“In every stage of these oppressions we have petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms. Our repeated petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.” -The Declaration of Independence.

“Rights of Petition: The people have a right at all times in an orderly and peaceable manner to assemble to consult upon the common good, to give instructions to their representatives, and to request, of either department of the government by petition or remonstrance, redress their wrongs and grievances.” The State of Maine Constitution.

Lane/Tommy: The unconscionable assault on our beloved constitutional rights is nothing less than an un-American attempt to stifle our freedoms. Undoubtedly every year some of our Maine legislators propose yet another bill to limit our right to have petition drives. This year is no exception with three prominent bills that severely restrict our right to participate in redressing our grievances. What we fear is that state law will restrict our petition rights at the local level at the same time.

Tommy: Please remember what happened in 1775. Frustrated citizens of the colonies become inflamed over their loss of rights, heavy taxation and no ability to change their government, so they began a revolution on the tyrannical leaders across the sea. Fast forward to the year 2007 where it appears history is once again repeating itself. Why are our rights continually under attack by members of the legislature while they promote their own political agendas?

Lane: Although I consider all three pieces of legislation restrictions to our right to petition, LD 1522 would certainly stop many petition drives right at their start. Why? It’s because this bill, if passed, would require the petitioner(s) to disclose the direct cost that the referendum would incur and how the costs would be paid for.

This is something that the big spenders elected to office in Augusta don’t have to do when they propose legislation that costs us taxpayers big bucks. Are they special or are we insignificant? Legislators are trying to curb our rights while they strengthen their power. So much for power to the people of Maine. Why do we, the people, have to do something that our elected officials don’t have to?

Tommy: The next piece of legislation is LD 1328, which would place a five-year limit on how often a similar petition drive could occur. Petitions for racinos in different locations seem to occur annually. Whether you are for or against a racino, shouldn’t citizens have the right to petition for a racino in their municipality?

Under LD 1328 we would have to wait five years after the last racino petition to start a drive. Isn’t it the obligation of our elected officials to listen to those who elected them to office? How often do legislators in Augusta propose the same or similar piece of legislation? And shouldn’t they be restricted as they want citizens to be?

LD 1328 was proposed to save the taxpayers of Maine money. Wouldn’t we be better served if we placed restrictions on the legislators? Look at the 2,400 and some odd pieces of legislation that were proposed in Augusta this session. Some were so worthless and asinine that one has to wonder why some legislators were elected in the first place.

Lane/Tommy: LD 374 would make it impossible to collect petition signatures within a certain distance of polling places. This is a direct restriction on our ability to collect signatures at a location that guarantees those signatures would be from registered voters. Could it be that the sponsors of this bill want total control and no transparency in government accountability?

Is Maine moving forward with our civil rights or backward toward totalitarianism. A check in the dictionary defines totalitarianism as a government which one political group maintains complete control. Isn’t it the responsibility of elected officials to represent us, not suppress us?

If you want to know which legislators are sponsoring these oppressive bills, call Lane at 317-1712 and we can assure that you will be shocked. Some of these proposed pieces of legislation that will increase restrictions on our ability to petition our government are sponsored by a majority of Republicans. We should be surprised but then only six Republicans were against bonds totaling $295 million dollars. So much for a party in Maine supporting voters’ rights and less government spending.

Lane and Tommy are trying clean up after their Windham homes were damaged in the Patriot’s Day Nor’Easter. They wrote this column on parchment found in the exposed wall of Lane’s house after the storm ripped siding away. Remarkably, the antique parchment included text from the Declaration of Independence, hence the inspiration for this column.