According to Wikipedia< "At 340,136 words, the document is 12 times longer than the average state constitution, 40 times longer than the U.S. Constitution, and is the longest still-operative constitution anywhere in the world. (The English translation of the Constitution of India, the longest national constitution, is about 117,369 words long, a third of the length.)"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_Alabama
This lumbering brontosaurus contains these pearls to this very day:
Sec. 86. Suppression of dueling.
The legislature shall pass such penal laws as it may deem expedient to suppress the evil practice of dueling.
LIBRARY REFERENCES
American Digest System:
Criminal Law 45.30.
Corpus Juris Secundum:
C.J.S. Dueling §§ 2 to 3.
CASENOTES
Generally 1
1. Generally
“Duel” is any combat with deadly weapons, fought between two or more persons, by previous agreement or upon a previous quarrel; it differs from an “affray” in that an affray occurs on a sudden quarrel while a duel is always the result of design. Payne v. State, 391 So.2d 140 (Ala.Crim.App.1980). Criminal Law 45.15; Criminal Law 45.30
Ala. Const. Art. IV, § 86, AL CONST Art. IV, § 86
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Sec. 93.09. Promotion of production, distribution, etc., of swine and swine products.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this Constitution, the legislature may hereafter, by general law, provide for the promotion of, the production, research, distribution, marketing, use, improvement and sale of swine and swine products.
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Sec. 111.02. Termination of alimony upon remarriage or cohabitation of spouse.
The legislature may pass laws to provide for the termination of alimony upon the remarriage of the spouse receiving the alimony or upon such spouse living openly or cohabiting with a member of the opposite sex. Such laws may be made to apply retrospectively.
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Article X. Exemptions.
Sec. 209. Property rights of females; property of wife not liable for debts, etc., of husband.
The real and personal property of any female in this state, acquired before marriage, and all property, real and personal, to which she may afterwards be entitled by gift, grant, inheritance, or devise, shall be and remain the separate estate and property of such female, and shall not be liable for any debts, obligations, or engagements of her husband, and may be devised or bequeathed by her, the same as if she were a femme sole.
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Article XIV. Education.
Sec. 256. Educational policy of state; authority of legislature to provide for or authorize establishment and operation of schools by persons, municipalities, etc.; grant, donation, sale or lease of funds and property for educational purposes; election of certain schools for attendance by parents of minors.
It is the policy of the state of Alabama to foster and promote the education of its citizens in a manner and extent consistent with its available resources, and the willingness and ability of the individual student, but nothing in this Constitution shall be construed as creating or recognizing any right to education or training at public expense, nor as limiting the authority and duty of the legislature, in furthering or providing for education, to require or impose conditions or procedures deemed necessary to the preservation of peace and order.
The legislature may by law provide for or authorize the establishment and operation of schools by such persons, agencies or municipalities, at such places, and upon such conditions as it may prescribe, and for the grant or loan of public funds and the lease, sale or donation of real or personal property to or for the benefit of citizens of the state for educational purposes under such circumstances and upon such conditions as it shall prescribe. Real property owned by the state or any municipality shall not be donated for educational purposes except to nonprofit charitable or eleemosynary corporations or associations organized under the laws of the state.
To avoid confusion and disorder and to promote effective and economical planning for education, the legislature may authorize the parents or guardians of minors, who desire that such minors shall attend schools provided for their own race, to make election to that end, such election to be effective for such period and to such extent as the legislature may provide.
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Meanwhile, the following amendments have been enacted in recent years:
Article I. Declaration of Rights. (Refs & Annos)
Sec. 36.02. Sportsperson's Bill of Rights.
(a) All persons shall have the right to hunt and fish in this state in accordance with law and regulations.
(b) This amendment shall be known as the “Sportsperson's Bill of Rights.”
CREDIT(S)
(Amendment 597.)
HISTORY
Amendment 597 was proposed by Act 96-569, p. 862, submitted at the November 5, 1996 election, and proclaimed ratified December 5, 1996 (Proclamation Register No. 8, p. 216).
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Sec. 36.03. Sanctity of marriage.
(a) This amendment shall be known and may be cited as the Sanctity of Marriage Amendment.
(b) Marriage is inherently a unique relationship between a man and a woman. As a matter of public policy, this state has a special interest in encouraging, supporting, and protecting this unique relationship in order to promote, among other goals, the stability and welfare of society and its children. A marriage contracted between individuals of the same sex is invalid in this state.
(c) Marriage is a sacred covenant, solemnized between a man and a woman, which, when the legal capacity and consent of both parties is present, establishes their relationship as husband and wife, and which is recognized by the state as a civil contract.
(d) No marriage license shall be issued in the State of Alabama to parties of the same sex.
(e) The State of Alabama shall not recognize as valid any marriage of parties of the same sex that occurred or was alleged to have occurred as a result of the law of any jurisdiction regardless of whether a marriage license was issued.
(f) The State of Alabama shall not recognize as valid any common law marriage of parties of the same sex.
(g) A union replicating marriage of or between persons of the same sex in the State of Alabama or in any other jurisdiction shall be considered and treated in all respects as having no legal force or effect in this state and shall not be recognized by this state as a marriage or other union replicating marriage.
CREDIT(S)
(Amendment 774.)
HISTORY
Amendment 774 was proposed by Act 2005-35, submitted June 6, 2006, and proclaimed ratified June 28, 2006 (Proclamation Register No. 11, p. 865).
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Little wonder, then, that there is an organization striving to revise and amend their state's constitution: http://www.constitutionalreform.org/
Here's what the local media are saying about the effort:
Piece-by-piece start toward constitutional reform (editorial)
The Press Register
By: Editorial Board
May 1, 2011
ALABAMA’S 1901 constitution is an outdated clunker that needs a complete overhaul.
But we’d settle for replacing one part here and one part there as long as progress is being made.
Piecemeal constitutional reform is the plan being put forth in a resolution approved by the Legislature and expected to be signed soon by Gov. Robert Bentley.
Proposed by Sen. Del Marsh, R-Anniston, the resolution would create a commission of 16 people to suggest changes to the bloated document that now has more than 800 amendments to its name.
Read more
OUR VIEW: A constitutional revision commission could solve many problems with the state constitution
The Birmingham News
By: Editorial Board
April 27, 2011
There's more than one way to skin a constitution. But will the latest proposal -- a constitutional revision commission -- be enough to put the 1901 Constitution of Alabama out of our misery?
Not completely (more on that later), but the idea is a good start toward cleaning up the mess the constitution's drafters created more than a century ago.
It is a big job.
Read more
Constitutional revision effort set to begin; taxes aren't in mix
The Gadsden Times
By: Dana Beyerle
April 18, 2011
MONTGOMERY — The Legislature on Tuesday could begin a three-year project to rewrite select portions of the lengthy and often-amended 1901 state constitution. Rep. Paul DeMarco, R-Homewood, is sponsoring two proposed constitutional amendments that top the special order calendar the House Rules Committee will consider prior to the House convening on Tuesday.
“I've worked on this the last four years and hopefully this will be the year it gets to the public,” DeMarco said Monday.
Read more
In fairness, Alabama's constitution enshrines many of the same rights contained in the U.S. Constitution. Whatever the intent of the framers --- whether to give citizens of the state more or less ability to directly legislate --- the document is a great big bucket, into which the most fundamental of human rights are jammed with guidelines on legislating for the promotion of goats, pigs and peanuts. And then, of course, there are the weird vestigial provisions on separate but equal education, and the modern additions favoring hunters and disfavoring gays.
Read the document and you get an education in the history, geography, economy and culture of this most southern of southern states.
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