NSG Senate Chamber [NSG Senate]

[Maklohi Vai]

I wish to offer my support for the words of Senator Pierce. His speech's core message rings true: we must fight as one nation, not as a dozen plus parties.

[Slazliyka]

Why is the link to the ECFA to a post in a party HQ? It shows unrelated commentary and doesn't have the full list of sponsors. I thought we usually link to the post made in the chamber.

[The Nihilistic view]

What is the current agenda of the Senate chamber?

We are making and supporting Anti-mob speeches.

[Beta Test]

What is the current agenda of the Senate chamber?

We are making and supporting Anti-mob speeches.

I have already made one speech today: On live television. I would like to reiterate the point I made though. It is imperative that we fight this great evil that has appeared and is threatening our nation.

[The Nihilistic view]

We are making and supporting Anti-mob speeches.

I have already made one speech today: On live television. I would like to reiterate the point I made though. It is imperative that we fight this great evil that has appeared and is threatening our nation.

My secretary taped it for me to watch, fine words spoken senator.

[Kamchastkia]

What is the current agenda of the Senate chamber?

To shit in our hands and smear it on the walls.

[Unicario]

((I don't understand why civil unrest isn't catastrophically high considering the Senate is stalling and worthless, while the mob is running about?))

[Shrillland]

Indeed they are fine words, but how do we put them to action?

[Resora]

Remind me again why the mob is the Senate's concern when we already have a police force. Sure, Senator Osteros' death is tragic, but aside from offering condolences to his family, the case is entirely outside of our jurisdiction and expertise. Let's do our jobs while the police do theirs.

I move that we proceed to a vote on the Executive Reform Act.

[The Nihilistic view]

Remind me again why the mob is the Senate's concern when we already have a police force. Sure, Senator Osteros' death is tragic, but aside from offering condolences to his family, the case is entirely outside of our jurisdiction and expertise. Let's do our jobs while the police do theirs.

I move that we proceed to a vote on the Executive Reform Act.

I move to drop this Act from the senate bill queue (Send it back to the coffee shop) for now due to the constitutional council that is going to meet and thus these Bills are not needed and will be a waste of time.

[Yanalia]

Why is the link to the ECFA to a post in a party HQ? It shows unrelated commentary and doesn't have the full list of sponsors. I thought we usually link to the post made in the chamber.

Sorry, I linked Ainin to that post, as it was the latest version I could find.

[Free South Califas]

Why is the link to the ECFA to a post in a party HQ? It shows unrelated commentary and doesn't have the full list of sponsors. I thought we usually link to the post made in the chamber.

Just quote the queue and replace it with the proper link in this case.

[Phing Phong]

I would like to introduce the following Bill from the Coffee Shop to the Chamber's bill queue, as it has enough sponsors.

The Equality Act

Authored by: Nuat Plueay-gai (RG)
Sponsors: Zane Potenco (RG), Mytannion (RG), Desmond Constantinus Mac Suibhne (RG), Jozef van Oostvoorne (CP), John Geil (LD), Joshua Burchett (RG), Saul Califas (CP), Wulukuno Maklohi Porunalakai (LD)

This Act of the Senate of Aurentina:

RECOGNISING the importance of freedom of religion, freedom of conscience and freedom of speech in a democratic society,

ACCEPTING the constitutional provision for the safeguarding of these rights,

AFFIRMING the right of all citizens to obtain public services and interact in common society without suffering undue discrimination,

HEREBY establishes the following provisions in law.

Section I - Definitions

i) For the duration of this Act, and whenever provisions of this Act are referenced in official and judicial contexts, the following definitions shall apply.

ii) “Protected characteristics” shall refer to specific traits on the grounds of which discrimination shall be prohibited.

iii) “Gender” shall refer to the socially-constructed roles, behaviours, activities, and attributes with which an individual self-identifies.

iv) “Sex” shall refer to the biological category into which an individual is placed based on their secondary sexual characteristics and/or chromosomal arrangement.

v) “Sexual orientation” shall refer to an individual’s pervasive inclination towards forming romantic or sexual relationships with other individuals with a particular combination, or multiple combinations, of sex and gender.

vi) “Ethnicity” shall refer to the racial and nationality-based classification of origin with which an individual self-identifies or is identified by others.

