The Republic | azcentral.com

Kelly Townsend is an advocate for a Convention of the States

The founders knew that eventually the federal government may need to be reined in

Arizona also should wean itself from federal money. She offers ideas on how

You're returning to the Mt. Vernon Assembly, which has a goal of calling a convention of the states. Why is a convention necessary?

Article V allows the Constitution to be amended, either by Congress or by the states. The founders knew that eventually the federal government may need to be reined in and that they would never do it themselves, so the provision to do that via the states was included. Many believe we have reached that time in history where we have an out-of-control federal government usurping the constitutional law of the land.

For example, our First Amendment rights are being violated by the Federal Buildings and Grounds Act and attempts by the Bureau of Land Management to set up "First Amendment zones." Our Second Amendment rights are continually under attack. Our Fourth Amendment rights are ignored by the intrusive and spying National Security Agency.

Our Fifth Amendment rights can be violated if we are thought to be a domestic threat via the National Defense Authorization Act where we can be placed in prison without a trial indefinitely. Our 10th Amendment rights are being usurped via the Environmental Protection Agency and other bureaucracies, and the list goes on.

Our spending is astronomical and without end, and lifetime politicians are entrenched in this established system perpetuating the overreach. It is time the states exercise their Article V authority and put a stop to a runaway Congress.

Is this something your constituents advocate?

Yes, I have been asked to be involved in this process and I am supported by my constituents.

Are there other ways to balance the budget short of an amendment?

Of course, stop spending.

What about the fear of a runaway convention rewriting the entire Constitution?

Article V provides for an amendment to the Constitution and can be executed either by Congress or by the states. Only Congress has proposed the amendments we have now, and never before have the states proposed an amendment. Both have equal ability to propose any amendment, however, regardless of how it is proposed.

An amendment must be ratified by 38 states in order for it to become part of the Constitution. With that in mind, any amendment that an Article V Convention of States could propose (repeal the Second Amendment, for example) could be proposed today by Congress. I believe the reason Congress does not propose any radical amendments is because they know it would never be ratified by the states. Much the same, any radical amendments would never pass the ratification test, and any amendments outside the topic of the original application to Congress would be illegal and would not prevail in the Supreme Court.

First, though, a convention would have to happen. This idea isn't getting a lot of traction. How long will you keep at it?

I disagree. Many times my colleagues would ask me to tell the Convention of States folks to stop e-mailing them because they were getting barraged from all over the country. They said this issue was by far generating the most e-mail in their inboxes.

To say it does not have a lot of traction is unfounded. We have received endorsements from numerous major political figures including: Gov. Mike Huckabee, Gov. Sarah Palin, Sens. Tom Coburn and Ron Johnson, David Barton and Col. Allen West. With the release of Mark Levin's book, "The Liberty Amendments," Americans from around the country are becoming excited about the possibility of the states taking action.

After the last assembly, you suggested Arizona wean itself from federal money. How?

During the interim I will be working with my colleagues to explore ways that we can become self-sustaining as a state. One of these ways includes reverting federal lands back to Arizona state land. Hawaii has just accomplished this, and I plan on studying that process to learn how it was executed. The funds generated from these lands are mandated to go to education, which will reduce our reliance on federal money for our schools.

This is in its early stages and we are merely exploring the possibilities and viability of the process. However, it is step one in taking measures to support ourselves rather than relying on dollars borrowed from other countries that our grandchildren will have to pay back. It is the right thing to do.

What's on your summer reading list?

Who has time for fiction? I will be focused on historical information regarding this process, as well as looking into ways to help our veterans in the state, along with possible legislation to address the situation at the VA Hospital on a state level. I appreciate your questions and look forward to submitting a report after the assembly.