ACS Podcast American Constitution Society

Article V of the U.S. Constitution provides two avenues for amending the Constitution. One of those avenues – an Article V Convention – has never before been used, in part because it could put the entire Constitution on the chopping block. Factions of the far Right, however, are now actively working to orchestrate such a convention, with the goal of radically rewriting the U.S. Constitution to achieve partisan outcomes. If the outcomes of a mock convention held by factions of the Right in 2016 are any indication, an Article V Convention could see amendments aimed at disassembling modern government and the century-old New Deal consensus, returning the country to the troubling, splintered times when the federal government could do little to provide for national welfare or defense. This could include amendments to repeal the federal income tax, to require onerous supermajorities akin to the filibuster to raise other taxes, and to enable state legislatures to nullify federal laws and regulations. Given current political dynamics, it’s easy to also imagine amendments to ban abortion and enshrine extreme interpretations of the 2nd Amendment. ACS is actively educating the public about the dangers of this radical effort and the potential for it to send this country into a constitutional crisis even more dire than January 6th.

This conversation was recorded via Twitter Spaces on Thursday, June 16 as part of the ACS National Convention in Washington, D.C. ACS Director of Chapters Peggy Li moderates a discussion about all things #reprorights with Rosann Mariappuram of Jane's Due Process and Jenny Ma from the Center for Reproductive Rights.

This conversation was recorded via Twitter Spaces on Friday, June 24, just after the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health ruling came down from the U.S. Supreme Court which overturned the long-standing precedent in Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey. Featured in this discussion are Jeanne Hruska, ACS's Senior Advisor for Communications and Strategy, and Lindsay Langholz, Director of Policy and Program.

On May 3, 2022, the American Constitution Society held a Twitter Space discussion in response to the leaked draft Supreme Court opinion on Dobbs and Roe.