Eagle Forum Representative Criticizes Initiative Petitions, Urges Constitutional Literacy and Pushback on WHO

Ann Carpenter, a representative of the National Organization of Eagle Forum, addressed attendees at a forum and argued initiative petitions have allowed policies she opposes to be adopted in conservative states. She said she spoke from experience in Missouri, where, she claimed, "no holds barred marijuana," gambling and abortion measures were "rammed through" by metropolitan areas such as Kansas City and St. Louis rather than by a majority of the state.

Carpenter thanked "Senator Adams" for earlier remarks and said she authored materials to promote what she described as constitutional literacy, including a book titled Is Our Constitution in Jeopardy? and a pocket-sized guide she said is easier to read than the small-print constitutions on attendees' tables. "The print is too fine in those little books," she said, describing her format as an questions-and-answers guide intended for broad audiences.

On the equal rights amendment, Carpenter said the amendment was sent to the states with a seven-year deadline and that "24 states ratified" during that period; she asserted that Congress later approved an extension by a simple majority and that the president has no role in constitutional amendments under Article V of the U.S. Constitution. She framed those events as a reason to emphasize constitutional knowledge and public vigilance.

Carpenter also criticized recent cultural and public-health responses, saying "we've been told that boys are girls and that girls are boys" and criticizing mask and school-closure policies from the pandemic era. She closed by saying one of Eagle Forum's projects this year is to "get the World Health Organization out of our business," and thanked the audience.

The remarks were a speech to event attendees; no motions, votes or formal actions were recorded in the transcript of the event.