Bill Text: MI HR0088 | 2015-2016 | 98th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: A resolution urging the United States Supreme Court to continue its critical role in protecting citizens' rights under the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution and urging the states to express support for the Fourteenth Amendment.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 43-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-05-19 - Referred To Committee On Judiciary [HR0088 Detail]
Download: Michigan-2015-HR0088-Introduced.html
Rep. Moss offered the following resolution:
House Resolution No. 88.
A resolution urging the United States Supreme Court to continue its critical role in protecting citizens' rights under the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution and urging the states to express support for the Fourteenth Amendment.
Whereas, Our country was founded on the fundamental principle that everyone has the unalienable right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. In order to protect these rights from abuse, Congress proposed and the states ratified the Bill of Rights as amendments to the United States Constitution; and
Whereas, The weaknesses in our Constitution's protection of the fundamental and unalienable rights of its people culminated in the deep divides and bitter conflicts of the Civil War. To correct these weaknesses and begin the healing of our nation, Congress and the states adopted three amendments to the Constitution, including the Fourteenth Amendment; and
Whereas, The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution states in part:
All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. 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.
; and
Whereas, The Fourteenth Amendment has played a critical role in protecting the rights of United States citizens from state and local governments that might otherwise infringe upon those rights. Among other things, the Due Process Clause has ensured that all citizens enjoy the freedom of speech under the First Amendment; are protected against illegal searches and seizures under the Fourth Amendment; have the right to legal counsel despite their means under the Sixth Amendment; and are protected against the infliction of cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment; and
Whereas, The Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment was a central force in the civil rights movement as a shield against discriminatory state laws. In the historic Brown v. Board of Education, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that state laws providing for segregated public schools based on race were unconstitutional. In Loving v. Virginia, the U.S. Supreme Court found state laws that prohibited interracial marriage unconstitutional. Both of these landmark rulings were based on the protections of the Fourteenth Amendment; and
Whereas, The Fourteenth Amendment continues to ensure that citizens in every state share the same rights under our Constitution and receive equal treatment from their government; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives, That we urge the United States Supreme Court to continue its critical role in protecting citizens' rights under the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution; and be it further
Resolved, That we urge the states to express support for the Fourteenth Amendment and the assurances it provides for life, liberty, or property and equal protection for citizens; and be it further
Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to Justices of the United States Supreme Court, the President of the United States, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, the members of the Michigan congressional delegation, and the legislatures of the forty-nine states.
