MA: Amendment to the Constitution (Passed)

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

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Article V shall be amended to read

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Sponsor: Windjammer

[windjammer]

I slightly modified my bill before you posted it. Shall I propose an amendment with the new title (Article VI blabla) or can you edit the bill? (considering I technically modified the proposal before you posted it I believe)

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

I slightly modified my bill before you posted it. Shall I propose an amendment with the new title (Article VI blabla) or can you edit the bill? (considering I technically modified the proposal before you posted it I believe)

Since debate had not yet begun when you made these changes, I don't think it's a problem to just edit the bill. There's no sense wasting time over this.

Would you mind explaining the changes that are being made to Articles IV and V?

[windjammer]

Thank you Mr Speaker,
Basically, the current constitution despite being great, lacks of "structure", is hardly readable see the wiki: https://uselectionatlas.org/AFEWIKI/index.php/Mideast_Third_Constitution
The main reason being the fact there is absolutely no title.
For Article 4, I changed absolutely nothing, I just reorganized the article in order to be more readable (you can all check)
For Article 5, I deleted:
- all the things that were copied pasted from the federal constitution, like the "freedom to assemble" etc etc. That's not necessary to have that in our constitution because this is in the fedeeal constitution
-the armed forces stuff, we cannot have any armed forces according to the federal constitution
-and the things that were basically retarded: like this pointless clause: "    The enumeration of certain rights in this Constitution shall not be construed to deny or disparage those natural liberties herein unlisted. "
-So I only kept the regional stuff in this article, like the right of collective bargain, the fact we have to fund the public schools,...

Any question?

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

I disagree that the presence of certain rights in the federal Constitution makes it unnecessary to have them in the Regional Constitution as well. In the RL U.S., most states recognize freedom of speech in their Constitutions, even though that right is already in the federal Constitution.

Likewise, I agree that it's a good idea to have titles in the Wiki article, but is it really necessary to ingrain these in the Constitution?

[windjammer]

I disagree that the presence of certain rights in the federal Constitution makes it unnecessary to have them in the Regional Constitution as well. In the RL U.S., most states recognize freedom of speech in their Constitutions, even though that right is already in the federal Constitution.

Likewise, I agree that it's a good idea to have titles in the Wiki article, but is it really necessary to ingrain these in the Constitution?

Well,
That's just unnecessary. The federal constitution isn't going to change. The fact that RL US states have that don't prove this is necessary.

And yes, this is important. I wouldn't want to have someone accusing me of trying to influence the constitution or whatever.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

No harm can come from having multiple guarantees of the rights of our citizens, even if there is some overlap with the federal Constitution. One of the most important responsibilities of the Regional governments is to protect the rights of their citizens against federal overreach; it is therefore quite important to have a complete listing of the natural liberties held by each citizen. From a symbolic standpoint, stripping the freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of the press, and the like would resonate horribly with the public, and rightfully so.

Article V, Section 23 ("The enumeration of certain rights in this Constitution shall not be construed to deny or disparage those natural liberties herein unlisted.") is actually quite important, as it prevents self-evident rights that aren't explicitly listed in the Constitution from being denied to the public on a technicality.

As for the sections regarding the armed services, Article I, Section 7, clause 7 of the federal Constitution allows Regional governments to maintain "armed forces" with the consent of the Senate. As the Mideast Constitution contains several references to the militia, it is important to have these sections in the Bill of Rights.

[windjammer]

Article V shall be amended to read:
1)No law shall be passed requiring a voter to denote their State of fantasy residence during an election.
2) An educated populace being essential to the maintenance of a Republican society, it shall be the duty of this government to maintain publicly funded schools, which shall be open to all citizens under the age of 18.
3) Persons in employment shall have the right to organize for the purpose of collective bargaining,
4) The holding of multiple offices under this government shall be prohibited.
5)No person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law, nor shall any person be denied the equal protection under the laws of this Region.
6)No person shall be held in slavery or involuntary servitude except as punishment for a crime of which they have been duly convicted.
7)The privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be denied except in times of public rebellion or natural disaster, and then only in a manner consistent with law.
8)No branch of the Regional government shall conscript any person into the service of the Armed Forces except in times of war, public rebellion or natural disaster, and then only in a manner consistent with law.
9)No soldier shall, in times of peace, be quartered in any house or building without the consent of the owner, nor in times of war except in a manner consistent with the law.
10)The Armed Forces shall not be used for law enforcement or policing duties except in times of public rebellion or in the interests of public safety, and then only in a manner consistent with Law.
11)No branch of the Regional government shall issue a law or declaration respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech or expression, or of the press.
12)No branch of government shall restrict freedom of association, nor the right to peacefully assemble and petition the government for redress of grievances.
13)No law shall be passed requiring a voter to denote their State of fantasy residence during an election.
14)The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, communications and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall be issued, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or Affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
15)The right to trial by jury shall be preserved and such trial will be as open and swift as justice shall allow. No person shall be tried for the same offense twice, nor shall any person be compelled to bear witness against himself. In cases of criminal prosecution, the accused shall enjoy the right to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation and the witnesses against him; to bring witnesses in his own defense; and to have the assistance of counsel in his defense.
16)Private property shall not be taken for public use without just compensation.
17)The right of the people to privacy outside of the public sphere shall not be infringed.
18)No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the armed forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger.
19)In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed a hundred dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any court of the Mideast Region, than according to the rules of the common law.
20)No person, either accused or convicted of a crime, shall be subjected to excessive bail, nor excessive fines, nor cruel or unusual punishment.
21)No law shall be passed by this government prohibiting any action which is not directly harmful to the public well being.
22)No citizen shall be denied the right to the elective franchise except as the result of conviction of a crime under the laws of this Region, nor shall any citizen be deprived of the rights enumerated herein on the basis of race, class, creed, or sexuality.
23)The enumeration of certain rights in this Constitution shall not be construed to deny or disparage those natural liberties herein unlisted.





I still disagree with you but not an important issue for me.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

I think you made a mistake in the numbering (#5 should be #6, and so forth). Otherwise, this looks good.

Representatives have 24 hours to object to Windjammer's amendment.

[windjammer]

I just fixed it.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

Seeing no objection, Windjammer's amendment has been adopted.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

I propose the following amendment:

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[/quote]

All this does is to break what was Article IV, Section 1 of the original proposal into three separate sections, with Sections 2 and 3 renumbered as 4 and 5. This makes it much easier to find information relating to a particular aspect of election law, as opposed to scrolling through nine clauses .

Representatives have 24 hours to object to Truman's Amendment.

[windjammer]

I don't remember if I have written the rules to be able to object or not. But just to say that looks good .

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

I don't remember if I have written the rules to be able to object or not. But just to say that looks good .

The rules are ambiguous on this point, but as the Governor is allowed to propose amendments, I would assume he could also object to them.

[windjammer]

I don't remember if I have written the rules to be able to object or not. But just to say that looks good .

The rules are ambiguous on this point, but as the Governor is allowed to propose amendments, I would assume he could also object to them.

Considering it's me who wrote that, that's not surprising .

I will check that tomorrow.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

Seeing no objection, Truman's amendment has been adopted.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

As debate has stalled, I motion for a final vote on this bill. Representatives have 24 hours to object.

[MyRescueKittehRocks]

No objections here.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

Seeing no objection, I am calling a final vote on this bill. Please vote AYE, NAY, or Abstain. Voting will last 72 hours or until all Representatives have voted.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

AYE

[Hatman 🍁]

aye

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

With 2 Ayes, 0 Nays, and two members not voting, this amendment has passed the Assembly.