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(CNSNews.com) – Charging that millions of citizens, two-fifths of them black, have been denied the right to vote because of felony convictions, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People called on the United Nations this week to investigate America’s “racially discriminatory election laws.”
An NAACP delegation visiting Geneva hosted a panel on the “disenfranchisement” of U.S. citizens and addressed the U.N. Human Rights Council, which is in session in the Swiss city.
A delegate told the HRC that the right to vote was a cornerstone of democracy and that in the U.S. a patchwork of divergent laws and procedures have posed barriers to voting...........
“Today, nearly 5.3 million U.S. citizens have been stripped of their voting rights on a temporary or permanent basis, including more than 4.4 million citizens who are no longer incarcerated,” said Lorraine Miller, who chairs the NAACP national board’s advocacy and policy committee.
“More than two million are African American, yet African Americans make up less than 13 percent of the U.S. population,” she said.
Originally posted by RealSpoke
I think it all depends on what the felony is. Weed possession is a felony in some states. And other victimless crimes....
I'm sure men are stripped of their vote at a higher rate too. As women are less likely to be prosecuted and convicted of a crime...even if they break the same exact law as a man. The same thing happens with minorities though, the darker your skin is the more likely to be stopped by the police, convicted, harsher sentence for committing the exact crime under similar circumstances.
For example, a MUCH higher percentage of blacks are arrested for non-violent drug offenses than whites even though blacks don't abuse drugs more frequently than whites.
Anyways, I think the NAACP gets paid to focus on non-impactful topics.
Originally posted by DontTreadOnMe
I don't care what the issue is, the UN has no jurisdiction on American laws.
We have a Constitution, flawed though it may be.
The NAACP should not be asking the UN to intervene.
Possession of marijuana under 35 grams is a misdemeanor. Anything over that amount is a felony. Also if small bags / containers / etc are present during the contact it moves from possession to possession with intent to distribute.
Originally posted by RealSpoke
I think it all depends on what the felony is. Weed possession is a felony in some states. And other victimless crimes....
Originally posted by RealSpoke
I'm sure men are stripped of their vote at a higher rate too. As women are less likely to be prosecuted and convicted of a crime...even if they break the same exact law as a man. The same thing happens with minorities though, the darker your skin is the more likely to be stopped by the police, convicted, harsher sentence for committing the exact crime under similar circumstances.
Originally posted by RealSpoke
For example, a MUCH higher percentage of blacks are arrested for non-violent drug offenses than whites even though blacks don't abuse drugs more frequently than whites.
Anyways, I think the NAACP gets paid to focus on non-impactful topics.
Section 1.
The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
Section 2.
The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
In Richardson v. Ramirez, the United States Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of felon disenfranchisement statutes, finding that the practice did not deny equal protection to disenfranchised voters. The Court looked to Section 2 of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which proclaims that States which deny the vote to male citizens, except on the basis of "participation of rebellion, or other crime", will suffer a reduction in representation. Based on this language, the Court found that this amounted to an "affirmative sanction" of the practice of felon disenfranchisement, and the 14th Amendment could not prohibit in one section that which is expressly authorized in another.
However, many critics argue that Section 2 of the 14th Amendment merely allows, but does not represent an endorsement of, felony disenfranchisement statutes as constitutional in light of the equal protection clause and is limited only to the issue of reduced representation. The Court did rule, however, in Hunter v. Underwood 471 U.S. 222, 232 (1985) that a state's felony disenfranchisement provision will violate Equal Protection if it can be demonstrated that the provision, as enacted, had "both [an] impermissible racial motivation and racially discriminatory impact." A felony disenfranchisement law, which on its face is indiscriminate in nature, cannot be invalidated by the Supreme Court unless its enforcement is proven to racially discriminate and to have been enacted with racially discriminatory animus.
Originally posted by neo96
Felons have zero rights to vote.
Being convicted of a felony is the mandatory forfeiture of that right.
Originally posted by Xcathdra
Possession of marijuana under 35 grams is a misdemeanor. Anything over that amount is a felony. Also if small bags / containers / etc are present during the contact it moves from possession to possession with intent to distribute.
Originally posted by Nucleardiver
Actually it depends upon the individual laws of the state you reside in. Here in North Dakota possession of marijuana while in a vehicle is a felony, regardless of the amount you are in possession of. Even 1 marijuana cigarette will get you a Class C Felony charge if it is in a vehicle.
Originally posted by Nucleardiver
Personally I think the denial of voting rights upon a felony conviction should actually depend upon the crime that was committed and the severity of the crime because otherwise it does become a disenfranchisement for crimes that are actually petty or victimless.
Originally posted by Nucleardiver
When I lived in FL I had a friend that was going through a divorce and his wife emptied his.....
Originally posted by Nucleardiver
I actually think this is part of the reason we are seeing more crimes being moved up to the felony level. The more people that are charged and convicted of a felony the more there are that lose voting and second amendment rights. Its a way for TPTB to strip people of some of the most important rights to insure freedom.
Marijuana Possession
It is a crime to knowingly or intentionally possess marijuana in North Dakota. Penalties vary according to the amount possessed, with increased penalties for possession within 1,000 feet of a school. (N.D. Code Ann. § 19-03.1-23(7).)
A •Up to one-half of an ounce. Penalties include a fine of up to $1,000, up to 30 days in jail, or both.
B •Between one-half ounce and one ounce. Penalties include a fine of up to $1,000, up to one year in jail, or both.
C •One ounce or more. Penalties include a fine of up to $5,000, up to five years in prison, or both.