Citing “recent conservative momentum” behind calls for a federal Constitutional Convention, top House and Senate Democrats in Massachusetts filed resolutions to join 16 other states that have rescinded previous applications for a convention under Article V of the U.S. Constitution.
An Article V convention has never been called in the nation’s history but Senate Majority Leader Cindy Creem of Newton and House Assistant Majority Leader Alice Hanlon Peisch of Wellesley say the rescission resolution should be approved to secure current constitutional rights by preventing a convention.
The Constitution allows states to propose amendments if two-thirds (34) of state legislatures call for it, and the offices of the two state legislators said Wednesday that a convention “could open the entire Constitution to unpredictable changes, as there are no clear guidelines or limitations on what delegates could propose.”
Creem and Peisch cited concerns that the Republican-controlled Congress and the Trump administration could use prior Massachusetts resolutions to support a push for a convention. The rescission resolution itself cites prior and technically still applicable state applications for a convention in 1977, 1974, 1971, 1964, 1941 and 1931.
“Calls for an Article V constitutional convention open the door to rewriting the very principles that have guided our democracy since its inception,” Creem said.
Aides cited media coverage about the potential for a convention, and Peisch offered her concern to reporters at the State House on Wednesday.
“The one that we’re most concerned about, for example, is one that would call an Article V convention for the purposes of banning abortion — clearly, not something that the residents of Massachusetts are currently interested in,” Peisch said. “There is a movement in the country — some in Massachusetts, not many — but there is a movement in the country to utilize the resolutions that states have passed over the years and neglected to rescind to meet the threshold number.”
Aides to Creem said Massachusetts could be the “pivotal” 17th state to rescind previous calls for a convention but acknowledged the count is fluid as states rescind prior resolutions and enact new ones.
The lawmakers said Connecticut and Washington this year rescinded prior resolutions calling for an Article V convention, following New York (2024), Illinois (2022), New Jersey (2021) and Colorado (2021).
The rescission resolutions (HD 5295 / SD 3332) will get a public hearing. It appears they will be sent to the Committee on Veterans and Federal Affairs, which is co-chaired by Sen. John Velis and Rep. Joseph McGonagle.
“It’ll get to us,” House Speaker Ron Mariano said Wednesday about the resolution. “It’ll get to us.”