A proposed constitutional amendment clarifying that all forms of slavery and indentured servitude are prohibited in Vermont has overcome its final legislative hurdle. It’s now poised to go before voters in November.
Capping off a four-year process, the Vermont House on Friday voted 139-3 for Proposal 2 with little debate or opposition. Rep. Hal Colston, D-Winooski, said on the floor that the constitutional amendment “is simple and clear, yet powerful and profound.”
Vermont was the first state in the nation to abolish slavery in 1777, but proponents of Prop 2 say the Constitution’s language is ambiguous — and harmful.
It states in Article 1 that “no person born in this country, or brought from over sea, ought to be holden by law, to serve any person as a servant, slave or apprentice, after arriving to the age of twenty-one years, unless bound by the person’s own consent, after arriving to such age, or bound by law for the payment of debts, damages, fines, costs, or the like.”
Prop 2 proposes to amend the Constitution to simply state that “slavery and indentured servitude in any form are prohibited.”
Colston on Friday referred to testimony that two constitutional scholars provided legislators as they considered the amendment. According to Colston, both said the current language is sufficient — “but neither of these scholars had the lived experience of being descendants of enslaved Africans.”
“As a Black man, it’s possible that I might know my reality better than you think you know my reality,” he continued. “My reality finds the current language in Article 1 as harmful and threatening to Vermonters who experience the vestiges of slavery. My truth, as a descendant of enslaved Africans, is that this current language gives the appearance that there may be an exception for the existence of slavery and indentured servitude.”
“Language is powerful, and the truth shall set us free,” he concluded.
In committee hearings earlier this session, lawmakers have cited potential conflicts between Prop 2 and the utilization of prison labor. Throughout the country, including in Vermont, incarcerated people are often unpaid or underpaid for labor while they are incarcerated.
Lawmakers in the House Government Operations Committee disagreed on whether unpaid prison labor qualified as slavery.
“I agree that somebody who is not paid a fair wage, is required to work as a person who is incarcerated and for whom profit is made off of that labor is not fair and should be prohibited,” Rep. Sarah Copeland Hanzas, D-Bradford, said in January.
“I respect the opinion, but I very much disagree,” Rep. Rob LaClair, R-Barre Town, responded at the time.
LaClair was one of three representatives to vote ‘no’ on the proposal Friday. The other two were newly appointed Rep. Larry Labor, R-Morgan, and Rep. Brian Smith, R-Derby. Seven members were absent for the vote.
The House is expected to finalize another proposed constitutional amendment, protecting abortion and contraceptive access, next week.
