RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED AT THE 171ST CONVENTION
OF THE EPISCOPAL DIOCESE OF ALABAMA

February 9, 2002
RESOLUTION #8
CALLING FOR A CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION

      WHEREAS, our concern for the dignity of all people, especially the poor, the elderly,
and at-risk children is deeply rooted in our Baptismal Covenant and in Holy Scripture, where
we are instructed to show concern for the poor and to promote ministries to relieve the effects
of poverty and its causes; and

       WHEREAS, in Alabama, our state constitution creates a tax culture that is the most regressive
in the nation, imposing sales taxes on essentials such as food and over-the-counter medicines,
placing an unjust burden on the poor, the elderly, and at-risk children and imposing
income tax on families making as little as $4,600 a year; and
  
WHEREAS, in Alabama, our state constitution embraces a system that grossly under-funds
education, providing one of the lowest standards of public education in the nation and
producing one of the highest adult illiteracy rates in the nation; and

       WHEREAS, in Alabama, our state constitution, born in 1901 of an ideology that denied
all black citizens and poor citizens of all races the right to participate in the political process,
has been amended more than 700 times and even today continues to
limit the economic opportunities of these citizens; and

WHEREAS, without rewriting our state constitution, no meaningful effort to rewrite Alabama’s
regressive tax system and substandard educational system can be accomplished.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that parishes
in the Episcopal Diocese of Alabama be encouraged to participate with
corporate, governmental, and citizens’ groups in the calling of a convention
to rewrite the constitution of the state of Alabama; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the work
of the Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Alabama be in solidarity with members
of other denominations of the Christian faith, as well as members
of all faiths in supporting a constitutional rewriting in the State of Alabama; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this
171st Convention of the Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Alabama
strongly urges immediate action by the governor and the state legislature
to adopt legislation calling for a convention to be held for the
purpose of rewriting the Alabama Constitution of 1901.

Submitted by, The Rev. John Bagby,
Robert L. Loftin, Esq., Urban Task Force