Ruling, which may be reviewed by appellate court, could strike reproductive rights measure off November ballot
A Missouri judge has ruled that a ballot measure asking voters whether abortion rights should be enshrined in the state constitution is invalid, potentially jeopardizing an election scheduled for November.
In a ruling issued on Friday, Cole county circuit judge Christopher Limbaugh said that the reproductive rights petition – also known as Amendment 3 – led by Missourians for Constitutional Freedom did not comply with state law.
Abortion rights activists are hopeful an appellate court could reverse Limbaugh’s decision, but for now it remains unclear whether voters will be able to decide the issue as scheduled on 5 November, the same day as the presidential election.
Actual democracy: bad and wrong
Some old judge: pure and just
…Okay.
Kick it back to the states, they said.
Let the people choose for themselves, they said.
Limbaugh is also the son of a federal court judge and cousin to the late conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh.
Republicans: “This abortion ammendment will allow for child sex change operations.”
Petition filers:“No it won’t, it is just make abortion legal again.”
Limbaugh: “Because you didn’t include the fact that toddlers now can request sex changes, and the changes to the relevant statues that prohibited that, I rule your signature gathering was misleading and I am kicking it off the ballot one day before they start printing them.”
Petition filers:“WTF, state supreme court! Limbaugh is treating his crazy delusions as legal fact again!”
According to Limbaugh, his decision came as a result of the campaign’s “failure to include any statute or provision that will be repealed, especially when many of these statues are apparent”.
Is that a requirement of amendments in Missouri?
What if an amendment doesn’t repeal any current statute, but makes new law?What the actual fuck is this? A constitution neither defines nor repeals laws, it defines rights and powers, of the citizenry, and the government. Is there just more to the story that the article isn’t covering?
For a narrow definition of law that may be the case.
But it could also be thought of as a set of laws, which specifically govern law-makers.In this case it’s making certain pre-existing statutes illegal, effectively nullifying them.
Why this judge thinks those statues need to be specifically mentioned, I don’t understand. As a judge you’d think that would be their job.
I thought activist judges were bad?
Your judges are unelected activists; ours are correcting past errors.
Silly lib
/s
Apparently THIS is where he and other Missourians want to be for the second coming. Noted.
iirc, they have to start printing the ballots by early next week, to comply with deadlines in getting the early ballots out to voters in time. Fucking conservatives trying to run out the clock so that there isn’t enough time [oops so sorry] to have the measure on the ballot.
