Missouri hasn’t always had an easy time with issues of discrimination. But in the Missouri state house, right now, they are debating Senate Bill 43, a measure that would make individual claims of discriminatory practices nearly impossible to win in court.
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Missouri state Rep. Michael Butler believes Senate Bill 43 is not only misguided — because it would make it “significantly more difficult” to prove unlawful discrimination — but also blatantly self-serving because it would help a Republican whose business is being sued for unlawful discrimination.
Other opponents of the legislation have given SB 43 a couple of nicknames: “The Right To Discriminate” and “The Right To Grope.”
What makes the bill stand out, though, isn’t just the fact that it raises the burden of proof, it is that the legislation is textbook self-dealing.
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“This is a blatant disregard for common decorum and integrity by Senator Romine, who’s is attempting to change a Human Rights law on a matter that directly benefits his company,” said Butler, a St. Louis Democrat, in a statement. “Moreover, no representative for the state of Missouri should tolerate or attempt to hide this kind of blatantly racist behavior.”
Sen. Gary Romine does own Show-Me-Rent-To-Own, a company that is being sued for racial discrimination under the Missouri Human Rights Act.
However, he said SB 43 was not self-serving. Romine argued it would benefit the entire Missouri business community by stopping frivolous lawsuits.
That’s right. A legislator who is being sued for discriminatory practice is moving to change the rules of the game, making it extremely difficult for those who allege discrimination to prevail. Sounds fair, right?
Missouri Democratic party members are holding serve, fighting to make sure this effort gets stopped. Should it move forward, groups have argued that it would make Missouri look like it did pre-Civil Rights era, where the social risk of reporting discriminatory practices are far greater than any hope of getting change.
“This is a fight for basic human rights” argued a legislator on the floor, “human decency”.
This year in the Missouri state house has seen some truly bad bills, some that died, some that unfortunately moved forward. But #SB43 may take the cake in regards to the general use of the government by any individual.
Tuesday, May 9, 2017 · 3:20:40 AM +00:00 · Chris Reeves
The bill eventually passed the Missouri house and will head to the Governor. Missouri Democratic Chair Stephen Webber has issued this statement:
“The Missouri Democratic Party believes civil rights should only move one direction, forward. It's disappointing that the Republican establishment in Jefferson City disagrees.”