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Supreme court leaves intact Mississippi law disenfranchising Black voters

Discussion in 'Too Hot for Swamp Gas' started by philnotfil, Jul 1, 2023.

  1. philnotfil

    philnotfil GC Hall of Fame

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    Some wild history behind this one. They sat down in 1890 to disenfranchise blacks, and their solution is still on the books, and will continue to remain in force.

    Supreme court leaves intact Mississippi law disenfranchising Black voters

    The US supreme court turned away a case on Friday challenging Mississippi’s rules around voting rights for people with felony convictions, leaving intact a policy implemented more than a century ago with the explicit goal of preventing Black people from voting.

    Those convicted of any one of 23 specific felonies in Mississippi permanently lose the right to vote. The list is rooted in the state’s 1890 constitutional convention, where delegates chose disenfranchising crimes that they believed Black people were more likely to commit. “We came here to exclude the negro. Nothing short of this will answer,” the president of the convention said at the time. The crimes, which include bribery, theft, carjacking, bigamy and timber larceny, have remained largely the same since then; Mississippi voters amended it remove burglary in 1950 and added murder and rape in 1968.
    It continued to have a staggering effect in Mississippi. Sixteen per cent of the Black voting-age population remains blocked from casting a ballot, as well as 10% of the overall voting age population, according to an estimate by The Sentencing Project, a criminal justice non-profit. The state is about 38% Black, but Black people make up more than half of Mississippi’s disenfranchised population.

     
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  2. tampagtr

    tampagtr VIP Member

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    Yeah they snuck in that one to minimize the media coverage
     
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  3. WarDamnGator

    WarDamnGator GC Hall of Fame

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    Can you imagine if this court viewed voting rights the same as they view gun rights….
     
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  4. citygator

    citygator VIP Member

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    I cannot.
     
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  5. slocala

    slocala VIP Member

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    This list covers a lot of people, regardless of race. Maybe the issue is more charging and seeking convictions in a uniform way. Sounds like the state needs to consider affirmative action.
    • Voter Fraud
    • Murder
    • Rape
    • Bribery
    • Theft
    • Carjacking
    • Arson
    • Obtaining money or goods under false pretense
    • Perjury
    • Forgery
    • Embezzlement
    • Bigamy
    • Armed Robbery
    • Extortion
    • Larceny
    • Felony Bad Check
    • Felony Shoplifting
    • Receiving Stolen Goods
    • Robbery
    • Timber Larceny
    • Unlawful taking of motor vehicle
    • Statutory Rape
    • Larceny under lease or rental agreement
     
  6. 96Gatorcise

    96Gatorcise Hurricane Hunter

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    Don't commit a felony crime and problem solved. That goes for any race. Because these laws affect criminals regardless of color.
     
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  7. UFLawyer

    UFLawyer GC Hall of Fame

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    So let me see if I understand the argument you’re making. A person voluntarily and knowingly, commits a crime, and loses their right to vote. The person committing those crimes could be black, white, Asian, Hispanic, gay, trans queer. Heck, let’s just be real, it could be anyone. And based upon this, you believe the state is disenfranchising only Black people? I have a rather bold idea here, maybe you can share with your friends in Mississippi. If you want to retain your right to vote, don’t commit crimes. Problem solved. Next.

    racism is easily fixed if we just use common sense.
     
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  8. BLING

    BLING GC Hall of Fame

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    I consider it a somewhat “fair trade” to say *if* felons can be stripped of gun rights, they can also be stripped of voting rights. This court is so dishonest, it doesn’t likely consider these matters (voting vs. guns) on equal terms. If I were king for a day, I’d say most people should be able to see their rights restored. Disenfranchisement of constitutional right should be a very high bar. Limiting the permanent disenfranchisement only to more serious felonies that involved violence or a weapon is what I see as as passing scrutiny.

    The issue here is the law was explicitly written to disenfranchise blacks. Like… it should obviously be absurd to have someone convicted at 18 years of age for “theft”, to then be disenfranchised from voting for life. Especially when we know for a fact justice is not enforced equally AND the law was explicitly written in 1890 to disenfranchise blacks, and the ultimate outcome still skews that way in 2023, so in Mississippi it seems not much has changed since 1890.
     
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  9. UFLawyer

    UFLawyer GC Hall of Fame

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    Do you have any evidence that black people commit more of these crimes than other races, proportionally to population? I might have sympathy for your position if that were true, but I’m likely stuck on the adage “actions have consequences.” The history, assuming what you posted is true, is very troubling, and tips the scale strongly in your favor. But the adage carries its own weight too. Not a simple answer here for sure.
     
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  10. okeechobee

    okeechobee GC Hall of Fame

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    To take it a step further, I suppose those racist Mississippi legislators in 1890 were prescient enough to know which specific felonies African-Americans would be most likely to commit 133 years into the future.
     
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  11. Contra

    Contra GC Hall of Fame

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    I think it is a very good idea to keep felons from voting. A person's vote affects everyone around them. If a person cannot live well in their own society, then that brings into question whether they can steward the power of voting in a way that does not harm their fellow citizen.
     
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  12. WC53

    WC53 GC Hall of Fame

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    The stated purpose of the law seems relevant
     
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  13. philnotfil

    philnotfil GC Hall of Fame

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    What I got from the article was that in Mississippi, they sat down to disenfranchise blacks and came up with a list of felonies they believed blacks would be more likely to commit, and made those felonies the ones that result in disenfranchisement. Currently, blacks are disenfranchised at double the rate of the general population.

    One solution would be to make all felonies result in disenfranchisement, rather than the list that was hand-picked to disenfranchise more black people.
     
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  14. Gatorrick22

    Gatorrick22 GC Hall of Fame

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    So white felons can vote in Mississippi? Or does your title not fit the so called ruling... non-ruling?

    Maybe your title/article is deceptive.
     
    Last edited: Jul 1, 2023
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  15. UFLawyer

    UFLawyer GC Hall of Fame

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    100% agree with your paragraph 2. Paragraph 1 doesn’t tell me anything unless you have the numbers of blacks committing all felonies. If that number is double too, then IMO the whole argument collapses. If not, then greater scrutiny is needed.
     
  16. Sohogator

    Sohogator GC Hall of Fame

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    Troubling. They let members of the GOP vote and most are more disreputable these these poor singled out Mississippi ex felons.
     
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  17. Sohogator

    Sohogator GC Hall of Fame

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    I see the crackers got incest exempted.
     
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  18. Trickster

    Trickster VIP Member

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    That is way too judgmental IMHO and allows for no exceptions.
     
  19. Trickster

    Trickster VIP Member

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    It sure does, but if SCOTUS had struck down the statute, it would have been easily fixable.
     
  20. Contra

    Contra GC Hall of Fame

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    Well, at least you are acknowledging that the act of voting requires moral virtue. If you acknowledge that, then you at least acknowledge that the state is not wrong to draw a line somewhere. We often speak of voting as a right, but I believe it should be seen as a privilege. There are certain people who should not be allowed to vote because they have a proven track record of lacking character and virtue.
     
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