British Columbia

(Regional Charter modeled after Canadian Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms, UN Declaration of Human Rights, and US Bill of Rights)

Victorian Charter of Rights and Freedoms

1. Freedom of speech, press, peaceable assembly, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances
2. The Region shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof
3. Freedom from warrantless searches and seizures of property and persons; all warrants must be supported by probable cause and specifically describe the persons and/or property to be searched and/or seized
4. Right to a trial by jury in felony cases
5. No excessive bail required nor cruel or unusual punishments inflicted; the death penalty shall be forthwith abolished
6. Freedom from discrimination in public accommodations on the basis of ethnicity, color, disability, gender identity, national origin, race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation
7. The Region shall make no ex post facto law or bill of attainder
8. No citizen shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law
9. Private property shall not be taken for public use without just compensation
10. None of these rights shall be construed to deny the protection of another right.
11. All rights and freedoms herein contained are applied to all NationStates of the Region and their local governments; they cannot be abrogated or abridged.

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(Called Victorian Charter, as Victoria is BC's capital.)

4. Right to a trial by jury in felony cases

4. Right to a fair trial by jury for criminal cases.

Civil Law is a whole other matter.

There should be a right to privacy enshrined as well.

The Senate should be composed of the WA members in the region.

There are some jurisdictions where a definition of a marriage is included, but I think that was a response to Mormon's polygamy practices and not towards same sex relationships. I do think a marriage should be limited to one man, one woman, a union with the intent of having children brought forth. Anything else, should not be considered and protected as a marriage. But I digress. :)

Is four WA members enough for the senate?:)

BC Bud:

Thank you for a response! I would hesitate to preserve the jury trial right for all criminal cases, as the volume of petty criminal cases is staggering - judicial resources could be entirely consumed by traffic cases alone! I looked up the scope of the right to a jury trial in the United States on Wikipedia, and it has been interpreted by the Supreme Court to apply only to cases where the crime is punishable by incarceration of a period greater than six months. I think that's a fair balance between substantial justice and judicial economy/practicality. Any thoughts?

Definitely with you on the WA Assembly Members being Senators. It's one of the only real ways of checking the Delegate, and it would encourage more people to join the WA. (You should join!)

I have to say, I respectfully, but adamantly disagree with your stance on marriage rights. I think we should include a right to marriage for same-sex couples in the Charter, as it's legal in the real British Columbia, and I think it's an important civil rights issue of which we as a region should be supportive. The argument from procreation is a familiar and tired one: given that infertile and elderly heterosexual couples can marry, it follows that neither procreation nor the intent to procreate is a necessary element of state-sanctioned marriage. (Of course, the second Freedom above is understood to protect religious institutions from performing or recognizing same-sex marriages, so there's not a conflict there.)

I have not once heard a secular, logical argument against extending state-sanctioned marriage rights to same-sex couples. That said, I would love to have this debate and eviscerate the counterarguments one by one.

(I'm going to redraft the Charter to include more detailed descriptions and explanations of each Right and Freedom and post it later.)