The state of New Mexico is going full sophist Marxist, creating a law that would make it illegal to deny individuals their positive (Marxist concepts of rights, not American ones) ‘right’ to have a clean environment. The people of New Mexico are about to learn what it’s like to live under Lenin, it would seem.
Lawmakers to consider Green Amendment to New Mexico Constitution | Local News
From www.santafenewmexican.com
2022-01-16 01:31:39
Excerpt:
The proposed Green Amendment that would make a clean and healthy environment a constitutional right for New Mexicans will be taken up in the legislative session with strong Democratic backing and virtually zero Republican support.
The partisan divide is no surprise to anyone familiar with the effort to make the state constitution a backstop for environmental protection.
Advocates say it would compel the state to enforce current laws and enable it to draw on constitutional authority when regulations don’t adequately cover specific threats to the environment or public health.
Opponents say it could lead to government overreach that would hurt the state’s industries — such as fossil fuel, agriculture, timber and mining — and the communities that depend on the jobs in those sectors.
The Green Amendment has 25 co-sponsors, all Democrats, compared with four who backed the proposal when it was introduced in the 2021 legislative session but failed to get a hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee. It also has drawn the support of 40 organizations, including environmental, faith, Indigenous and community groups.
“It requires the state to do its job to protect the environment,” said state Sen. Antoinette Sedillo Lopez, D-Albuquerque, one of the co-sponsors.
If the state failed to enforce rules on, say, methane emissions or the contaminated water from fracking, the amendment would give citizens added leverage to demand the state improve its oversight, Sedillo Lopez said.
But Republican state Sen. Steve Neville of Farmington, whose district is part of the natural gas-rich San Juan Basin, called the amendment “a feel-good thing” that’s too vague and broad.
It could allow the state to take sweeping, arbitrary actions against anything it deems harmful to the environment, Neville said.
“It’s a bit scary, frankly,” Neville said….
