VICTORY! Mississippi Trashes Personhood Nonsense

In what has been described as "the most conservative state in the union," Mississippi voters last night defeated -- no, trashed -- the anti-stem cell, anti-freedom, anti-woman nonsense known as Initiative 26, the Personhood Amendment.

If ever there was a state religious extremists could control and dominate, Mississippi certainly seemed like it.

Even Republican Governor Haley Barbour, while admittedly having "concerns" about the initiative, caved to the pressure and voted for it.

No less a Republican luminary than Mitt Romney said he would sign a Constitutional amendment supporting the central tenet of Amendment 26:

An advertisement released by the national Democratic Party last week linked Romney's support for a federal amendment stating life starts at conception to Mississippi Initiative 26... In an October 1 interview, Romney replies "Absolutely," when Mike Huckabee asks him if he would support a federal "personhood" amendment.

The anti-research opposition had every advantage: funding, the use of certain churches for organizing centers, the backing of powerful Religious Right political groups like the Family Research Council, the support of the Republican hierarchy -- even a few scared Democrats who temporarily forgot which side they were on -- and the fact that no state has fewer advantages in terms of wealth or education.

But Mark Twain's state prevailed. Mississippians came through for their state, our America, and the world.They saw through the shenanigans, and defeated Amendment 26 overwhelmingly, 55-45%.

One day, when a free Mississippi establishes a stem cell research center, dedicated to healing the sick, we should look back, and remember this day.

Thank you, Mississippi.

 

Follow Don C. Reed on Twitter: www.twitter.com/diverdonreed

Comments

[Riven]

08:41 PM on 11/09/2011

Mark Twain's river is the Mississippi, but Mississippi doesn't seem to be among the states in which he lived. He did, however, live in Missouri, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Nevada, California, and Connecticut.

[susandiane]

04:12 PM on 11/09/2011

I lived in Mississippi for 6 years (husband stationed in Gulfport) and on the whole I found Mississippians (of all stripes) to be nice. Congrats for having reading comprehension skills ya'll!

[crewst]

03:51 PM on 11/09/2011

THAT DOESN'T SURPRISE ME! I I WAS TRANSFERRED TO MISSISSIPPI AND LIVED THERE FOUR 6 YRS. I HAVE LIVED IN A LOT OF STATES,BUT LIVING THERE,I THOUGHT I HAD DIED AND WENT TO HELL! !MOST RACIAL STATE EVER.. GOOD LUCK MISS.! YOU NEED IT.!...

[Feesister]

03:01 PM on 11/09/2011

I wasn't optimistic that the "personhood" measure would fail in Mississippi, but heartened to see that the red state ultimately saw the restrictions this would place on reproductive rights of women. If the far-right folks can't pass it there, let's hope they stop wasting their time and supporters' money trying to do it elsewhere.

[edtheengineer]

05:48 PM on 11/09/2011

The fact that Governor Boober supported it certainly means that they will try again in the next election. Fanatics never take no for an answer.

[Riven]

08:46 PM on 11/09/2011

Personhood USA will almost certainly succeed in getting the initiative back on the ballot in Mississippi in time for the 2012 Presidential election. The organization has already tried twice in Colorado, once in 2008 and once in 2010. It's not over for Mississippi, and it appears to have just begun for Oregon, Ohio, Montana, and Florida. Fanatics know no limits and are only inspired by defeat.

[SuzeC]

02:39 PM on 11/09/2011

"But Mark Twain's state prevailed." Bad reference. Mark Twain was actually from, I believe, Missouri and grew up along the Mississippi River in Missouri, NOT in the state of Mississippi. Now if you had said "Faulkner's state"....

But I digress: The bigger point is that Mississippians did the right thing in spite of so many institutions/groups working to pass the initiative; as a native of MS, I'm proud to see that!

[MathIsTruth]

02:39 PM on 11/09/2011

I don't believe that Mississippi is "Mark Twain's state". He was from Missouri, and worked on river boats on the Mississippi River for a while. But did he ever call the STATE of Mississippi home?

[Georgerz]

02:18 PM on 11/09/2011

Still I wonder how can 45% of the voters cast their vote for such a catastrophic ammendment. But it was no small victory for the Pro-Choice movement.

[Gordon McAlpin]

10:51 AM on 11/09/2011

I don't know if I'd call 55–45 "trashing"…

[synergie]

02:36 PM on 11/09/2011

Well you know were those numbers reversed that's certainly what it would be called.

[Cye]

05:17 PM on 11/09/2011

That's why the article didn't call it that. It said it was "defeated" not "trashed'.

[Nimbo]

10:17 AM on 11/09/2011

Well Don.... as someone who sits to the right of middle in the pro life / pro choice argument, you sound pretty scary. Every bit as bad as the the rabid, pro life crowd.

[infinitivesplit]

01:42 PM on 11/09/2011

It doesn't sound to me like you sit in the middle of the pro-life/pro-choice argument.

[Nimbo]

02:57 PM on 11/09/2011

Really? You can infer all that? Simply amazing -- unfortuately, you are mistaken. Let me assure you, that there is middle ground & Don isn't on it. And you probably aren't either. Do I believe life begins at conception? No. Having an abortion while an embryo looks like a lima bean is just fine in my book. On the other hand, late term abortions are abhorrent. If a fetus looks human, then my moral precepts give it the benefit of the doubt over the reproductive "rights" of the mother.

[synergie]

02:37 PM on 11/09/2011

Are you just easily startled, or did you read a completely different article?