Civil Rights Act of 2014 (Passed)

[Lumine]

I'm sorry, but this quite evidently goes way too far. I understand the motives behind this reform of civil rights, but among other things we are talking of allowing the nation to split, going against free speech, legalizing late term abortion (which I would never sign) and pursuing quite a few goals that have the potential to be a bureaucratic nightmare or seem awfully impractical.

[Lumine]

I am glad to see progress being made in here, but for the time being this still goes too far for me to consider signing it. Among other things, can we really afford to pay millions of people due to the slavery clause? Not to mention the nightmare that would be attempting to return enormous amounts of land and promoting such an impressive amount of languages (I hope Yankee's amendment passes).

Not to mention that the equal representation for certain groups and the respective quotas don't seem all that practical to me...

[Lumine]

Several impovements have been made here, but is section one truly realistic? Not only from the point of view of the expense involved in compensations of an institution that hasn't existed for a century and a half, but from the consideration that equal proportional representation might be too strict.

[Lumine]

Could I recommend 1.1 and 1.2 to be reduced to a more symbolic purpose or focus on the apology of Section 5? I just don't think the reparations and the land restitution are truly workable, and frankly it's likely to just create a major headache for the Departments of State and Interior in the hopes that whoever holds the position at the time will just come up with a scheme in short periods of time.

[Lumine]

No worries, I will most certainly redraft the current bill once it passes. The veto might have been a tempting choice, but considering that some are already gloating about a potentially sucessful veto override I'm not going to risk this one becoming law without a single modification.

[Lumine]

Right, I believe the vote will be closed soon, and it does seem like this will pass. The Constitution gives the President about seven days to act on this before it becomes law, so I'll start work on a redraft.

[Lumine]

I have made significant progress on a redraft, and most likely it will be sent to the Senate tomorrow.

[Lumine]

Right, here we go. It might not be perfect to both sides, but I hope that it is a compromise that both the Senate and the Executive can support.

List of changes:

-Amending Section 1.4 and 2.12 in order to reduce them to jury selection proportionate to gender and race. I think that having juries that are representative of their respective places is a good idea, but holding regions hostage by taking away their funding in order to establish federal hiring quotas is something that I am not prepared to support.

-Amending 2.8 and 2.9, because in my humble opinion the penalties are way too high. Since it will be hard for us to establish a very specific number, I chose to propose "monetary penalties" (suggested by a Senator) instead of the current text.

-Eliminate 2.10. I frankly think the current language is unworkable and I can see the merit of different dress codes in certain situations, and while I tried to find a way of amending it I ended up deciding that it was for the best to get rid of that part.

-Push the "taking effect date" to July. Why? Because this bill has proved very controversial and the changes outlined here are certainly major. I am not prepared to force the federal and regional governments (and the people of Atlasia) to enact those changes without at least giving a few months so we can all prepare for it. The least thing I want is more violence in Atlasia due to legislation.

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[Lumine]

-Eliminate 2.10. I frankly think the current language is unworkable and I can see the merit of different dress codes in certain situations

such as…?

Some schools would be a good example, I believe (although I may be biased due to all Chilean schools having uniforms). And thanks, Cris and Yankee!

[Lumine]

I sincerely hope that this passes, but should my redraft be defeated then I would ask the Senate to resume debate and correct all the major issues that the passed text has.

[Lumine]

Lumine, will you be able to do a second redraft???

EDIT: I just checked, you won't be able. Well, I hope the senate and the president will be able to agree on a version.

Yes, the Constitution is rather clear on that issue. The amendment Senator TNF proposed is a step on the right direction and it does address many of my concerns. If the amendment passes, I would reccomend an amendment (or I could offer it myself) for Section 2.10, as I remain convinced that said party is poorly worded.

The real problem is that I am not supportive of the affirmative action parts of the CRA, which seem to be supported by most of the Senate. Either way, I'll have to think about the issue and my response.

[Lumine]

Lumine, will you be able to do a second redraft???

EDIT: I just checked, you won't be able. Well, I hope the senate and the president will be able to agree on a version.

Yes, the Constitution is rather clear on that issue. The amendment Senator TNF proposed is a step on the right direction and it does address many of my concerns. If the amendment passes, I would reccomend an amendment (or I could offer it myself) for Section 2.10, as I remain convinced that said party is poorly worded.

The real problem is that I am not supportive of the affirmative action parts of the CRA, which seem to be supported by most of the Senate. Either way, I'll have to think about the issue and my response.

Which part exactly do you strongly oppose?

More of a principle issue, but I've always remained unconvinced that forcing the federal government to hire based on race or gender quotas is the best solution when it comes to this issue. It's very simplistic argument, I know, but I would rather have the best individuals hired regardless of their race/gender than have them hired because of those two conditions.

[Lumine]

I would ask the Senate to at least modify Section 2.10, I don't think the present text is ready for a final vote and I would have to veto if the current version is the one sent to my desk.

[Lumine]

It is, yes, I'll act on this as soon as I manage to solve a few doubts of my own.

[Lumine]

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Despite feeling incredibly tempted to veto this one, a veto is going to be overturned and I do have better things to do, so despite my opposition to the affirmative action parts and Section 2.10 I'll sign it:

x LumineVonReuental, President of Atlasia.

[Lumine]

I only have one redraft per bill, JCL, so it was either a veto that was going to fail or signing it, and more gridlock is not what I want for my last days in office.