Proposed Amendments to Constitution!

[Dekerin Domains]

The following amendments have been proposed to the People by Parliament by the requisite two-thirds vote with the endorsements of Grand Duke Eupas and Chancellor Lord Teris yi-Dalon. They are intended to correct issues and problems made in an otherwise harmonious and prosperous society due to the Constituent Assembly's more conservative perspective at the time that the Constitution was ratified:

1. Proposed, that public flogging be replaced by public caning as a lawful penalty, as flogging has proven inhumane and has actually resulted in many cases in infection and even death. Dekerins still believe, by and large, that some form of corporal punishment is preferable to incarceration as a deterrent and an act of harmonious justice in keeping with one's karmic debt, but now many regard flogging as cruel rather than just, as a form of torture inconsistent with basic humanoid dignity. (Dekerins are humanoids, but not humans.)
2. Proposed, that the state become officially secular and all official religious tests remaining in the Constitution be abolished, particularly any parts that would discriminate against non-animist Grand Dukes.
3. Proposed, that more gender neutral language apply to the office of Grand Duke, to clarify that either a male or female citizen may be eligible for all public offices.
4. Proposed, that the name of the country be formally changed from the "Militaristic Patriarchy of Dekerin Domains," to the "Sovereign Commonwealth of Dekerin Domains," as this shows less of a patriarchal perspective and is more inclusive of female citizens.
5. Proposed, that the ban on abortion be abolished in favor of the legalization of abortion and that the bodily autonomy of both male and female citizens be thus affirmed, with a formal, constitutional right to it for both and for all citizens of lawful age of majority. Abortion would thus become a constitutional right, or rather part of the same constitutional right to full bodily autonomy.
6. Proposed, that the rights of parents to supervise and override the bodily autonomy of their children not extend to making decisions detrimental to the welfare of their children, such as mutilation, extreme dietary practices that might cause malnourishment, refusal to permit blood transfusions, refusal to seek medical care, child prostitution, child abuse/molestation, denial of rape kit services, and denial of abortion and contraceptive services which might result in a dangerous underage pregnancy. While no Dekerin under the legal age of majority of fifteen should be engaged in any sexual congress, the law must recognize and guarantee remedies for those coerced into it.
7. Proposed, that the bans on sumptuary, luxury, estate, capital-gains, and graduated income taxes be abolished, as thus ensuring the necessary revenue for public services and a more equitable tax burden on the population.

Pursuant to the Constitution and its provisions, these amendments can be ratified only if given the consent of two-thirds of the electorate.

[Dekerin Domains]

Due to the referendum results of December 30, 2018, all of the proposed amendments are hereby considered ratified and have now taken effect, as of today, 26 January, 2019. This now means that the following are the law of the land:

1. Proposed, that public flogging be replaced by public caning as a lawful penalty, as flogging has proven inhumane and has actually resulted in many cases in infection and even death. Dekerins still believe, by and large, that some form of corporal punishment is preferable to incarceration as a deterrent and an act of harmonious justice in keeping with one's karmic debt, but now many regard flogging as cruel rather than just, as a form of torture inconsistent with basic humanoid dignity. (Dekerins are humanoids, but not humans.)
2. Proposed, that the state become officially secular and all official religious tests remaining in the Constitution be abolished, particularly any parts that would discriminate against non-animist Grand Dukes.
3. Proposed, that more gender neutral language apply to the office of Grand Duke, to clarify that either a male or female citizen may be eligible for all public offices.
4. Proposed, that the name of the country be formally changed from the "Militaristic Patriarchy of Dekerin Domains," to the "Sovereign Commonwealth of Dekerin Domains," as this shows less of a patriarchal perspective and is more inclusive of female citizens.
5. Proposed, that the ban on abortion be abolished in favor of the legalization of abortion and that the bodily autonomy of both male and female citizens be thus affirmed, with a formal, constitutional right to it for both and for all citizens of lawful age of majority. Abortion would thus become a constitutional right, or rather part of the same constitutional right to full bodily autonomy.
6. Proposed, that the rights of parents to supervise and override the bodily autonomy of their children not extend to making decisions detrimental to the welfare of their children, such as mutilation, extreme dietary practices that might cause malnourishment, refusal to permit blood transfusions, refusal to seek medical care, child prostitution, child abuse/molestation, denial of rape kit services, and denial of abortion and contraceptive services which might result in a dangerous underage pregnancy. While no Dekerin under the legal age of majority of fifteen should be engaged in any sexual congress, the law must recognize and guarantee remedies for those coerced into it.
7. Proposed, that the bans on sumptuary, luxury, estate, capital-gains, and graduated income taxes be abolished, as thus ensuring the necessary revenue for public services and a more equitable tax burden on the population.