vii) “Nationality” shall refer to an individual’ citizenship status.

viii) “Parentage” shall refer to an individual’s parental circumstances, including but not limited to any protected characteristics of their parents.

ix) “Caste” shall refer to an individual's position in a socially-defined hierarchy that operates solely on the basis of heredity and parentage.

x) “Class” shall refer to an individual's externally-perceived social or economic prestige, power and circumstances.

xi) A “subset” of a protected characteristic refers to a specific characteristic which along with other subsets comprises the relevant protected characteristic—for example, “homosexual” is a subset of “sexual orientation”.

xii) In accordance with the spirit of this article, the pronoun “they” and its derivatives have been used as a gender-neutral third person singular pronoun.

Section 2 – Protected characteristics

The following shall be considered protected characteristics:

i) Age

ii) Sex

iii)Gender

iv) Sexual orientation

v) Marital status

vi) Ethnicity or national origin

vii) Class or parentage

viii) Caste

ix) Disability or other medical handicap

x) Religious affiliation

xi) Political party membership or affiliation

Section 3 – Equality in Education

i) In recognition of the fact that the majority of Aurentine children attend school, and that the circumstances of their education are beyond their control, it is necessary to ensure that discrimination against vulnerable young people in the course of their education is prohibited by statute.

ii) Students may not be prevented from using certain school facilities on the basis of a protected characteristic.

iii) The use of relevant pejorative or disparaging language or an attitude of hostility towards a student by a teacher, member of school staff or fellow student on the grounds of a protected characteristic shall be considered discriminatory.

iv) School policies which apply to a particular protected characteristic shall be considered discriminatory unless they affect every subset of that protected characteristic equally.

v) School policies which give an advantage or disadvantage to one subset of a protected characteristic more than is unavoidable shall be considered discriminatory.

vi) Educational establishments must in good faith provide a process through which students can reasonably expect to resolve issues of alleged discrimination.

vii) Penalties for discriminatory conduct can extend up to and including expulsion for students, dismissal for school staff or teachers, and the imposition of direct local government control for institutions.

viii) Students who are concerned that a provider of educational services, such as an educational establishment, has failed to deal with issues of discrimination may seek resolution through submitting a formal complaint to their local governing authority.

ix) Due to several necessary age-based features of education the protected characteristic of age is not covered by this section, except in cases involving the requirement to provide equal access to a basic level of education for all Aurentine citizens.

x) Discrimination on grounds of the protected characteristic of sex are exempted from the requirements of this section in cases where an educational establishment provides sex-segregated services or facilities, providing these segregated services are provided on an equal basis.

Section 4 – Equality in Public Services

i) Any service provided by the government of Aurentina or any of its subsidiaries shall be secured without prejudice to any protected characteristic.

ii) The Government of Aurentina shall not take any protected characteristic, with the exception of marital status and sex for relevant purposes, ability when means-testing on grounds of welfare is necessary, and age in the consideration of state-run pension schemes, into consideration when making any official decision relating to an individual's rights, duties or entitlements.

iii) The use of relevant pejorative or disparaging language or an attitude of hostility towards an individual by a public servant within their role of employment on the grounds of a protected characteristic shall be considered discriminatory.

iv) State-affiliated providers of public services are required to establish an independent process through which individuals who allege discrimination against themselves or another has occurred can reasonably expect to resolve issues of alleged discrimination.

v) Restrictions or conditions on the obtaining of public services which apply to a particular protected characteristic shall be considered discriminatory unless they affect every subset of that protected characteristic equally.

vi) Restrictions or conditions on the obtaining of public services which give an advantage or disadvantage to one subset of a protected characteristic more than is reasonably unavoidable shall be considered discriminatory.

vii) Penalties for discriminatory conduct can extend up to and including dismissal for public servants or service providers and the issuing of compensation by state institutions to affected individuals.

viii) Senators acting in an official role within the confines of Senate business shall be considered completely exempt from the provisions of this section.

ix) Legal provisions which invoke the age of majority shall be considered exempt from this article in matters exclusively related to age.

