Vote 'Yes' on Amendment C to Eliminate Slavery in Utah

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Ballots will soon be arriving in mailboxes across Utah, opening up our best opportunity to participate in our democratic processes. As we have long recognized, voting is both a civic and moral obligation no Catholic should engage in without deep, prayerful discernment regarding the many complicated decisions we each must make about candidates and issues.

Thankfully, there is one issue on the Utah ballot that every Catholic should be able to readily agree on – Amendment C, eliminating slavery in our state.

Some voters may be shocked to hear that slavery is still allowed in Utah. While Article 1 Section 21 of the Utah Constitution forbids slavery, it does not eliminate it entirely. Currently, our state Constitution permits slavery as a form of punishment for crime. Even in such circumstances, we as a faith that professes the dignity and sanctity of every life recognize that slavery is an intrinsic evil, and thus, not a morally acceptable tool to further criminal justice.

The practice of slavery, in all of its forms, is rooted in a notion of the human person that allows him or her to be treated as an object; no longer regarded as beings of equal dignity, as brothers or sisters sharing a common humanity, but rather as means to an end, as the property of others.

Removing language condoning slavery in any form from our state Constitution is a step out of a past that wrongly and immorally viewed a race of human beings as inferior or as objects. It is also a step forward to more humane and effective corrections policies that seek to restore justice, not just punish. As our Catholic social doctrine reminds us, punishment has a twofold purpose: “encouraging the reinsertion of the condemned person into society” and “fostering a justice that reconciles, a justice capable of restoring harmony in social relationships disrupted by the criminal act committed.” Neither purpose can be fulfilled if we begin with an assumption that an offender, or any person, is merely disposable property.

While it’s doubtful eliminating slavery from the Constitution will lead to prisoners being paid even the minimum wage, it does reflect an understanding that someone who is imprisoned is still a human being, not a thing that is owned by the state, not something to be thrown out, not some thing, but a person created in the image and likeness of God, regardless of how far the person may have strayed from God’s will for him or her.

Our nation’s history of slavery, in all of its many forms, still has a profound impact on us today, as made abundantly clear by protestors seeking equal treatment and justice for Black lives. Understanding the impact of our failures to recognize each other’s humanity is a first and crucial step toward a more just and peaceful society. Catholic voters, all voters, should readily and easily take this crucial moment to say no to viewing others as inferior, as objects, or as mere means to an end. Voting yes on Amendment C requires nothing more than living our belief in the dignity and sanctity of every life.

Jean Hill is director of the Diocese of Salt Lake City’s Office of Life, Justice and Peace. Reach her at jeanhill@dioslc.org.