The North Carolina Convention of States opposes Gov. Roy Cooper's shutdown regulations.
The North Carolina Convention of States opposes Gov. Roy Cooper's shutdown regulations.
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect the economy, a group of grassroots leaders is working to mobilize a nationwide effort that promotes self-governance over what they describe as overreach by elected officials.
The Convention of States (COS) coalition recently unveiled a new initiative called Open the States, which tracks citizen activism supporting the movement in all 50 states.
“Our [North Carolina] governor, Roy Cooper, overstepped his bounds terribly,” Joy Stroud Ruhmann, state director of North Carolina COS, told the Old North News.
“The North Carolina Constitution clearly lays out in Article I, Section 1, that the North Carolina people have the inalienable right to the enjoyment of the fruits of our own labor," Ruhmann said. "He shut down our state without listening to the members of his Council of State and really took autocratic action to shut down the state.”
“He violated Article I, Section 3, which says nothing in our state constitution can be inconsistent with the U.S. Constitution, and directly violated Article I, Section 12, which is our right to assemble by telling us we can’t go to church,” Ruhmann said.
“We had churches willing to do drive-through communion on Easter Sunday. Throughout this pandemic, I’ve been able to go to McDonald’s and get food from a stranger, but I can’t go to church and get communion from the pastor I know and trust.”
Churches and gyms have taken legal action against the governor’s executive orders, the WRAL and WCNC news outlets reported.
The COS advocates a proactive approach to government overreach by invoking Article V of the U.S. Constitution, Ruhmann said, which would allow a convention of states to propose amendments limiting the scope and jurisdiction of government, as well as term limits and fiscal restraints.
“A country cannot stay in shutdown status; we are a capitalistic society so we should be able to earn a living,” Ruhmann said, adding that the lockdown has resulted in “unintended consequences” that include higher rates of domestic violence.
“America was built on the understanding that our right to support our families through work, to engage in trade and reap the rewards of our labors is a fundamental, God-given right,” COS President Mark Meckler said in a news release. “I know that elected officials at all levels of government are concerned about the public health and welfare, and I appreciate that. We all need to be self-governing, use common sense and take precautions in the midst of the pandemic.
“But heavy-handed and sometimes unconstitutional government orders that interfere with our most basic liberties do more harm than good to the American people, and they must be opposed. We cannot sit idly by while officials ignore our Constitution and destroy our economy.”
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