Novi Times

My involvement in COS was gradual…and then sudden.

It began with a dawning awareness that the federalism and separation of powers our Founders gave us was out of balance when in 2011, heavily armed federal agents twice raided the Gibson Guitar company for allegedly using illegal woods in its guitars.

I would have passed over the event had the feds just written a letter making a claim and asking for a response. But the idea of a quasi-military operation against an iconic American company and later extorting money on pain of bankruptcy had me taking serious notice.  

As a guitar player, I thought it strange that the woods in Gibson’s guitars would have been illegal. They are the same woods used by its chief competitor, Martin Guitar company, and virtually every other manufacturer of guitars (through today!). But only Gibson was targeted in this way.

Stranger still was the violent means used to address the matter with Gibson. An Investors Business Daily article later explained it as another way the Obama Administration used federal power to punish its political opponents, much like the Obama IRS targeted groups like the Tea Party. You see, Gibson’s CEO had donated money to Republican candidates, while Martin Guitar had donated to Democrats. 

till, it wasn’t so much the corruption as the fact that an agency of the federal government had become so powerful that it felt it could storm into a private business with assault weapons and seize assets for a highly questionable violation. It was the beginning of my realization that something was wrong in Washington.

Over the years since the Gibson raid, I saw more evidence of federal power reaching far beyond the Founders’ intentions.  

I read Mark Levin's excellent book, The Liberty Amendments, shortly after its publication in 2013. As a lawyer, I found the logic compelling and the legal arguments flawless. I finished the book and set it down, impressed but doubtful a complacent America would ever be able to pull 34 states together for such an effort.

Fast forward to 2020, and the lockdowns and the illegal changing of election laws under cover of a “pandemic” really raised my concerns.  

Then came the election of November 3rd and substantial evidence that the presidency and probably many down-ballot races had been stolen. And the failure of our institutions (principally state legislatures and the courts) to take corrective action caused ME to act, supporting the challengers.

I attended the rally on January 6th and then watched the daily slander of anyone and everyone on the right as if we were the insurrectionists. Besides the stolen election, it was the most appalling thing I have witnessed in my 69 years and 40 as a lawyer.  

I found the Convention of States movement later that month. I re-read Levin's book, researched every question I had about the efficacy of an Article V convention, and, satisfied, jumped in with both feet, becoming a District Captain of three districts and a Content Writer.  

Congress will never make the hard decisions to keep from bankrupting our children and our grandchildren or stopping the ever-increasing and invasive executive orders and rulemaking from the administrative state in the DC Swamp. It is the responsibility of We The People to take charge.

If you agree, look at the Convention of States website, sign the Petition allowing us to go around Congress and the President to limit federal jurisdiction, spending, and the terms of all federal elected officials, bureaucrats, and judges, and get active!

You can also find a handy video explanation here, along with other resources.

I am convinced that this is America’s salvation. I work hard at it and am at peace because even though the atrocious harms to the republic pile up daily, I know I’m doing all I can to save her. Channeling Convention of States co-founder Mark Meckler, I’m doing my best. The rest is up to God.

Dave Vigna volunteers as a District Captain and State Content Writer for Convention of States Michigan. He is also an attorney and copywriter. To contact him, email david.vigna@cosaction.com.

Originally published at https://conventionofstates.com/news/my-path-to-convention-of-states