Celestiam: In Favor of GAR20

As the sponsor of this resolution, I will obviously be speaking in support of it.

Citizenship and citizens are the building blocks of our Region’s democracy. Sure, they may not be vested with specific powers, they may not carry fancy titles, and they may not be masked with distinctive colors in our Discord servers. But citizens, from the Secretary-General to our newest arrival, from the juridical thinkers to the roleplayers, from the most pragmatic legislators to the idealists, are the real Masters of the New West Indies. They are the captains that decide of the future of the region, through elections and through the General Assembly. It is in the name of the citizens of this region that the commonly thought “higher” officers of this region execute their functions. It is by the grace of the citizenry, not merely a Monarch or a Founder or a Secretariat, that our democracy continues to prosper.

Yet, despite citizenship being of so high importance, it is poorly legislated. Being the building block, it is one of the first subjects to ever have been legislated. The result is that the legislation is old, not necessarily outdated, but rather vulnerable to the test of time as the quality of legal thought increases. GAR#1 and the Constitution contradict each other. §2 of the Constitution takes so much for granted that it dissociates citizenship from residency and considers all nations of the NS multiverse as citizens. Any NS Nation has the right to send a telegram demanding that they be permitted to have a say in how we operate, without even needing to move a nation here. This is absurd and I believe unintentional language, yet it severely fragilizes the cornerstone of NWI Democracy, of NWI lifestyle!

The Resolution is an excellent remedy to a conflict between Constitutional and Statute Law, and fixes inconsistencies and absurd clauses of the Constitution in §§ 2, 5, and 23. The resolution clarifies the essential process of citizenship, sanctifying and protecting our democratic values. I support this legislation.

I will nevertheless formally propose two amendments later today. The first amendment will concern §I paragraph ii on the 7-day restriction in being allowed to vote. I oppose this restriction, but I believe this excellent piece of legislation must not go down in flames for it, and that this Assembly should be allowed to have a say on this key section of the law. If accepted, the amendment will remove this restriction. If voted down the restriction will remain, but it will be there by the decision of the Members of this Assembly, and will have reasonably been discussed and approved by vote.

The second amendment is an amendment of form as opposed to substance concerning the first line of §II. Not only does it contain a comma splice, it also is written in a way that could be interpreted as allowing only one citizen to vote. It is a small grammatical unclarity that does not make this resolution any less good or its authors any less talented, but an unclarity that could be very dangerous if not corrected by this Assembly.

I will formally submit my amendment later today. I do encourage all the members by right of this Assembly, even those whose voices do not often echo in its halls, to jump in and at least discuss the 7 day period, as this is an amendment of policy rather than style, requiring only an opinion, no specific legal knowledge. Furthermore, this resolution concerns you, it concerns our rights, it concerns how others in the future will be able to join us in the unforgettable and fantastic journey that are the New West Indies. I look forward to hearing the voices of this Assembly!

October 10th, 2019

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