After near unanimous support in the Legislature sent Senate Joint Resolution 10 to the ballot, Oregon will join at least four other states in voting this November on state constitutional amendments prohibiting slavery and involuntary servitude.
If voters pass Measure 112, Section 34 of the Oregon Bill of Rights would be amended to prohibit slavery or involuntary servitude without exception.
The constitution currently reads: "There shall be neither slavery, nor involuntary servitude in the State, otherwise than as a punishment for crime, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted."
It is one of the most significant and least understood civil rights issues in Oregon and the United States, Craig Berkman told Oregon lawmakers during public hearings about the measure. Berkman is a former federal inmate and CEO of the Free at Last Coalition.
“The basic governing documents of the U.S. in 21 states continue to provide the legal justification for slavery,” Berkman said during testimony. “The time has come to bring an end to America’s original sin. It is time for our generation to help bring healing and reconciliation to Oregon and our nation.”
The 13th Amendment outlawed slavery in the United States more than 150 years ago. But embedded in the text is an exception that allows people convicted of crimes to be subjected to involuntary servitude.
Similar language remains in state documents.
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