went along with it.
Given this fact, a vaguely written amendment attacking the 2nd Amendment would pass.
The likelihood is high that Michael Bloomberg and other billionaires would drop massive amounts of money on dishonest ads in Idaho, pushing for the ratification of an amendment to infringe on the 2nd.
Those of us who understand the ramifications of these actions would likely not have the resources to stop it.
Also, God forbid a mass shooting happens at the time when states are debating the ratification of an amendment that will infringe on the Second Amendment; what role would that play in jeopardizing our right to keep and bear arms?
For these reasons, I do not believe a COS will help our country as those proposing it say it would. A COS risks our freedom far more significantly than any potential reward.
I don’t believe everyone who wants a COS intends to harm the 2nd Amendment, but sadly, they don’t get to control the entire process.
The Constitution is not broken. If those making the law followed it, we would not be where we are today.
The best way to secure our freedoms and liberty is for civic engagement and voting for no-compromise conservatives who will uphold the U.S. and Idaho Constitution.
I am your no-compromise conservative. My record proves that I will always fight to secure freedom and liberty.
May God bless and keep us,
Christy Zito
Candidate Senate LD8