Section 5 – Equality in Common Society

i) Citizens of Aurentina are accorded the right to hold any opinion, regardless of how repellent, ridiculous or in any other way subjectively distateful it may seem to other individuals.

ii) Expressing an opinion is not considered legally equivalent to holding an opinion.

iii) Expressing certain opinions in certain contexts is recognised to be at the risk of the individual expressing the opinion.

iv) Citizens may not be prosecuted for expressing an opinion in private, regardless of its content.

v) Citizens may not be prosecuted for expressing an opinion in public, as long as no aggressive, coercive or threatening behaviour accompanies it.

vi) The relevant policing authority of Aurentina may issue cautions and statutorily-fixed fines to individuals who publicly display aggressive discriminatory behaviour.

vii) In the context of a criminal trial, the presence of protected characteristics as a partial or full motive for the crime may be considered as an aggravating circumstance, and consequently lead the judge to, within the limits of the law, impose a harsher sentence than otherwise.

Section 6 – Equality in Business and Commerce

i) Business owners who provide a service publicly, whether that be through advertising their service, maintaining a business premise accessible to the general public, or a similar method which a reasonable individual would consider to be a sign that a business operates publicly, may not discriminate on the grounds of any protected characteristic.

ii) Business owners may not set different conditions or prices for the provision of a service on the grounds of a protected characteristic.

iii) Business involving age-restricted products or services is required to discriminate on grounds of age where it is relevant to statutory age restrictions.

iv) Businesses which obtain more than one-quarter of their income from membership fees or members-only services, and have been approved by their local authority to be explicitly allowed to do so, may provide members-only services in a manner which would otherwise be discriminatory. However, such services must be clearly and neutrally advertised such that individuals are informed in advance of the nature of the service.

v) Any transaction or contract which is conducted privately between two or more individuals outside of a formal business capacity shall not be considered subject to this section.

Section 7 – Equality in Employment

i) Employers may not refuse to hire or choose to hire an individual on the grounds of a protected characteristic, unless the protected characteristic in question produces an insurmountable obstacle to the necessary functions of the job being offered.

ii) The use of relevant pejorative or disparaging language or an attitude of hostility towards an employee by an employer or co-worker on the grounds of a protected characteristic shall be considered discriminatory.

iii) Harassment of an employee or co-worker on the grounds of a protected characteristic shall also be considered discriminatory.

iv) Workplace policies which apply to a particular protected characteristic shall be considered discriminatory unless they affect every subset of that protected characteristic equally.

v) Workplace policies which give an advantage or disadvantage to one subset of a protected characteristic more than is reasonably unavoidable shall be considered discriminatory.

vi) Businesses must establish an impartial dispute resolution process which does not take account of the employment hierarchy of the business to deal with cases of alleged discrimination.

vii) Businesses must establish a clear set of anti-discrimination guidelines for implementation in accordance with the provisions of this Act.

viii) Penalties for discriminatory conduct can extend up to and including dismissal for employees and the issuing of compensation by businesses to victims of workplace discrimination.

ix) Employers which fail to reasonably implement the provisions of this Act within their business may be issued an unlimited fine.

Section 8 – Religious and Political Organisations

i) Organisations which are directly run as religious enterprises with charitable status shall be considered exempt from any requirements of this Act.

ii) Organisations which are run with managerial input by a religious organisation, but which lack a solely religious purpose, shall not be considered exempt from any requirements of this Act.

iii) Roles within an exclusively religious organisation which require specific exercise of a religious function shall not be considered to be covered by any of the provisions of this Act.

iv) Roles within an exclusively religious organisation which require no stipulated religious function shall be considered regular employment or volunteering, and as such are not considered exempt from any of the provisions of this Act.

v) Religious organisations which provide any publicly available service shall not be considered exempt from this Act with regard to issues of discrimination arising through the provision of the relevant service, either in general or where the service in question is covered by a section of this Act.

[Fulflood]

I would like to introduce the following Bill from the Coffee Shop to the Chamber's bill queue, as it has enough sponsors.

-snyppe-

Evidently missed the chance to sponsor this one.
I like it though.

[Ainin]

Adequate support for queue.

