SC Personhood Amendment Status Summary:
1. SC Senate Judiciary Chairman Larry Martin ( R-Pickens ) has still failed to assign S.719 to a Judiciary Subcommittee.
S.719 was introduced in the SC Senate on April 28, 2015. Senator Larry Martin has been repeatedly asked to assign S.719 to a favorable subcommittee.
2. This year 2016 is an election year for all 46 SC Senate seats. The SC Election Commission 2016 Election Calendar lists the beginning of the filing period for all candidates seeking a political party nomination for the office of SC State Senate and SC State House of Representatives ( and other federal and local offices ) to be March 16, 2016. This filing period closes at 12 noon on March 30, 2016.
3. The SC Personhood Constitutional Amendment is filed in the SC House ( H.4093 ) and the SC Senate ( S.719 ).
a. SC House of Representatives – H.4093
(1) In the SC House of Representatives, H.4093 has 50 co-sponsors, plus two more Representatives who have signed the SC Pastors Alliance Pledge, but who have not signed on yet as co-sponsors, for a total of 52 members of the SC House of Representatives who are supporting the SC Personhood Constitutional Amendment. Two-thirds of the elected Representatives are needed ( 2/3 of 124 ) to pass H.4093 to place the SC Personhood Amendment on the General Election Ballot in South Carolina on November 8, 2016, for the people to vote.
(2) Two-thirds of 124 rounds up to 83 Representatives. Presently 52 have indicated their support, leaving 31 more who are needed out of the remaining 72 Representatives in the SC House. [ The SC House is currently made up of a total of 78 Republicans and 46 Democrats. ]
b. SC Senate – S.719
(1) In the SC Senate, S.719 has 10 co-sponsors, plus three more Senators who have signed the SC Pastors Alliance Pledge, but who have not signed on yet as co-sponsors, for a total of 13 members of the SC Senate who are supporting the SC Personhood Constitutional Amendment. Two-thirds of the elected Senators are needed ( 2/3 of 45 presently, with one seat vacant; normally 2/3 of 46 ) to pass the S.719 to place the Personhood Amendment on the General Election Ballot in South Carolina on November 8, 2016, for the people to vote.
(2) Two-thirds of 45 is 30 Senators [ 2/3 of 46 rounds up to 31 Senators. ] Presently 13 have indicated their support, leaving at least 17 currently [ possibly 18 later ] more who are needed out of the present remaining 32 Senators [ possibly 33 remaining Senators later if the vacant seat is filled ] in the SC Senate. [ The SC Senate is currently made up of a total of 27 Republicans and 18 Democrats, with one seat vacant. ]
4. List of all FOURTEEN ( 14 ) REPUBLICAN SC SENATORS who have neither yet co-sponsored S.719, nor have they signed the
SC Pastors Alliance Pledge in support of S.719. The Senator’s District Number, and the Counties which are included in that Senate District, are listed after each Senator’s name. ( Most Counties are divided between Senate Districts. )
[ Members of the SC Senate – http://www.scstatehouse.gov/member.php?chamber=S ]
Thomas C. Alexander – District 1 – Oconee & Pickens Counties – Map
Sean Bennett – District 38 – Berkeley, Charleston & Dorchester Counties – Map
Paul G. Campbell, Jr. – District 44 – Berkeley, Charleston & Dorchester Counties – Map
George E. “Chip” Campsen, III – District 43 – Beaufort, Charleston & Colleton Counties – Map
Raymond E. Cleary, III – District 34 – Charleston, Georgetown & Horry Counties – Map
John E. Courson – District 20 – Lexington & Richland Counties – Map
Tom Davis – District 46 – Beaufort & Jasper Counties – Map
Greg Hembree – District 28 – Dillon & Horry Counties – Map
Hugh K. Leatherman, Sr. – District 31 – Darlington & Florence Counties – Map
Larry A. Martin – District 2 – Pickens County – Map
Harvey S. Peeler, Jr. – District 14 – Cherokee, Spartanburg, Union & York Counties – Map
Luke A. Rankin – District 33 – Horry County – Map
Paul Thurmond – District 41 – Charleston & Dorchester Counties – Map
Tom Young, Jr. – District 24 – Aiken County – Map
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“Pro-Life is Pro-Personhood“
If your SC State Senator is listed above among the 14 Republican State Senators who have neither yet co-sponsored S.719, nor have they signed the SC Pastors Alliance Pledge in support of S.719, please contact / visit them immediately and continually, reminding them that the language of this Personhood Amendment is virtually identical verbatim to the language of Republican Advisory Question #1 on the June 2014 Republican Primary Ballot, which passed by over 78% statewide ( 2014 Statewide Primary Election, go to page 10 ), with over 240,000 Republican Primary voters voting in favor.
Tell your Senator, Let the People Vote !!!
( See February 4, 2016 “Open Letter to REPUBLICAN South Carolina Senators ( 27 )” below and posted here. )
Even if an individual Senator is personally opposed to SC Personhood Legislation
( e.g., Senator Larry Martin ( R-Pickens ) and Senator George “Chip” Campsen, III ( R – Beaufort, Charleston & Colleton ), remind them, in the concluding words of the February 4, 2016 letter sent to them: LET THE PEOPLE VOTE !!!
” Open Letter to REPUBLICAN South Carolina Senators ( 27 )”
[ Excerpt ]
“Over the past 17 years of introducing Personhood BILLS in the SC Legislature ( 1998-2015 ), the General Assembly has failed to establish justice for pre-birth human beings by actually passing any of these bills in both chambers. S.719 introduced on April 28, 2015 is the first time a proposed Personhood Constitutional AMENDMENT has been introduced. It is time to LET THE PEOPLE VOTE !!!”
COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina lawmakers have formally introduced companion bills that would bring the issue of the personhood of the unborn before voters for the 2016 election.