Constitution makes an appearance in House debates

In Thursday morning's House debate on HB 0082, which would expand the gun authorization of judges, Rep. Susan Lynn gave an interesting and even eloquent argument about the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment in opposition to Rep. Fincher's amendment to the bill that would allow legislators the same privileges.

I knew she was a fan of the Tenth Amendment, but I admit every time she or someone else brought it up, I found myself asking aloud, "What about the Fourteenth?" She knows it well and made good use of it on the floor. Obviously, I'd like to see much more extensive use made of the Fourteenth Amendment with respect to some other legislation being considered this session. But I have to give her props.

Legislative surveys

It seems as if more legislators are conducting issue surveys, which I think is a great idea. Anything that gets more people interacting with the state legislative process is "a good thing."

You can see the results of Rep. Susan Lynn's survey so far here. I was pleasantly surprised at the number of answers in question 14 that dealt with GLBT issues. You'll also find a lot of 10th Amendment stuff, too.

Sen. Jack Johnson is also conducting a survey at his website. There isn't opportunity for open-ended feedback, but it's still worth a look.

Rep. Susan Lynn wants to hear from you

Here's the survey she's advertising on Facebook.