Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Felony Disenfranchisement
What does the term disenfranchisement mean? According to the Black's Law Dictionary, disenfranchisement means taking away the right to vote in public elections from citizens or class of citizens in this case citizens that have been charged with felonies ( Felony Disenfranchisement). With the primaries and presidential elections around the corner Felony Disenfranchisement has become a hot subject to talk about during the political debates. Some candidates are in favor of allowing felons to vote, right that was taken away by the founders. It is not a mystery that a great percentage of people incarcerated are black, and this is the population that is being affected the most by this law. The Fourteenth Amendment prohibits the Government from denying the right to vote on the basis of race, color or previous condition of servitude, however it does not prohibit the Government from taking away the right to vote from people that have committed felonies.
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Veronica, if you were in a position of power and able to make a change in this area, which way would you vote?
ReplyDeleteI think this is a very controversial subject. When someone comits a crime, it is an act that does not only affect the victims but the society as a whole;The satates or the Federal Government take it upon themselves to punish these people.However, it is only normal that getting punish for a crime comes with the restrain of some of the rights and duties inherent to us as citizens, such as being deprived of our freedom and our right to vote; what happend after people had completed their sentences? can they have their right to vote back? do we want that to happend? obviously I have not picked a side in this matter and perhaps a little bit of more research will help.
ReplyDeleteThis is pretty interesting. I can see that while a person is in prison they would not reap the benefits, if you will, that they would have had they not been charged with crimes and denied their freedom. Do they not have the right to vote once they have done the time for their crime? I don't agree with taking that right away once they have completed their sentences.
ReplyDeleteI think all should be able to vote, period.
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