Constitutional Amendment #7 Vote No

Every resident of Louisiana should be concerned after reading Act 246 from the 2022 Louisiana Legislative session. There are concerns about Amendment No. 7 on this year's November 8 ballot. Amendment No. 7 proposes changes to Article I, Sec. 3 of the Constitution of Louisiana, prohibiting slavery and involuntary servitude. The Amendment proposes to delete “except in the latter case as punishment for a crime” from §3(B)(1). It proposes the enactment of a new subpart, (B)(2), to indicate that the prohibition against slavery and involuntary servitude does not apply to the “otherwise lawful administration of criminal justice.”

The phrase “otherwise lawful administration of criminal justice” is broad and, arguably, enlarges the use of slavery and involuntary servitude for reasons that extend beyond punishment for a crime. It leaves room for abuse. Also, in civil rights lawsuits, Act 246 may be used as an affirmative defense to defeat legal claims filed by aggrieved citizens whose rights under Section 3 are violated by law enforcement officers. Suppose an offender (a rogue law enforcement officer, for example) is sued for illegal acts that violate Section 3. In this case, they can pretextually claim that their actions were justified because they involved the “lawful administration of criminal justice” - whatever the term means. Need another reason to vote? Please vote and vote NO for Amendment No. 7 on November 8!