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Panel eyes constitutional
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By Steve Myers Staff Reporter October 22, 2002 Any rewrite of the Alabama constitution should explicitly state that all Alabamians are equal under the law, a provision deliberately left out of the existing constitution when it was written in 1901, a law professor said Monday. The Alabama Citizens' Commission on Constitutional Reform also heard from people who described how a new constitution would affect education and economic development. The forum at the Alabama School of Math and Science was the third sponsored by the commission, which was created by a group pushing for a constitutional rewrite. The commission plans to issue a report early next year with suggested changes to the constitution. For much of the last century, different groups have crusaded to change Al abama's constitution. They have argued that the document is too long and confusing, it ties the hands of local governments and its authors sought to ensure the continued reign of rich whites. Others have argued that a rewritten constitution would create a more intrusive government, make it easier to raise taxes and remove references to God and guarantees of basic liberties. But the constitution was purposely created without those guarantees for black Alabamians, University of Ala bama law professor Bryan Fair said at Monday's meeting. He read from a speech given by John B. Knox, a Calhoun County lawyer and president of the 1901 convention. "And what is it that we want to do? Why it is within the limits imposed by the Federal Constitution to establish white supremacy in this state ... But if we would have white supremacy, we must establish it by law -- not by force or fraud." For that reason, Fair said, the delegates did not include a clause explicitly guaranteeing equality and equal protection under the law in its "declaration of rights." Though courts have interpreted some parts of the constitution as implicitly giving those protections, Fair said they should be spelled out. He said many of the rights described in the document don't need to be changed, though some similar protections could be combined in the same sections. He did not propose any changes to the section guaranteeing freedom of religion. Later, Foster Clark, a lawyer involved in putting together the incentive program for the Mercedes plant in Vance, described ways to clean up constitutional language affecting economic development. Though one article of the constitution prohibits the state from participating in activities that benefit a company, a later amendment spells out an economic development program, he said. And most of the counties in the state have their own local amendments that allow them to engage in such activity, Clark said. In the afternoon the floor was opened to residents, all of whom spoke in favor of rewriting the constitution. Two people described "running into a wall" when some community effort had to go through the state Legislature. John Fitzgerald described his surprise that a 1999 effort to raise taxes for schools in Mobile County had to go through the Legislature, which distracted from the effort and created a lot of confusion. "We have deception and mistrust built into the system," Fitzgerald said, "and it would be wonderful if my children grew up in a state that had fairness and equal opportunity." Return to: Constitutional Reform ~ In the News Return to: Editorial Index |
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Citizens for Constitutional Reform Foundation, Inc. P.O. Box 34 Montgomery, Alabama 36101-0034 E-mail: accr@constitutionalreform.org |
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