Ohio to correct 'crazy history' (623 hits)
Category: PoliticsRating: 0.75 on 6 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by E H (View user info) at 2003-09-14 21:58:46 EDT
http://www.cincypost.com/2003/09/10/ratify09-10-2003.html
Next week, Ohio will take a long-overdue step forward into the 21st century -- by momentarily stepping back into the 19th century.
To set the historical record straight after 135 years, Ohio is about to complete re-ratification of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the measure that initially gave freed slaves citizenship and later would be used by courts to extend virtually every personal liberty and right granted in the Bill of Rights.
The Ohio General Assembly originally ratified the amendment in 1867, but after Ohio voters later that year defeated a referendum to give African-Americans the right to vote, a newly elected Democratic-controlled Legislature rescinded Ohio's ratification in 1868.
Ohio's official position on the amendment has hung in limbo since -- which, among other unintended consequences, has allowed hate groups to seize on the issue to promote causes such as school segregation.
"I thought there was some kind of mistake when I heard about it," said Ohio Sen. Mark Mallory, D-Cincinnati. "I was flabbergasted to find out we had this crazy history."
Then-Secretary of State William Seward declared the 14th Amendment valid in July 1868, after legislatures of 28 of the 37 states had approved it to meet the three-fourths threshold required. Ohio was counted among those states approving it, even though it had by then rescinded its January 1867 ratification.
The U.S. Supreme Court has never ruled on whether a state can rescind its ratification of a constitutional amendment.
"It's been unclear what Ohio's position is," Mallory said. "I think it's important for the rest of the country to know where we stand."
A group of University of Cincinnati law students who learned in class about Ohio's rescission made Mallory aware of the unusual situation in September 2002. The students were part of the law school's Urban Justice Institute, set up after the 2001 riots to address justice-related problems.
"At first the whole (14th Amendment) project seemed ceremonial, but the more we got into it, the more important we realized it was to actually do this," said Dan Dodd, a UC law school grad now living in New Lexington and waiting to learn whether he passed the bar exam.
Urban Justice Institute students doing Internet searches found that hate groups have often tried to capitalize on Ohio's lack of support for the 14th Amendment to push their extremist causes. "A lot of fringe and extremist groups seized on Ohio's rescission," Dodd said.
After students researched the votes that led to the ambiguity about Ohio's position on the 14th Amendment, they worked with Cincinnati City Council Member John Cranley, a co-director of the Urban Justice Institute, to get Mallory involved.
With Mallory as chief sponsor, legislation was introduced in both houses of the General Assembly to ratify the amendment, which passed the Senate in February and the House in March, though not without controversy.
Some House members took issue with how the amendment has been used in federal court cases to erode states' rights in areas such as abortion and school prayer. The House ultimately passed the measure by a 94-1 vote, with the lone 'no' vote being cast by Rep. Tom Brinkman, R-Cincinnati.
The debate also was marred by an ugly verbal attack on Mallory by Rep. Tim Grendell, a Cleveland-area Republican. Grendell, who is white, said he doubted that Mallory, who is black, could understand the Supreme Court's historic 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson decision, in which the 14th amendment was used to establish the doctrine of "separate but equal,'' or forced segregation, in public schools.
"He's the only reason I might support the OhioReads program,'' Grendell said of Mallory, referring to the state's volunteer tutoring program for schoolchildren. Grendell later apologized.
Cordiality and smiles will be the order of the day, however, at next Wednesday's special ceremony at the Statehouse marking Ohio's ratification. At the Transmittal Ceremony, Secretary of State Ken Blackwell will officially deliver Ohio's ratification papers to Gov. Bob Taft, who in turn will forward them to representatives of the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
"Until March of this year, Ohio had unfortunate distinction as the only state that had not either ratified the 14th Amendment before it became law or later expressed support for it," Mallory said.
Kentucky was among several states that originally rejected the amendment, but in the 20th century joined Delaware and Maryland in finally ratifying it -- a symbolic gesture, but nonetheless a significant one, particularly to civil rights groups. In 1980, when New Jersey, which like Ohio had rescinded its ratification, expressed its support, Ohio was left as the only state not on record in favor of the 14th amendment.
The key section of the amendment says: "No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.''
Beyond making former slaves citizens, the 14th amendment -- in particular, its equal protection clause -- has been used by the U.S. Supreme Court to outlaw racial segregation in schools (the landmark 1954 Brown vs. Board of Education case), to prevent states from prohibiting abortions (1973's Roe v. Wade) and to forbid the use of rigid quotes in public equal opportunity programs (the 1978 Bakke decision.)
Hailed and vilified over the years, the 14th Amendment has, proponents argue, helped to advance justice and civil liberties in America. Critics, however, have denounced it as a tool that has allowed the Supreme Court to broaden judicial review of state and federal laws in ways that improperly interfere with legislators' responsibilities.
Publication Date: 09-10-2003
User Reviews
Submitted by claude (user info) at 2003-09-15 20:26:08 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Indeed....
Submitted by EH (user info) at 2003-09-15 00:08:54 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
"I've read thsi twice and dont understand. Plain English please, this isn't school you know!! "
THAT IS ENGLISH YOU STUPID FUCKING CUNT!
Submitted by claude (user info) at 2003-09-14 23:54:59 EDT (#)
Ranking: -1
I've read thsi twice and dont understand. Plain English please, this isn't school you know!!
Submitted by virgil (user info) at 2003-09-14 22:50:02 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
most of the programmers I know do most of that stuff most days. Maybe not so much the drinking.
Submitted by EH (user info) at 2003-09-14 22:39:13 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I just found out something I didn't know... Today is:
Programmer's day
Programmer's day - 256th day of the year celebrated mostly by computer programmers (reason: 256 = 2 to the power of 8 = the number of values representable in a byte of data). Traditions of drinking, behaving silly, coding silly programs, mini computer games, playing with old computers, etc... Usually on September 13th, on leap years, September 12th. see also: Pi Day
Submitted by Hairsphincter (user info) at 2003-09-14 22:28:21 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
That is crazy.
Equal rights for all, and for all equal rights.