"To Protect and Maintain Individual Rights"

Just in time for the 4th of July, Jonathan Bechtle and Michael Reitz at the Evergreen Freedom Foundation have authored a book explaining the rights and protections afforded Washingtonians by Article 1 of the state constitution. To Protect and Maintain Individual Rights: A Citizen’s Guide to the Washington Constitution, Article I:

". . . is a reference guide to the state Declaration of Rights, found in the Washington Constitution. The authors review the state’s 1889 constitutional debates, newspaper accounts of the convention, and significant cases that have dealt with the rights guaranteed in the state constitution.

The message of the book is that when citizens are educated in the sources of their freedoms, and familiar with attempts in history to limit these freedoms, they are better equipped to recognize new encroachments."

It is an easy read and worth taking the time to look through.

Washington State Supreme Court Justice Charles W. Johnson provided the foreword for the book and noted, "I know and appreciate the incredible amount of thought, research and work necessary to produce this citizen’s guide. The authors are to be commended for their efforts in putting this work together. Those who read and use this guide can be thankful for the time and energy spent on organizing and publishing it."

Nice work!

The full text of the state constitution can be found here.