Magna Carta.

WORKING DRAFT
2015
STATE OF
WYOMING
15LSO-0529
ENGROSSED
3.1

House

JOINT RESOLUTION
NO.

HJ0010

Magna Carta.

Sponsored by:
Representative(s) Halverson, Jaggi, Steinmetz and Winters and Senator(s) Cooper, Dockstader and Hicks

A
Bill

for

A JOINT RESOLUTION to memorialize the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta and to highlight its enduring principles of liberty embodied therein.

WHEREAS,
in the reign of King John of England, the Barons of England objected to
the King's
policies
,
especially his taxes and his infringement of their traditional rights; and

WHEREAS, on June
15, 1215, the Barons met with King John
at Runnymede
near Windsor, England
,
and
presented him w
ith the "Articles of the Barons", later known as Magna Carta, or the Great Charter, the seed of American liberty, and forced him to sign the Articles under threat of rebellion; and

WHEREAS, the
C
rown, by Magna Carta, acknowledged and confirmed the rights of all Englishmen, not just those of the Barons; and

WHEREAS, Magna Carta in Article 61 contains the right of a council of
twenty-five (25)
Barons, the nucleus of what is now Parliament
of the United Kingdom
, to overrule the
Crown
and to rebel against the Crown should the King defy that right; and

WHEREAS, Magna Carta is today acknowledged as a key document in the evolution of England from feudal absolute monarchy toward a parliamentary system; and

WHEREAS, the framers of the American Declaration of Independence and American
C
onstitution
and B
ill of
R
ights look
ed
to
England, Parliament and Magna Carta for precedent and inspiration, in particular regarding the rights to due process, a speedy and public trial, compensation for the taking of property and the prohibition of self-incrimination or taxation without representation; and

WHEREAS,
the spirit of Article 6
1
of Magna Carta is preserved today in the Wyoming Constitution
,
Article 1, Section 1.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MEMBERS OF THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WYOMING:

Section 1.

That
Wyoming celebrate
June 15, 2015,
the 800th anniversary of the day
the Barons
of England
accost
ed

King
John at Runnymede in the defense of their Liberties
, as Magna Carta Day
.

Section 2.

That
Wyoming
encourage
the teaching of the lessons of Magna Carta within and
outside
the schools of th
e
state.

Section 3.

That
Wyoming
defend its
L
iberties with the same fierce steadfast determination that the Barons
of England
showed at Runnymede.

Section
4
.

That the Secretary of State of Wyoming
transmit copies of this resolution to
the Governor of Wyoming
,
to the Wyoming Congressional Delegation
, to every school district superintendent, who shall provide every school within the local district a copy of this resolution, and to the chair of each local board of trustees
.

(END)
1