Let's remove racist language from the
Alabama Constitution. Urge support for HB328!
The
League of Women Voters of Alabama asks you to take immediate action to
support HB328, a bill that would remove racist language from the 1901
Constitution of Alabama.The bill has passed favorably
out of the House Committee on Campaign, Constitution, and Elections. It
is now headed to the House Rules Committee, and we hope to see it on
the House floor for a vote next week, April 15-19.
WHAT YOU
CAN DO
Please call your State House
Representative by Monday, April 15 and urge his/her vote in favor of
HB328.
In your
own name (not in the name of the League), urge the
representative's vote in favor of HB328. If you would
like talking points, see "Why we support HB328" below.
Let the person
to whom you are speaking know that you are a constituent.
Throw
in a word of thanks if your representative is a co-sponsor of
the bill and/or is in favor of the bill.
Thank you in advance for your action
to urge passage of HB328!
Read below for further information about this constitutional amendment
proposal.
ABOUT
THE BILL
HB328 would propose an amendment to the Constitution of Alabama of
1901, to authorize the Legislature to recompile the Alabama
Constitution during the 2022 Regular Session, and provide for its
ratification.
If passed by vote of the legislature and vote of the people, this
amendment would remove racist language, redundancy and duplication in
the Constitution of Alabama of 1901. The bill only targets racist
language and does not address the Education Article as was the case for
a similar bill that failed in 2012. (That bill is said to have failed
because of changes the amendment would have made in the Education
Article.)
WHY WE
SUPPORT HB328 (Please speak in your own voice when calling
your legislator, not in the name of the league. We do want you to know
the reasoning for our position. State support as given here or in your
own words.)
The League of Women Voters of Alabama supports this constitutional
amendment proposal because we believe in diversity, equality, and
inclusion in principle and in practice. Racism has no place in society
or in laws that govern. Although the League of Women Voters of Alabama
supports a convention of citizens for the purpose of rewriting the
state constitution rather than by the legislature, we believe that this
legislation should be passed in order to eliminate the shameful racist
language of the 1901 Constitution of Alabama.
BILL
SPONSORS
HB328 is sponsored by Representative Merika Coleman and co-sponsored by
Representatives McCutcheon, Hollis, Rafferty, Bracy, Alexander,
Drummond, Moore (M), Rogers, McClammy, Clarke, Gray, Jackson, Warren,
Hill and Wadsworth.
