STARKVILLE — Three initiatives on the ballot this year could protect the lives of the unborn, the integrity of elections and private property rights.
At least, that”s what supporters of the initiatives said at the second public hearing Tuesday at Mississippi State University, where citizens gave their input on the amendments to the state constitution.
Initiative 26 would define a “person” to include “every human being from the moment of fertilization, cloning or the functional equivalent thereof.” Initiative 27 would require most people to bring government-issued photograph identification to vote. Initiative 31 would, in most cases, keep government bodies from using eminent domain laws to acquire land for economic development, like the new Toyota plant near Tupelo.
To read the initiatives as they”ll appear on the November ballot, visit Secretary of State Delbert Hoseman”s website at sos.ms.gov.
But opponents criticized the initiatives Tuesday as political ploys that would turn miscarriages into crime scenes, institute a poll tax and cause irreparable harm to economic development in Mississippi.
The ”Personhood initiative”
West Point Trinity African Methodist Episcopal Church co-pastor Berdie Parker lifted up her Bible, looked over the Bost Conference Center auditorium and told citizens to “choose life.”
“If you go against his word,” she continued, “you go against God.”
But opponents said the amendment would hurt women, not help unborn children.
Although the initiative would not displace Roe v. Wade, the initiative could have legal ramifications for women who use post-fertilization birth control.
Thirty-three-year-old Julie Shed, who is three months pregnant, took her concerns a step further, questioning if a woman could face legal trouble for a miscarriage.
“That”s my fear,” Shed said, “that if I lose my baby, I may be charged with murder.”
”Poll tax in disguise”
Getting government-issued photograph identification costs money. Not much, but enough to keep some people from voting, said American Civil Liberties Union Interim Legal Director Bear Atwood.
“Those $5 or $10 charges can add up,” she told the crowd Monday. “And they add up to a poll tax.”
But Rep. Gary Chism, R-Columbus, said states already require identification for common activities, like buying alcohol or driving.
The amendment”s purpose, he added, was “very simple.”
“We like for you to just vote one time,” he quipped.
”Don”t make me give up my land”
Douglas Yelverton can see Severstal”s Lowndes County plant from his house.
And that scares him, he said, because the county could take his land for a Severstal expansion, if it wanted to.
“If they want to offer me enough money to make me move, that”s fine,” he said. “But don”t make me give up my land.”
But Gordon Flowers, a member of the Columbus-Lowndes Development Link, said the initiative would do “irreparable harm” to the growth of the state.
Using eminent domain could mean the difference between getting a Toyota or Nissan plant and not, he continued.
But land that”s taken “blood, sweat and even tears to develop” doesn”t have a monetary value, said Rhonda Jolly of Houston.
“Economic development is important,” she added, “but property rights are even more important.”
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