Posted on 01/03/2012 8:40:40 AM PST by SmithL
What if California had not 120 legislators, but 240 of them, with each Senate and Assembly district required to elect two representatives – a man and a woman?
B.C. Keith wants voters to ponder that question. The Sacramento woman has until May 29 to collect the valid voters' signatures – all 807,615 of them – that she needs for her petition to be placed on the ballot.
Keith told The Bee back in November that she sees her idea as a solution to gender inequality under the dome. Currently, 34 women serve as legislators, which means that 72 percent of the lawmakers are men.
. . .
The Green Party member has another hill to climb. The state and U.S. constitutions "prohibit the enactment of laws that discriminate or provide preferential treatment based on gender," the LAO pointed out.
Even so, . . .
(Excerpt) Read more at sacbee.com ...
How would this violate the Constitution, in your opinion?
Smith this would not violate a state constitution in the lease, it does violate common sense but it is California after all.
In this state, where dems rule all offices, with the help of illegals and a dem media, adding more people (which is what this is in a nutshell) will simply add more libs to the legislature, so per cent of conservatives will be even less.
The Balkanization of the state, turning the legislature into the U.N.
The is one of the WORST cases of gender-bias that I have EVER seen! This person should be brought up on charges before a Human Rights Council for such an egregious anti-LGBT proposal. Everyone knows that there are not just two genders, but a continuous spectrum of genders that any given person may move about freely as their feelings on any given day dictate. To suggest that every person must be assigned to one of two very limiting genders roles based on something so arbitrary as genetics is hateful, hurtful and bigoted.
</sarc>
I propose a 1 house legislature meeting every other year for 90 days. 2 year budget. Need less, not more.
I should have said this doesn’t violate the federal Constitution, since it would apply only to state offices.
Based on my limited understanding of CA law, it would require a state constitutional amendment. But CA passes those all the time.
“Equal rights for the sexes will be achieved when mediocre women occupy high positions.” ___ Francois Giroud
Actually, the initiative does not do that? Other than that, it sounds pretty pointless, if not stupid. What the heck is having twice as many members in the lege going to do for the sanity of California? Furthermore, how is having an equal number of men and women in the lege going to help California get its fiscal house in order? And for all this, up to twice as much money is spent on salaries, staff, office space, etc.
Forget the constitution, think of doubling the payroll!
Prop 209 explicitly outlawed preferences based on race, sex, or ethnicity.
You are so silly, this is CA they don’t care about the law or the state constitution or the federal constitution.
You are a rational thinking person, that just doesn’t work here.
California?
The biggest problem would be telling the difference between the man and a woman.
It will be a hoot to see how the law would define gender. And “my representative is switching ...” could have a whole new hilarity.
You beat me to it, but there is an easy solution to that problem: Each district shall elect one male heterosexual, one female heterosexual, one male bisexual, one female bisexual, one male homosexual, one female homosexual, one initially male transgender, one initially female transgender, one initially male transsexual, and one initially female transsexual. It’s not full equality, but it’s a start that will stimulate the California population to identify other under-represented groups.
Sarcasm NOW. Wait a few years, though.
So a new Prop can repeal that.
ballot initiatives are a dime a dozen these days.
besides, a 9.5 will reset all the boundaries of society when it hits anyway.
Give it back to Mexico--if they'll take it!
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