SB 2016-074: Amend. to Art. 1, Sect. 6 of the Constit. (Passed)

[Associate Justice PiT]

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Sponsor: Siren

     I hereby open the floor for debate.

[Associate Justice PiT]

     We have a substantial backlog of old House bills, so I decided we need to start cutting through them. This one passed a while ago, but has been overlooked.

[Associate Justice PiT]

     Those arguments are always relevant, because they deal with the foundational principles of the liberal society. I favor a Constitutional ban on the draft, because I believe that a country that must rob people of their fundamental rights to defend itself is not worth defending. We are better than that, and our citizens volunteer in large numbers to staff our military in recognition of that fact.

[Associate Justice PiT]

     If there are no more comments, I can open a final vote in 24 hours.

[Associate Justice PiT]

     I hereby open a final vote on this bill. Please vote aye, nay, or abstain.

[Associate Justice PiT]

     Aye. This bill has enough votes to pass; Senators have 24 hours to change their votes.

[Associate Justice PiT]

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[Associate Justice PiT]

     I hereby open a vote on the motion to suspend the rules. Please vote aye, nay, or abstain.

[Associate Justice PiT]

     Aye

[Associate Justice PiT]

     This motion has enough votes to pass; Senators have 24 hours to change their votes.

[Associate Justice PiT]

     The motion has passed. This amendment has returned to the floor.

[Associate Justice PiT]

     I like changing "involuntary servitude" to "forced labor". I am unsure whether prison in general would be deemed "involuntary servitude", but, supposing I am interpreting that phrase the same as Senator Siren is, "forced labor" conveys the intention far more specifically.

[Associate Justice PiT]

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     I am proposing this as an amendment, and we can propose more later if we want to. Does the sponsor accept the amendment as friendly?

[Associate Justice PiT]

This is really specific, but technically the comma after "slavery" ought to be removed, as the omission of the "except as punishment..." clause renders it grammatically irrelevant.

     Edited my proposed amendment to axe the comma.

[Associate Justice PiT]

     Senators have 24 hours to object to the friendly amendment.

[Associate Justice PiT]

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     I am proposing this as an amendment, and we can propose more later if we want to. Does the sponsor accept the amendment as friendly?

I would remind you that the "indentured servitude" that was being declared unconstitutional back in the day was either 1) forced as a means of paying off a debt, 2) Contractual. The (US) Founders sought to ban both. Replacing it with forced labor, would in my view legalize the latter. Also servitude can exist in forms other than labor, correct?
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     If it is contractual involuntary servitude, does that basically just mean a job that you are not allowed to quit?

[Associate Justice PiT]

     With no objections the amendment is adopted.

[Associate Justice PiT]

     Any more comments? We can proceed to a final vote in 24 hours if not, but given that we voted on this once and pulled it back we should take more care to be sure we are happy with this language.

[Associate Justice PiT]

Probably a dumb question, but better to ask than not cover all the bases: would community service constitute "forced labor?"

     That is a good question, given that banning community service as a sentence would promote harsher fines and jail terms for misdemeanor offenders. I don't think anyone particularly cares for that outcome.

[Associate Justice PiT]

     What is the sponsor's response to the amendment?

[Associate Justice PiT]

     A 72-hour vote is now open on the amendment. Senators, please vote aye, nay, or abstain.

[Associate Justice PiT]

     Aye

[Associate Justice PiT]

     I messed up the title; this is still just a vote on the amendment. The amendment is adopted.

[Associate Justice PiT]

     If there are no more comments I can take this to a final vote in 24 hours. Let's be sure that we are happy with this, though.

[Associate Justice PiT]

     A final vote is now open on this amendment. Please vote aye, nay, or abstain.