I'm so excited that the personhood amendment on the Mississippi ballot today is getting so much national attention; however, along with that attention has been a good ol' helping of Southern- and Mississippi-hating by people who believe all the stereotypes about the South.
On Rachel Maddow's blog, a recent article about personhood was followed by several comments from readers, including "Secede already!" Really? A bad initiative on the ballot in Mississippi is equivalent to terrible decisions made over a hundred years ago over slavery? Let's recap:
Mississippi is not the first state to vote on proposed personhood amendments. Colorado has voted on them twice, and voted them down twice.
Mississippians are not responsible for this initiative appearing on the ballot. Personhood USA is the group behind these initiatives in Colorado and Mississippi. Personhood USA is trying to push a national agenda against abortion, and they're doing it state by state. They are currently trying to get similar initiatives on the ballot in at least six other states, and have petitions to do the same in all fifty states. This well-funded, extremist group is working extremely hard to overturn Roe v. Wade, and they see these personhood measures as the best way to do it.
You may say, this is all true BUT didn't Mississippians have to sign a petition to get this on the ballot in the first place? True. Now, I never saw the petition, but from what I've heard, the petition basically said "Do you think abortion should be illegal?" It did not say "Do you think the State Constitution should be amended to to make every single fertilized egg a person?" It did not say, "Do you think birth control, IVF, stem cell research, and safe, medical treatment for dangerous pregnancies should be endangered?" It was a manipulation of Mississippi voters. And I wouldn't be surprised if this is the same way that the measures were put on the Colorado ballot, or the way that they are attempting to get them on others.
Even today, when we go to the polls, we are simply asked if a fertilized egg should now be defined as a person; there is no mention of the State Constitution being amended. Voters who have not been able to follow the local and national coverage will not be fully informed of what they are voting on.
So when news followers from other states make comments about how backwards Mississippians are and how we deserve everything we get because we are so dumb, ill-educated and extremely conservative, let's remind them that their states could soon be facing this same question on their ballot. Let's remind them that Personhood USA is a national group, not a Mississippi one, and that personhood initiatives are a national problem, not just a Mississippi problem.
And most importantly, let's go out today and VOTE NO on 26, and prove that Personhood USA can't just assume that because we are a traditionally conservative state that we will allow our voters to be manipulated by a group with our worst interests at heart.
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