Before elevating additional activity to a constitutional right, Missouri lawmakers may want to heed the advice of Robot B-9.
The robot, you may recall, was programmed to warn the stranded family of impending danger on the 1960s television program, "Lost in Space."
Some lawmakers - in past sessions and, notably, during this session - perceive attacks on what they consider traditional behavior and activities.
A tendency has been to repel those attacks by enshrining specific activities and behaviors as constitutional rights.
A partial list of proposed constitutional amendments includes:
• A right to farm.
• A right to hunt and fish.
• A right to hold a rodeo.
• A right for parents to raise their children as they see fit.
Are these proposals a reasonable response to a real threat or an over-reaction fueled by paranoia?
Two factors aggravating this constitutional amendment fever, if we may call it that, are Proposition B and term limits.
Proposition B was an animal welfare law - not a constitutional amendment - approved by voters, but changed drastically by lawmakers before it became effective.
The action provided a compelling example of why a constitutional amendment is preferable; it is impervious to legislative tampering.
In addition, term limits fuel a tendency among lawmakers to pass measures with greater durability. Perhaps it is political equivalent of the psychological longing to create something that continues after we're gone .
The tendency to enshrine activity and behavior as a constitutional right, however, presents both short-term and long-term consequences.
The immediate concern is if a constitutional amendment permits abuse, the error cannot be rectified quickly.
The long-range consequence, as we wrote in this forum on Feb. 2 is: "If we continue on this inane path of continually amending the constitution, representative government eventually will become superfluous."
A constitution is a framework for governing; it is not a law book or regulation manual.
To paraphrase Robot B-9: Danger, Missouri Legislature, danger!