The council meeting was really interesting this evening. And, as Jeff Vaught said, I’d probably be blogging about it.
First, he questioned the KSRA (Kansas State Rifle Assoc.) endorsements of certain challengers for city office. He wanted to know what did that have to do with Shawnee? Suffice it to say over the years there have been various items that have come up before council about the use of firearms. And most recently about hunting within the city limits. Also, a couple of years ago his ward mate attempted to introduce an ordinance that would allow for the confiscation of weapons if the mayor declared a state of emergency. If my memory serves me, that got shot down (no pun intended) because it violated state law.
He also ranted and raved about Mike Egan, quoting from comments that Egan made at a 2009 council meeting. Ironically, he wouldn’t be able to do that now, since we no longer have detailed minutes (he voted against them). That is, unless we want to listen to the audio CD and then play transcriber ourselves.
He alleges that Egan was running a slate against the incumbents, and that Egan owned the KSRA and the KFL (Kansans for Life). If that is the case, how come the KFL endorsed Sandifer?
Then he proceeded to rant about me. He said that I do not have a stake in Shawnee because I don’t have a tax receipt. He admitted that the taxes were part of my rent but because I didn’t have a tax statement that made a difference. That is the height of arrogant snobbishness. History lesson Mr. Vaught…….there was a time when only white, male, landowners could vote in this country, but that got changed, over a period of time. Would Vaught have us go backwards? When property taxes go up, rents go up. When franchise fees, sales taxes, etc. are levied, we pay them too.
Now, what stake does he have in this country? Did he ever serve in the military? Even in peace time? Even in the guard or reserve, ready to go if necessary? I personally did four years, including a year in Nam. But let’s bring it to his generation. He is 2 years/4 months older than my oldest son. Now my oldest did his four years from ’88 to ’92, including Desert Storm (1/34th Armor, 1st Inf Division – The Big Red One). Did Vaught serve, or was he one of those who let other people’s sons, daughters, husbands, wives, brothers, sisters, serve in his stead? Maybe we should make that a requirement to be able to vote?
If you have time, read the info below:
When the Constitution was written, only white male property owners (about 10 to 16 percent of the nation's population) had the vote. Over the past two centuries, though, the term "government by the people" has become a reality. During the early 1800s, states gradually dropped property requirements for voting. Later, groups that had been excluded previously gained the right to vote. Other reforms made the process fairer and easier.
1790
1790 Only white male adult property-owners have the right to vote.
1800
1810
1810 Last religious prerequisite for voting is eliminated.
1820
1840
1850 Property ownership and tax requirements eliminated by 1850. Almost all adult white males could vote.
1855 Connecticut adopts the nation's first literacy test for voting. Massachusetts follows suit in 1857. The tests were implemented to discriminate against Irish-Catholic immigrants.
1860
1870 The 15th Amendment is passed. It gives former slaves the right to vote and protects the voting rights of adult male citizens of any race.
1880
1890 Mississippi adopts a literacy test to keep African Americans from voting. Numerous other states—not just in the south—also establish literacy tests. However, the tests also exclude many whites from voting. To get around this, states add grandfather clauses that allow those who could vote before 1870, or their descendants, to vote regardless of literacy or tax qualifications.
1900
1910
1913 The 17th Amendment calls for members of the U.S. Senate to be elected directly by the people instead of State Legislatures.
1915 Oklahoma was the last state to append a grandfather clause to its literacy requirement (1910). In Guinn v. United States the Supreme Court rules that the clause is in conflict with the 15th Amendment, thereby outlawing literacy tests for federal elections.
1920
1924 Indian Citizenship Act grants all Native Americans the rights of citizenship, including the right to vote in federal elections.
1930
1940
1944 The Supreme Court outlaws "white primaries" in Smith v. Allwright (Texas). In Texas, and other states, primaries were conducted by private associations, which, by definion, could exclude whomever they chose. The Court declares the nomination process to be a public process bound by the terms of 15th Amendment.
1950
1957 The first law to implement the 15th amendment, the Civil Rights Act, is passed. The Act set up the Civil Rights Commission—among its duties is to investigate voter discrimination.
1960
1961 The 23rd Amendment allows voters of the District of Columbia to participate in presidential elections.
1964 The 24th Amendment bans the poll tax as a requirement for voting in federal elections.
1965 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., mounts a voter registration drive in Selma, Alabama, to draw national attention to African-American voting rights.
1965 The Voting Rights Act protects the rights of minority voters and eliminates voting barriers such as the literacy test. The Act is expanded and renewed in 1970, 1975, and 1982.
1966 The Supreme Court, in Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections, eliminates the poll tax as a qualification for voting in any election. A poll tax was still in use in Alabama, Mississippi, Texas, and Virginia.
1966 The Court upholds the Voting Rights Act in South Carolina v. Katzenbach.
1970
1970 Literacy requirements are banned for five years by the 1970 renewal of the Voting Rights Act. At the time, eighteen states still have a literacy requirement in place. In Oregon v. Mitchell, the Court upholds the ban on literacy tests, which is made permanent in 1975. Judge Hugo Black, writing the court's opinion, cited the "long history of the discriminatory use of literacy tests to disenfranchise voters on account of their race" as the reason for their decision.
1971 The 26th amendment sets the minimum voting age at 18.
1972 In Dunn v. Blumstein, the Supreme Court declares that lengthy residence requirements for voting in state and local elections is unconstitutional and suggests that 30 days is an ample period.
1980
1990
2000
2003 Federal Voting Standards and Procedures Act requires states to streamline registration, voting, and other election procedures.
