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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuman Rights Presentation to the City Study CommissionMontana’s Constitution, Code of Law, and the Bozeman City Charter City code Montana Human Rights Act Bozeman City Charter and Code Part I, Article IV Montana Human Rights Bureau Structural and Individual Discrimination Members of the Study Commission, thank you for this opportunity to share with you some perspectives on human rights and city governance. But first, I want to thank you for your public service, which as we all know is both an exercise in sausage grinding and community building. I will start by sharing with you my perspective on human rights and then take a look at our Montana Constitution and what it says about human rights. Then, as suggested by Study Commission Members Jan Strout and Carson Taylor, I will ask what does our current city charter say about human rights: what’s there and what, if anything, is missing? I’ll conclude with suggesting ways our charter could be strengthened by incorporating more explicitly human rights that are guaranteed by our state constitution. This will give you things to consider, discuss, propose or not propose as you continue your deliberations as study commissioners over the next months into 2026. What I share with you this evening should be regarded as purely informational, that is, not as recommendations, but in the spirit of answering these questions. First, human rights, if you will allow me a few minutes on this subject that has been at the center of my public service and scholarly research for nearly four decades. Human rights are nothing new, although the term itself came into much more widespread use after the world witnessed the horrors inflicted on people by governments – in particular, the German and later the Russian governments, in World War II and in its aftermath. I prefer to think in terms of rights, and in particular our own Bill of Rights, without which we would not have a constitution, and without that, a democracy. My own mentor whose research was on human rights in other countries and internationally, was prompted by the inspiration of our Bill of Rights, wondering, in the 1960s, whether other democracies had similar provisions. He soon realized that our Bill of Rights has been the template for virtually all other democracies (and aspiring democracies) that have a written constitution. And it was also the inspiration for First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt to take a leadership role within the United Nations in framing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 10, 1948. It was, by the way, originally called the International Bill of Human Rights. So let’s cut to the Montana state constitution. Like many other state constitutions, it contains all of the same provisions of the US Constitution’s Bill of Rights, and then some, as many states do, These additional rights include, for example, a right to a quality public education (from our MT state constitution), a right to healthcare, to environmental well- being, and a right to privacy, which is not explicit in the federal constitution, but is explicit in many states. But I don’t want to get ahead of myself. Article I of the Montana State Constitution establishes a compact between the state of Montana and the federal government, which is also quite common. Article II, entitled “Declaration of Rights” enumerates 35 rights in 35 sections. If you have not read it, I highly recommend it. It is extraordinary. Let’s take a look. Although not on my menu of human rights enumerated in the state constitution that you might want to consider incorporating into our city charter, one of the more surprising and reassuring sections of Article II prohibits out-of-state armed groups or persons from entering the state of Montana without the consent of the legislature and only if the legislature cannot be convened, the governor. “No armed person or persons…shall be brought into this state for the preservation of the peace, or the suppression of domestic violence, except upon the application of the legislature, or of the governor when the legislature cannot be convened.” But I digress. The prohibition against out-of-state armed persons is an example of a collective right, meaning the people of Montana collectively are secured in their right not to be subjected to armed forces from outside of the state without the approval of the legislature. But most human rights – and most or all of those you might consider incorporating or referencing in our city charter – are individual rights. These are rights that protect individuals from arbitrary and injurious uses of power, primarily in the public sector – that is, by a government, but in some cases, the protection is also from arbitrary and injurious uses of power in the private sector. An example of the former are state hate crime laws, which 47 of the 50 states have, including Montana’s law against malicious intimidation and harassment that can be applied to hate crimes. That law is found in the Montana Code Annotated (§ 45-5-221) and makes it a crime to act with intent to terrify, intimidate, threaten, harass, annoy, or offend someone based on their race, creed, religion, color, national origin, or involvement in civil or human rights activities. Another example of a right, a human right, that protects an individual from arbitrary and injurious uses of power by non-public, private actors, are rights associated with non-discrimination. Beyond the rights found in the US Bill of Rights, our state constitution contains other notable rights that you may want to consider or at least discuss incorporating into our city charter. By now we all know of the case Held v Montana brought by a group of young Montanans on the question of state responsibility for protecting our “clean and healthful environment.” That right is the third in the list, in section 3 and is entitled “Inalienable rights.” The obvious place to consider affirming this constitutionally guaranteed right in the city charter is Chapter 16 entitled “Environment and Health” as a Montana Constitutional reference under Article I, which is “General.” Just after “Inalienable rights” in section three, we find in section four entitled “Individual Dignity” and which says that “The dignity of the human being is inviolable. No person shall be denied the equal protection of the laws. Neither the state nor any person, firm, corporation, or institution shall discriminate against any person in the exercise of his civil or political rights on account of race, color, sex, culture, social origin or condition, or political or religious ideas.” Political rights are pretty straightforward – those rights that allow individuals to participate in the political process: voting, running for office, assembling, speaking, petitioning the government, contributing to and working for political campaigns. The relevant state constitutional references here are sections 6 (Freedom of Assembly), 7 (Freedom of Speech, Expression, and Press), 8 (Right of Participation), 13 (Right of Suffrage). Civil rights are those guaranteeing equal opportunities and equal protection under the law, as described in Section Four (Individual Dignity) and as elaborated in the Montana Code Title 49-1-02, also known as the Montana Human Rights Act. Two places where a reference to Article II, Section Four and the MCA (Montana Code Annotated) 49-1-02 could be made in our City Charter would be in Article I or as a General Provision and Part I, Article IV, section 02. Article II section 4 of the state constitution and the Human Rights Act in Title 49 are guarantees of non-discrimination. Everyone wants a fair opportunity to be hired and promoted in jobs for which they are qualified. Everyone. Everyone to whom those opportunities have long been open and everyone to whom those opportunities have long been closed. The Bozeman City Charter is commendable in particular for its provision in Part I, Article IV, section 02 because it prohibits discrimination in personnel practices and requires that “appointments and promotions of city officers and employees shall be made solely on the basis of merit and qualifications…” This prevents not only discrimination as prohibited by federal, state, and state constitutional law, but also political bias or favors in appointments and promotions. This would be further strengthened by making a state law reference to the constitution and MCA and I described previously. I have referred to where you could consider referencing these rights in the Bozeman City Charter so let me explain that a little further (power point or insert screenshot below) You can see looking at the online version of the Bozeman City Charter Part I includes the Preamble and Article I here so that you can see “State Law reference” in both of these sections. You can include a state law reference or include the full language of the state constitution or MCA reference, just a hyperlink to it. In particular, look at the State Law Reference following “Part I” and you’ll see that it references both the Montana State Constitution and the Montana Code Annotated. I hope I have laid out what some of your choices are if you want to incorporate rights encoded in the Montana state constitution into the Bozeman City Charter for the purpose of strengthening both the charter and the protection of those rights. Two areas in particular stand out. First is the right to a clean and healthful environment which according to Article II section 3 is an inalienable right. Second is the right to be free of discrimination in the exercise of all political and civil rights in the constitution Article II section 3. As I discussed earlier, civil rights include equal social and economic opportunities, like housing, jobs, and government services. Section 4 of Article II and in the Montana Code Title 49, the Montana Human Rights Act. I have also tried to lay out what the right to be free from discrimination in civil and political rights encompasses, because it is a broad protection that includes equal treatment under the law, fair and equal treatment in employment and in the public and private spheres freedom from arbitrary conduct. I am happy to answer questions or elaborate on these thoughts, and again, thank you for the opportunity to share them with you. I’ll leave you with some data from the Montana Human Rights Bureau where discrimination complaints under state and federal law can be filed.