Acknowledging the Laws of God in the Texas Constitution
Now that members of the Texas Legislature can file legislation, I am sending out model legislation for them to consider. The drafts will offer possible solutions for improving our liberty and reducing the size, scope, and burden of Texas government. Some will propose amendments to the Texas Constitution, others changes to Texas statutes. While focused on the state of Texas, most of these concepts could be applied in other states, though the legislation would have to be redrafted according to the laws and drafting standards of each state.
Draft (Word); Draft (pdf); Explanation (Word); Explanation (pdf)
Purpose of proposed legislation
To confirm that the rights of Texans acknowledged in the Texas Constitution’s Bill of Rights flow from and are subject to not only human laws but to the laws of God.
Explain the problem being addressed
With the increasing rejection of the U.S. Constitution by the government of the United States and many politicians in Texas’ state and local governments, Texans should affirm that there is a higher authority over the rights of Texans and the laws that govern them.
Explain how the proposed legislation addresses the problem
The amendment places into Texas constitutional law the fundamental concept that the rights of Texans and the laws that govern them are subject to the laws of God.
What statute(s) would be changed by proposed legislation?
Article 1, Section 1 of the Texas Constitution.
Explanation of Proposed Legislation
The first words of the Texas Constitution, contained in its preamble, are “Humbly invoking the blessings of Almighty God, the people of the State of Texas, do ordain and establish this Constitution.”
The words of the Texas Constitution are much like other founding documents of our nation. For instance, the U.S. Declaration of Independence acknowledged God as the source of our laws and our liberty: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
The Declaration also acknowledges the sovereign authority of God’s laws: “When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them …”
Additionally, the Mayflower Compact, probably the first American governing document written by the colonialists themselves, begins: “IN THE NAME OF GOD, AMEN. We … in the Presence of God and one another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil Body Politick for our better Ordering and Preservation, and … for the Glory of God, and Advancement of the Christian Faith, and the Honour of our King and Country.”
And the charters of the various American colonies, such as for the Virgina colony, acknowledge God and His providence.
This amendment would likewise acknowledge the sovereignty of God over Texas, its laws, and its people. It would do this by adding the following underlined language:
Texas is a free and independent State, subject only to the laws of God and the Constitution of the United States, and the maintenance of our free institutions and the perpetuity of the Union depend upon the preservation of the right of local self-government, unimpaired to all the States.
In doing this, the rights of Texans would be better secured and the rule of law enhanced though the acknowledgment in Texas law that our rights and laws are subject not only to the U.S. Constitution but to God.
Previous Texas Model Legislation
- Placing the Preamble of the U.S. Declaration of Independence into the Texas Constitution’s Bill of Rights
- Allowing Consideration of Legislation that Repeals Current Law in the First 60 Days
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