State of Emergency Act
Author: Ainin [TR] | Urgency: Utmost | Sponsors: Geilinor [LD], Gothmogs [TR], Potenco [RG], Blassland [TR]

---

The Senate of Aurentina,

Acknowledging problems are plaguing all levels of government in our beautiful nation,

Refusing to turn a blind eye to the plight of the people,

Enacting the following provisions:

The President of Aurentina, who if unavailable may be substituted for the Minister of the Interior, may declare a state of emergency if petitioned by 15 senators;

A state of emergency may be applied in a specific neighbourhood, municipality, prefecture or province;

During a state of emergency, the Gendarmerie and the Commonwealth Armed Forces, and the divisions thereof, may be deployed to aid the situation and keep the peace;

For a state of emergency to be declared, there must be overwhelming proof that at least 1,000 civilians are directly in harm's way;

During a state of emergency, law enforcement officials may detain suspected criminals for 24 hours without charging them with a crime;

A state of emergency expires after 48 hours and can only be renewed for a maximum of 5 days by passing an act in the Senate;

A nationwide state of emergency, to be known as martial law, may only be declared by passing an act in the Senate and remains in force until the law is repealed,

Hereby passes the State of Emergency Act.

[Ainin]

CURRENT QUEUE FOR LEGISLATION

1. Executive Reform Act
2. Governmental Services Act
3. Ministry of Research and Astronomy Reform Act
4. National Culture Act
5. National Financing and Accounting Act
6. Legality and Restrictions Act
7. Senatorial Procedures Act
8. Anti-Corruption Act
9. International Treaties Ratification Act
10. Economic Oversight Act
11. Death with Dignity Act
12. Internet Registration Act
13. Voting out business management without holding shares is stupid idea and illegal
14. Standards of Daily Measurement Act
15. Condemnation of United States National Security Agency project: US-984XN
16. Animal Protection Act
17. Amend Transportation Ministry Provision Act 2013
18. Amend National Census Bureau Establishment Act
19. Repeal Commerce Ministry Act
20. Armed Forces Reform Act
21. Commercial Usage of Railways Act
22. Revenue Collection Act of 2013
23. Prime Minister and President's Questions Act
24. Loggerhead Turtle Protection Act
25. Equality Act
26. State of Emergency Act

[Mediciano]

((I don't understand why civil unrest isn't catastrophically high considering the Senate is stalling and worthless, while the mob is running about?))

I am of the opinion that, given the state of things, there is a great deal of civil unrest. In a situation like this, especially in a European nation, I can only imagine that the best case scenario is frequent protests and riots. The worst case, of course, is all out warfare in the streets. I move that we address this, and institute a curfew, enforced by the Constabulary.

Also, each Senator should be given police transport to/from work, to protect him/her from the crowds, unless he can provide his own security. There should be a military perimeter set up around vital government buildings, and people in vital "continuation of government" positions (i.e the President, VP, PM, CoM) and their families should be given military protection as well.

We should also institute a five-mile wide no fly zone over the government district of the capital, enforced by the Air Force. This is not only to prevent possible airborne assailants, but also to allow for clear, unhindered emergency air access in the event that we need it.

This is just a temporary government military/police measure, of course, and won't require a bill. Just an order from the Commander in Chief.

[Slazliyka]

Remind me again why the mob is the Senate's concern when we already have a police force. Sure, Senator Osteros' death is tragic, but aside from offering condolences to his family, the case is entirely outside of our jurisdiction and expertise. Let's do our jobs while the police do theirs.

I move that we proceed to a vote on the Executive Reform Act.

I move to drop this Act from the senate bill queue (Send it back to the coffee shop) for now due to the constitutional council that is going to meet and thus these Bills are not needed and will be a waste of time.

It is not necessary to delay as potential fix to this problem.

[Welsh Cowboy]

Since no one seems to want to debate, I think it's time we vote for or against some of the bills in queue.

I move to end debate on the Executive Reform Act and begin voting.

[Kamchastkia]

Since no one seems to want to debate, I think it's time we vote for or against some of the bills in queue.

I move to end debate on the Executive Reform Act and begin voting.

I second this.

[Phing Phong]

Since no one seems to want to debate, I think it's time we vote for or against some of the bills in queue.

I move to end debate on the Executive Reform Act and begin voting.

I second this.

I third, government or no government.

[TaQud]

I second this.

I third, government or no government.

fourth

[Kouralia]

I third, government or no government.

fourth

Fifth-ity-fifth.

[New Zepuha]

fourth

Fifth-ity-fifth.

Sixth

[Yanalia]

Wait, the ECA hasn't been amended yet. I thought that's what we were waiting for.