they not a In the classic novel Through the Looking Glass, by Lewis Carroll, Humpty Dumpty makes the absurd claim, “When I use a word, it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less.” In the real world, fortunately, words have established meanings. There are many opinions on how to safely call for an Article V convention. Some say the states must spell out proposed amendments in advance, lest the convention take too much license. Others say the states have no such power, but can only propose topics for amend- ments to consider. And there are many other variations of these ideas. But nearly all agree on one thing: Don't call it a consti- tutional convention! Call ita convention of states, an amend- ments convention, an Article V convention, etc.; but don’t let anyone refer to it as a constitu- tional convention! Those who refuse to call it what it is are picking a battle with the dictionary, and are either being intentionally deceptive, or are themselves deceived. According to the most widely used legal dictionary in the United States, Blacks Law Dictionary, a constitutional convention is: ‘A duly consti- tuted assembly of delegates or representatives of the people of a state or nation for the purpose of framing, revising OR amending Convention promoters battle the dictionary Part six in a series by Robert Brown: January 1, 2015 its constitution.” (emphasis added) An Article V convention for any of those purposes is defined by Blacks Law Dictionary as a con- stitutional convention, and has been for centuries, Today, promoters of a conven- tion are trying to change this definition in order to sepa- rate their movement from the stigma of the defeated and discredited constitutional convention movement of the ‘70s and ‘80s. They claim, “I've always been against a constitu- tional convention. But this is different!” Be not deceived. What they were promoting then as a constitutional convention, and what they promote now under any name BUT con- stitutional convention are, in fact, the same thing ...A con- vention for “framing, revising, or amending its constitution” Modern convention pro- moters need to be honest. about what they are promot- ing. A constiutional conven- tion by any other name is just as dangerous. About the aUthOE: Robert Brown is « popular speaker and producer of the 2013 DVD series ‘The Constitution isthe Solution, whichis availabe at wwwshop jbs.org