BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) – The Louisiana Coalition to Abolish Slavery (LCAS) is introducing an amendment to abolish the current ‘slavery exception clause’ in the state constitution.
The ‘slavery exception clause’ states the following:
No person shall be denied the equal protection of the laws. No law shall discriminate against a person because of race or religious ideas, beliefs, or affiliations. No law shall arbitrarily, capriciously, or unreasonably discriminate against a person because of birth, age, sex, culture, physical condition, or political ideas or affiliations. Slavery and involuntary servitude are prohibited, except in the latter case as punishment for crime.
According to LCAS, the slavery exception clause in the US Constitution was replicated in state constitutions, including in Louisiana, where 80% of people warehoused in Louisiana prisons are black.
“I’m honored to introduce a bill that will abolish slavery in the state of Louisiana, once and for all. This is a nonpartisan issue. We are plainly here to do what’s morally right,” said Rep. Edmond Jordan, East Baton Rouge, “and this is the moment to do it. Together, we are making it happen, just like we did when we ended the non-unanimous juries.”
LCAS full proposal is available here.
The full press conference discussing the amendment will be provided above.
