The third amendment to the federal constitution

Amasburg, Amager — The Federal Assembly has passed the third amendment to the federal constitution (scroll down for updated version), after no fewer than 5 modifications after various disputes by deputies.

The amendment has been classified a victory for the Amagerian secularist movement, with the legislation abolishing the mention of God in the preamble and guaranteeing that public schools will be secular. The original proposal by Deputy First Minister Leon Simpson also included a section forbidding religious instruction “until the age of reason has been obtained, which shall be classified as 13 years in this case”, though the section was dropped after legal disputes were raised by First Minister Lucien Albertschine.

The amendment also removed a clause which effectively allowed conscription in times of crisis, which some deputies had been lobbying for since mid-January.

Article 2 of the final proposal was a particularly non-controversial clause. It was hailed for “abolishing positive discrimination for mothers in the constitution” by Leon Simpson and other senior government officials.

The modification of the First Minister’s power of veto was met with mixed reactions, with the terms of the original clause being edited after a reasoned amendment led by multiple deputies. The modification will mean that the Federal Assembly will only need a 20% approval to override the First Minister’s veto, whereas a full majority was needed previously.

The most controversial clause was the abolition of the Steward, Amager’s ceremonial monarchy and union with Austenasia. The clause was championed by those who had originally opposed the constitution proposed by First Minister Lucien Albertschine establishing a monarchy akin to Sweden in December 2012.

Albertschine told the times that the former Steward Jonathan Augustus would become head of state in Hobartstown and Victoria in a similar fashion, saying “We are proud to receive Mme. Caesar as the Steward and governor-general of Hobartstown and Victoria. We are most excited to receive him as our head of state.”

Overall, the amendment was met with approval by most, with the compromised version getting unanimous approval among the sitting deputies.

Revised constitution: pdf