The Free at Last Coalition was formed in response to the distressing reality that slavery is still legal in America today. More than 150 years after the Civil War ended and America believed it had resolved the question of slavery, the 13th Amendment of our Constitution continues to include a pivotal clause that amounts to an assent to slavery and involuntary servitude. This odious language in the 13th Amendment must be removed, once and for all, from our national charter. We, therefore, propose and will work to achieve amending the Constitution to eliminate the exception clause of Section 1 of the 13th Amendment.
Current text of the 13th Amendment:
Section 1
Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.
Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.
Our Change:
Section 1
Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.
Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.