Mississippi collects over 130,000 signatures for Personhood Amendment

Jackson, Miss., Feb 18, 2010 / 06:07 am

A grass roots organization in Mississippi has amassed over 130,000 signatures in order to place a Personhood amendment on an upcoming ballot in the state. The amount of signatures well surpasses the minimum requirement of 89,285 needed for a ballot initiative.

Personhood Mississippi, a non-profit group that seeks to “protect all life, regardless of age, health, function, physical or mental dependency, or method of reproduction,” reported that this latest ballot initiative broke the state record and garnered more signatures than any other initiative in Mississippi's history. Volunteers have been collecting signatures since February 11, 2009.

“Despite the superfluous restrictions set before us, the people of Mississippi have spoken. With God’s blessing we have made history and exceeded the signature requirement by tens of thousands,” said Les Riley, sponsor of the Mississippi Personhood Amendment in a statement Wednesday.

“In the next few days, we fully expect Secretary of State Dilbert Hosemann to approve our amendment, as we have exceeded all requirements by the State of Mississippi,” Riley added.

Personhood Mississippi reported that Lieutenant Governor Phil Bryant helped turn in boxed of completed petitions during yesterday's press conference. 

Over 2,000 volunteers and the use of more than 1,000 churches throughout the year made the signature collecting possible. The group also reported that once each district’s signatures are verified, the amendment will be placed on the November 2011 ballot.

“The overwhelming number of signatures proves that Mississippi citizens want to end baby-murder,” asserted Cal Zastrow, co-founder of Personhood USA. “God raised up the volunteers to complete this task, and Personhood USA is thrilled to be a part of that task force. Now we are looking forward to victory at the ballot box!”