This is still a work in progress; this draft shadows the format of the Draft Platform better and is, I hope clearer. The Amendment would seek to strike out what is currently in the Draft Platform as Aritcle VIII and insert the following:
Proposed Amendment to the Draft Platform
In place of “Article VIII Public Safety and Crime Prevention” insert:
Article VIII Open Courts, Access to Justice, and Public Safety
As Democrats, we understand that crime originates from many causes, including but not limited to addiction, poverty, and mental illness. We therefore reaffirm our commitment to a sufficiency of treatment beds for addiction, the elimination of poverty in our lifetime, and a sufficiency and availability of treatment providers for mental illness to end the so-called “school to prison pipeline”. As Democrats, we believe that public safety requires not only support for vigorous enforcement of laws, but the elimination of crime through social change.
Massachusetts Democrats fully support Article XI of the Massachusetts Constitution, the “Open Courts Clause”, which states: Every subject of the commonwealth ought to find a certain remedy, by having recourse to the laws, for all injuries or wrongs which he may receive in his person, property, or character. He ought to obtain right and justice freely, and without being obliged to purchase it; completely, and without any denial; promptly, and without delay; conformably to the laws.
Therefore, Massachusetts Democrats support:
a. The Judicial Branch as a co-equal branch of government, fully funded to ensure access to justice across the entire Commonwealth
b. Access to justice which includes, but is not limited to, all indigent legal defense mandated by G.L.c.211D, civil legal services, prison legal advisors, and Mental Health Legal Advisors.
c. As Massachusetts Democrats, we affirm that an independent judiciary is essential to democracy and therefore commit to full support for the judicial branch of government.
d. Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) reform including the sealing of juvenile records, and minimizing the impact of non-conviction and non violent CORI on employment, including an accessible, rational process for correcting and amending inaccurate CORI.
e. Minimizing incarceration, so only those who truly present a danger to society are incarcerated; Massachusetts Democrats deplore the current situation where a greater amount is spent on incarceration every year then is spent on higher education.
I was just so disappointed that MY party was only talking “tough on crime” and not about solutions, access to justice, the open court clause, or ANYTHING about the judicial branch’s independence and design as a co-equal branch of government.
How do you or any other member of the State Committee hope to get this even heard when you have members like Steve Fradkin who wants a platform that any one can run on?
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p>We are willing to elect anyone who says he is a Democrat, regardless if he supports the platform or not. Why do we even bother to have a Party then is all we are interested is to count up how many elected officials we get elected. This accomplishes nothing, and is a simple minded and lazy response to the hard work that is required to advance a true democrats values and goals. What if Ted Kennedy took this easy out decades ago on Health care would we be talking about ti today, in my opinion we would not. The Platform needs goals and tough goals to keep working for trying to accomadate Democrats in Name only is a slap in the face to everyone who has stood holding a sign or written a letter or gone to a rally to support our values.
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p>This entire platform is nothing short of a sellout and should be scrapped from the preamble on out.
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p>If elected officials have such a problem with our goals then maybe they should try the Republican party if they don’t they may become a progressive individuals target next election.
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p>Just so you know I do come from a to say the least moderate Democratic District that I am sure would love to see us back away from equal rights and freedom of choice and the death penalty but everyday and every election I work to educate and to convince them of why I don’t agree. We won this city for the governor the first time in 16 years a democrat carried it. It was a lot of hard work and phone calls and GOTV but even a moderate slightly conservative city could embrace our Platform with the right candidate.
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p>This Platform is a shift into the Unenrolled column as far as I can see and the member of the SC who helped form it says so as well.
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p>Shame on us!!!!!!
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p>As Usual just my Opinion