The Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday struck down a law that threatened homeless people with jail time for sleeping on state land.

Judges ruled unanimously to toss the law for violating a section of the Missouri Constitution that prohibits legislation from containing multiple unrelated subjects.

In this case, the sweeping 64-page bill also dealt with city and county governance and banned COVID-19 vaccine requirements for public workers in Missouri.

Judges ruled that the law is “invalid in its entirety,” Judge Paul Wilson wrote in the court’s decision.

  • magnetosphere
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    6411 months ago

    In this case, the sweeping 64-page bill also dealt with city and county governance and banned COVID-19 vaccine requirements for public workers in Missouri.

    Why is this the only sentence in the entire article that even mentions this part of the law? This is an important issue, too.

    I don’t give a shit if Mabel has a sudden “religious objection” to vaccines, and whines about “freedom” to the few people remaining who can tolerate her. I have an objection to catching potentially deadly diseases from public employees, and unknowingly spreading them. Doesn’t that matter?

    • @kaitco
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      911 months ago

      Doesn’t that matter?

      Apparently not in the state of Mississippi.

    • fmstrat
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      811 months ago

      Even bigger than this is recognizing we don’t have a national law that says a bill can only deal with one subject.

    • Melllvar
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      211 months ago

      Because the lawsuit only challenged the homelessness provision, and the ruling was based on a technicality unrelated to the merits of the law.

  • Drusas
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    3411 months ago

    Judges ruled unanimously to toss the law for violating a section of the Missouri Constitution that prohibits legislation from containing multiple unrelated subjects.

    We have the same in Washington. If only we could get the same federally.

    • @WeeSheep
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      611 months ago

      I think this is the more important reason why it failed. Not necessarily either of the titled subjects, but the fact that there are multiple unrelated.

  • @[email protected]
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    1511 months ago

    Missouri’s state motto, Salus populi suprema lex esto," translates to “The welfare of the people shall be the supreme law.”

    They should change it to, Pēdīcābō ego vōs et irrumābō, which translates to, “I will bugger and facefuck you.”

    • Drusas
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      311 months ago

      They did something correct and that’s where you go?

    • Uglyhead
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      -411 months ago

      Welfare of the people…

      Unless those people are Mormons,… them you can shoot in the face and get rewarded for. Glad they finally rescinded that ‘Order 66’ on them.

      • @[email protected]
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        11 months ago

        After the Mormons stormed a private newspaper and smashed the presses for printing bad press about them. And raised a militia… And tried to use said militia to break Joseph Smith out of jail. There’s two sides to that story. The states side is preserved in law. The Mormons weren’t just sitting around reading their Bibles.

        I don’t agree with the law lasting as long as it did. But that story is basically a who’s who miserable religious fundamentalist who fucked off and founded Utah.

        Edit - I was wrong. Smith was killed in Illinois. I’d encourage you to read up on it. It’s a crazy story.

        • @[email protected]
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          211 months ago

          When a government promotes killing people for their religion, there are never two sides to the story. Civilized places prosecute individuals using due process.

        • Uglyhead
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          11 months ago

          I’m familiar with the story.

          Missourians hated Smith so much they gathered into another mob (Mormons were chased across Missouri by mob after mob) and went and executed him in another state. He was taking their chattel, they didn’t cotton to that.

          Now,…I don’t think he was a great man or a prophet; more like a grifting, glass-looking scammer. But I certainly don’t agree with any government order to execute any group of people on sight.

          • @[email protected]
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            411 months ago

            I dont know. Smith was a grifter like you said, and blew up his own cult just so he could fuck as many teenage girls as he wanted. He essentially institutionalized child abuse by church elders such that the US army had to be called in, and there are still groups of cultists who still do this. Smith was essentially above the law, and was preparing to marshal an army to resist the US government for the right to fuck every child

      • Flying Squid
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        511 months ago

        If you have to go back to the 1840s to make a criticism, maybe it isn’t a very good criticism?

        • Uglyhead
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          311 months ago

          That order to kill on sight was kept in place until the 1970’s. There’s been nothing like it in any other state of the union. I think it’s a fair criticism.

          • Flying Squid
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            311 months ago

            And exactly how many Mormons have been killed on sight since the 1840s?

            All kinds of stupid laws are never taken off the books.

            • Uglyhead
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              11 months ago

              Many many Mormons have been executed and/or killed by Missourians. Read up on it. It’s wild.

              Since a Missouri mob went and executed Joseph Smith and his number 2 guy, every Mormon fled far far away from Missouri or stayed far underground.

              • SGNL
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                411 months ago

                Whew, just whitewash over what the Mormons did in Missouri first to cause anger. I’m gonna guess you’re on the Mountain Meadows denial bandwagon too.

              • Flying Squid
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                411 months ago

                How about you provide me with evidence of this happening? Including the killers being exonerated, of course, since that would implicitly be required. It’s not my job to prove you are telling the truth.