Guest Daniel Posted January 2, 2014 at 12:39 AM Report Share Posted January 2, 2014 at 12:39 AM Ok, new question. To end debate, and take a vote on a motion, a member can move the previous question. But in every meeting I have been at, this has been referred to as "Calling the question". Where did the phrase "calling the question" come from? Why do so many people use this term rather than "move the previous question"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Harrison Posted January 2, 2014 at 04:39 AM Report Share Posted January 2, 2014 at 04:39 AM I can't say where the phrase "call(ing) the question" started (but stay tuned for anyone who may have been around when the General was alive ) but RONR does recognize it as a nonstandard form of moving the Previous Question. See RONR p. 202 ll. 1-24. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary c Tesser Posted January 2, 2014 at 10:12 AM Report Share Posted January 2, 2014 at 10:12 AM I'll say it's vaguer than "I hereby invoke the Previous Question," but less misleading to our 20th-Century ears. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Honemann Posted January 2, 2014 at 01:24 PM Report Share Posted January 2, 2014 at 01:24 PM I'll say it's vaguer than "I hereby invoke the Previous Question," but less misleading to our 20th-Century ears. "I hereby invoke the Previous Question" being the form preferred by members of Mr. Tesser's Orchid Fanciers Club. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Edgar Posted January 2, 2014 at 02:08 PM Report Share Posted January 2, 2014 at 02:08 PM Why do so many people use this term rather than "move the previous question"? Perhaps because many people scratch their heads wondering why the previous question (which had already been moved) would be "moved" again (i.e. voted on) when it's the current question that they want to vote on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Harrison Posted January 2, 2014 at 04:27 PM Report Share Posted January 2, 2014 at 04:27 PM Perhaps because many people scratch their heads wondering why the previous question (which had already been moved) would be "moved" again (i.e. voted on) when it's the current question that they want to vote on.I agree. Which makes me wonder why the wording "previous question" was used in the first place? Has our language changed in the last 150 years or so enough that what would make the average person scratch their heads today would have been perfectly clear then? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J. J. Posted January 2, 2014 at 04:54 PM Report Share Posted January 2, 2014 at 04:54 PM I believe it, like much of this, originated in the then English House of Commons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shmuel Gerber Posted January 2, 2014 at 05:20 PM Report Share Posted January 2, 2014 at 05:20 PM I agree. Which makes me wonder why the wording "previous question" was used in the first place? Has our language changed in the last 150 years or so enough that what would make the average person scratch their heads today would have been perfectly clear then?It doesn't really matter all that much, since the people who "call the question" rarely have any better idea what it means than if the form "I demand the previous question," or any of the other traditional forms, were used. It's not ignorance of terminology that is the real problem (IMHO), but ignorance of procedure. How many people at the average meeting understand that, unless there is unanimous consent, you make a motion in order to vote on a motion before the debate has ended naturally? ["Huh? How can we vote on another motion while a motion is on the floor. The question has been called, so we gotta vote now, right?"] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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