[Great Nortend]

The people of Great Nortend mostly regret to have seen these amendments pass and become law, and hope that the people of the Dekerin Domains will see sense and halt this decline into depravity and godlessness.

[Dekerin Domains]

The people of Great Nortend mostly regret to have seen these amendments pass and become law, and hope that the people of the Dekerin Domains will see sense and halt this decline into depravity and godlessness.

His Grace, Grand Duke Eupas, wishes to make it clear that we do not worship your human gods, but rather our own, as a general rule. We are humanoids, but not humans per se. Furthermore, our society is very animistic and what some might call pagan or heathen. We reject the Abrahamic religions as a general rule of thumb, with very few converts to it at all. Deal with it.

[Dekerin Domains]

The Rolunum Herald,
Miyas, Staff Writer


The People's Assembly and Grand Council have both approved a new, graduated income plan to increase necessary revenue for social services while reducing income inequality, along with an estate tax, a capital-gains tax, and a new carbon tax levied against old-fashioned automobiles that still use the internal combustion engine and either petrol or diesel fuel. The graduated income tax will create higher marginal income tax rates and brackets for those making more than ten million greenleaves per annum. Income in the ten million plus bracket will be taxed at sixty percent, while income exceeding a hundred million greenleaves will be taxed at seventy percent, and income exceeding a billion greenleaves will be taxed at eighty percent.

The estate tax will be levied only on estates exceeding a value of ten million greenleaves as well, and the bottom rate for taxation on this bracket will be seventy percent, followed by eighty percent on estates exceeding a value one hundred million greenleaves, and ninety percent on estates valued in excess of one billion greenleaves. In essence, it's another step toward shrinking the remaining numbers of landed gentry and other upper classes, increasing the middle class through more progressive taxation and public services, and lifting more people from the ranks of the working class.

The carbon tax will be a minimum of one hundred greenleaves per year to own and operate "ecologically unsound, high carbon footprint," devices or machines which already have significant numbers of ecologically sensible alternatives mass produced, such as automobiles, motorcycles, etc. The ruling United Liberation Front worked closely with the opposition Green Party, whose leaders reportedly commented that "we have basically won this debate. The mainstream consensus is now that fossil fuels must be eliminated from public use and consumption, and the sooner, the better."

Revenues from the carbon tax will be earmarked largely for wheat ethanol subsidies, solar subsidies, public transit, bicycle use subsidies, wind, and geothermal subsidies, and the building of hydroelectric dams, which are not as controversial in Dekerin Domains as in other nations. In addition, increased recycling efforts, pushes to curb overfishing, soil erosion control, lumber conservation, and better nuclear waste disposal practices are going to receive more funding in the next thirty years, all geared toward a "Green New Deal" that increasingly makes it more difficult to tell the difference between the ULF and the Greens. Only the far-right and relatively new ULF splinter group known as the Traditional Alliance has opposed most of these reforms, and they have lost every vote on the matter so far.

This is definitely not your grandfather's Dekerin Domains.

[Great Nortend]

The people of Great Nortend mostly regret to have seen these amendments pass and become law, and hope that the people of the Dekerin Domains will see sense and halt this decline into depravity and godlessness.

His Grace, Grand Duke Eupas, wishes to make it clear that we do not worship your human gods, but rather our own, as a general rule. We are humanoids, but not humans per se. Furthermore, our society is very animistic and what some might call pagan or heathen. We reject the Abrahamic religions as a general rule of thumb, with very few converts to it at all. Deal with it.

We feel that worshipping any gods is better than none. It is clear that the Dekerin Domains is hurtling towards decline and destruction, and we bid it farewell.