And the sky turned in on itself…That’s the way it feels when
I find agreement with Gov. Bob McDonnell these days. But McDonnell’s support of
legislation to restore voting rights for nonviolent felons who have completed
their sentences is legislation that I can get behind as well.[1]
McDonnell pushed the proposal/legislation in his State of
the Commonwealth speech[2],
pleasing Democratic legislators and irking some of his conservative Republican
Party colleagues.
The current process, championed primarily by conservative
Republicans in the Virginia House of Delegates, grants the governor the sole authority
to restore the rights of individuals on a “case-by-case review.”[3]
The irony of these conservatives putting the keys of civic liberty into the
hands of one individual shouldn’t be lost.
Altering the current system, however, would require a
constitutional amendment which itself must be passed in two separate sessions
of the General Assembly and then by the voters. Thus, given the barriers to
such legislation (e.g., a House of Delegates that will very likely kill the
legislation), McDonnell’s proposal appears to be more of a political move to
reframe his public image than it is any great concern about the civic liberties
of nonviolent felons.
Of course, such concerns shouldn’t entirely be disregarded.
McDonnell may sincerely believe that restoring voting rights to nonviolent
felons who have finished their sentences is the right thing to do.
Underlying McDonnell’s proposal is an attack upon the
dominant strand of conservative ideology: that all individuals must be held to
account for their actions.
McDonnell’s legislative proposal essentially admits that
individuals make mistakes and that society should not punish the folks who get
caught for the rest of their lives. By contrast, conservative Republican
lawmakers suggest that anyone who commits a crime, nonviolent or not, should
not be allowed to share in the same liberties as other “law-abiding citizens.”
In a society filled to the brim with laws, a society that
does see difference in how laws are carried out, a society that picks and
chooses who should be held to the full extent of the law for this or that
offense, a society that gives a disproportionate advantage to middle and upper
class individuals, it is unreasonable to argue against allowing greater
leniency towards full citizenship if and when a nonviolent felon has completed
his or her sentence.
As is so often the case, hypocrisy shrouds much of the anger
being spewed by conservative Republicans. How many of them have committed
felonies without being caught? How many skeletons are in their closets? How
many second chances have they been given?
We all make mistakes in life, some worse than others. But none
of us should have these mistakes bear upon us for the rest of our lives if we
have taken the appropriate steps to rectify our behavior.
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