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Opinion Columnist Tom Scarritt February 03, 2002 Not only do we agree that the job needs to be done, but also we agree on who should do it. That is the consensus that seems to be building over the need to write a new constitution for Alabama. All the major candidates for governor this year have announced their support for rewriting the constitution. They have said the people, not the Legislature, should craft the new law. The newfound boldness of the political establishment follows polling that shows most of us want a new constitution. "Clearly, the people of Alabama are leading the way, and in an important turn of events, the leaders are following," said Dr. Thomas E. Corts, president of Alabama Citizens for Constitutional Reform. ACCR's plan, which matches in many ways the ideas advanced by Gov. Don Siegelman and Lt. Gov. Steve Windom, calls for the people to be involved every step of the way. The people would vote on Nov. 5 whether to call a constitutional convention. If most voters said yes, they would then elect delegates in June 2003. Whatever document the convention produced would then go back to the voters for ratification. Legislators should trust the people who elected them, and give us this chance to take our rightful place as the rulers of our state. The question for legislators is simple: Do you believe in democracy? If you don't, then you don't deserve to represent us. It is that simple. The opponents of constitution reform are trying to spread the fear that a rewrite of the nasty old document could take away some of our fundamental rights and protections. In doing that, these folks are saying they have no confidence in the good people of Alabama to do what's right. If the naysayers are right, and the people can't be trusted, then the very foundation of our free society is false. People who love democracy, and cherish the great American experiment in self-government, must reject that notion. A new constitution comes about for a reason. We don't replace the fundamental law of the state just because it has gotten too old, or too long, or we just don't like the language. The framers of the Constitution of 1901 wrote that racist and confining plan because the special interests of the time feared that the people especially blacks and poor whites were becoming too strong, and might challenge their dominance of the state. It was designed to keep them out of the process. An open and fair vote would have defeated that plan, but it was approved in a fraudulent election. Today, the people want a more inclusive and liberating plan because they recognize that the old constitution is limiting our lives in clear, demonstrable ways. It severely limits our ability to educate our children, protect our citizens, provide services and invest in our future. We want a chance for a convention of the people, selected by the people, to write a constitution for the people of Alabama. The plans put forth by ACCR and the major candidates provide that opportunity. After a convention acts, though, all of us will have the final say. We will decide, in a fair and open election, whether to accept their plan. That is democracy at work. Let the work begin. Tom Scarritt is editor of The News. His e-mail address is tscarritt@bhamnews.com. Return to: Constitutional Reform ~ In the News |
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| Alabama Citizens for
Constitutional Reform Foundation, Inc. P.O. Box 34 Montgomery, Alabama 36101-0034 E-mail: accr@constitutionalreform.org |
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