Utah House votes to remove slavery exemption from state constitution

Lawmakers in Utah have formally moved to strip a provision from the state’s constitution that allows slavery to be used as a form of punishment for a crime.

The Utah House of Representatives unanimously advanced a bill Monday that would remove the exception, according to the Salt Lake Tribune.

The newspaper noted that language for the provision, which is taken from the U.S. Constitution’s 13th Amendment, appears in several state constitutions.{mosads}

“This no longer reflects who we are as Utahns, and it no longer reflects our values or where we are trying to move to as a state,” state Rep. Sandra Hollins (D) said on the House floor.

Hollins, the only black member of the Utah House of Representatives, is sponsoring the measure. She received a standing ovation after the measure was approved by the House this week, according to the Tribune.

She was joined on the House floor by civil rights activist and Freedom Rider Joan Trumpauer Mulholland.

“The fact that we still have the word ‘slavery’ in so many constitutions, including the U.S. Constitution, is mind-boggling,” Trumpauer Mulholland told the Tribune after the vote. “To be here when Utah says, ‘Let’s take it out,’ is wonderful. … It doesn’t get any better.”

The measure now heads to the state Senate for a vote. If it passes the Senate, it will go on the statewide ballot in the 2020 election for final approval since it deals with the state constitution.