Moore's wife raps Siegelman's
Rep. Jack Venable, D-Tallassee said, "A law is easier
to keep updated than the constitution." CRCR says, "A law is easier to manipulate and citizens
do not vote on changes to the law. In contrast, citizens vote on constitutional amendments."
© The Birmingham News
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reform efforts on constitution
THOMAS SPENCER
The wife of Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore voiced her opposition to rewriting Alabama's 1901 constitution, saying
reform proponents want to do away with restrictions on taxes and gambling and strip Alabamians of their basic rights.
Speaking at a Tuesday rally sponsored by the Association for Judeo-Christian Values, Mrs. Moore linked Gov. Don.
Siegelman with the effort, citing his recent support for constitutional reform and his involvement in a failed
1983 reform effort.
"Yes, he's tried this before," Kayla Moore told the audience of 15 tent-shaded spectators on the lawn
of the Elmore County Courthouse in Wetumpka.
Moore has been mentioned as a possible candidate for governor, but as chief justice, he is limited in his ability
to express his views.
Mrs. Moore said she wasn't speaking on behalf of her husband. "I'm here because I care about our constitution.
I care what they are trying to do to it," she said.
Mrs. Moore said the 100-year-old constitution is not outdated, as critics claim. The U.S. Constitution is twice
as old, she said. "And the Bible is thousands of years old."
"Man is inherently evil," Mrs. Moore said. The constitution restrains evil, she said.
She mocked reform advocates who say the constitution puts government in a "strait-jacket."
"For that, we are thankful to God," she said. "It's all about money. They can't handle the money
they have? Why do they want more?"
Following Mrs. Moore, a series of speakers accused reformers of attempting to strip citizen rights from the constitution
and remove state boundaries. Joyce Perrin, the association's lobby ist, said the removal of the state boundaries
would open the way for regional governance.
Rep. Jack Venable, D-Tallassee, said his revised version of the Alabama Constitution's bill of rights is modeled
after those in the U.S. Constitution.
He proposed to spell out state boundaries in law because those in the constitution are wrong and the current boundaries
are subject to change as the course of rivers shift. A law is easier to keep updated than the constitution, Venable
said.
Sandra Lane Smith, the association's executive director, said reformers could also tamper with the education system.
She said Alabama politicians, including Siegelman, were part of a national movement to change sex education in
schools.
Siegelman's Executive Order 50, concerning safe schools, opens the way for teaching children acceptance of homosexuality,
she said.
The executive order establishes the Alabama Advisory Council for Safe Schools and encourages education aimed at
decreasing school violence.
Siegelman only recently joined the current reform push, which has been led by academics, newspaper editorial pages,
religious groups, civic organizations and reform-minded legislators. Through his spokeswoman, Carrie Kurlander,
Siegelman said Tuesday that all sorts of ideas will be expressed as the state considers the issue of constitutional
reform.
"By the time the pros and cons of the constitution are debated, we will likely have heard every argument under
the sun for and against a new constitution," Mrs. Kurlander said. "Everyone has their own opinion. The
governor's opinion is that we must do something to fix the schools, and the way to do that is to fix the government,
and the way to fix government is to reform the constitution."
