By Renee McGuinness
You’re a victim! and YOU’RE a victim! and YOU’RE A VICTIM!
That is, IF you are a member of a recognized class under Proposition 4, a proposed amendment to Article 7 of the Vermont State Constitution that intends to reassert that every named group is provided “equal” protections and common benefits. Religion is not listed among the groups, because according to common refrain during witness testimony, we’ve already got religion covered under Article 3.
Senator Virginia Lyons, lead sponsor, introduced Proposition 4 to the Senate Committee on Judiciary (@4:30), “We know how quickly the culture can change: 2016 – 2020 we saw a radical change in expressions of beliefs around individuals in our country and groups within the country.” In other words, we absolutely cannot have people expressing their “radical beliefs” unless those beliefs are expressed by rioting and setting cities on fire, and Proposition 4 will see to that!
Legislative counsel Erik FitzPatrick skipped the insignificant purpose section during the walk-through because, according to Chairperson Dick Sears (@10:20), who could not remember whether the purpose section of Article 22 appeared on the ballot in 2022, “let’s go to the meat of – the heart of the matter” by reviewing the amendment language only.
Let me make this clear: the Chair of the Committee on Judiciary does not know whether the Purpose section, which expresses the intent of proposed constitutional amendments, appears on the ballot presented to the voters. (Hint: it does not – nor do the courts make interpretations on the Purpose sections of constitutional amendments, because the language of the purpose section is not included in the constitution if the amendment is passed. More on that later . . .)
Reverend Mark Hughes, Executive Director of Vermont Racial Justice Alliance, stated @47:30 , “We need to double-down to include the protection of every vulnerable category – Mr. Chair – respectfully, that’s everybody that’s not a white cis man.” [insert awkward silence in a room filled with white cis men]
The reverend did not notice “religion” was missing from the list of protected groups and “punted” the question of exclusion of religion to witness Peter Teachout, Professor at Vermont Law School, who noted the “finite list” of protected classes and recommended a provision for open-ended application to include marginalized groups further down the road. Rest assured, those that worship YHWH or identify as Jesus freaks – the two groups that have the longest history of being marginalized – are never going to make that list. I’ll make my case for that in a bit . . .
Jay Greene, Racial Equity Policy & Research Analyst for the Office of Racial Equity, pointed out that some individuals identify under several categories of protected classes, therefore have a taller stack of victim chips and more protections and benefits under the proposed amendment. Greene stated (@59:45), “Repairing historical harm sometimes requires equitable treatment, not equal treatment, and equity sometimes means targeting programs to populations based on need rather than absolute equal treatment,” that religion is protected under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, and according to his personal opinion, not necessarily the opinion of the Vermont Human Rights Commission, “I have concerns with some people using ‘freedom of religion’ as an excuse to deny the human rights of people like myself, transgender people and other people of the protected classes that are listed in Proposal 4.”
The case for marginalizing the religious:
”This proposed constitutional amendment is not intended to limit the scope of rights and protections afforded by any other provision in the Vermont Constitution” appears in the Purpose section of Proposition 4 but is not included in the language of the amendment itself: amendment language is the only language upon which State courts will be making their interpretations.
The amendment to Article 7 is intended to ensure that the Vermont Supreme Court has the final word in court cases regarding equal treatment, because the Social Justice Ruling Class is having a tantrum over recent SCOTUS decisions that “weaponize” the Fourteenth Amendment: I assume they are referring to Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, in which the SCOTUS decided race as a “determining tip” for admission into colleges and universities is a violation of equal protections. Indeed, it would be unfair to expect people to exert grit, determination, and sweat to achieve the American Dream. Government-vigilante-style robbing of the privileged and giving to the underprivileged is much more virtuous!
State court decisions under Proposition 4 will be “Make them Bake Cake” mandates for Bible-following Christians and Jews, and Quran-abiding Muslims, with no recourse in federal courts, because federal courts do not have jurisdiction over interpretation of State constitutions. Protected classes will be empowered to claim in court their “dignity” and “respect” has been violated by others who refuse to use their preferred pronouns or fail to recognize more than two genders.
Virginia Lyons claimed that “religion is clearly protected in our federal constitution,” yet the rest of the discussion in the Judiciary Committee proves intent to prevent appeals to federal courts and the SCOTUS. Proposition 4 creates a hierarchy of rights, with religion either at the bottom of, or completely removed from, equal rights protections.
Isaiah 66:5; Matthew 5:10, Amen, Amen!
The author is a Monkton resident.