The UK government has created a scheme in which e-petitions about anything that the government is responsible for may be created, and if it gets at least 100,000 signatures, it will be eligible for debate in the House of Commons.
Among the most prominent is one calling for legislation allowing child killers and those who murder on-duty police officers to face execution. It has been presented by Paul Staines, who writes the libertarian Guido Fawkes blog, and has already been backed by several MPs.
If it is signed by the required 100,000 supporters or more, then the cross-party Backbench Business Committee will decide whether it will be debated.
Sir George played down fears about airing the subject - which was effectively abolished as a sentence for murder in the UK in 1965.
"The site has been widely welcomed as a realistic way to revitalise public engagement in Parliament," he wrote.
"But there have been some who have been concerned by some of the subjects which could end up being debated - for example, the restoration of capital punishment.
Conservative MP Priti Patel said such a debate was long overdue and that she favoured restoring capital punishment "for the most serious and significant crimes" - a position echoed by party colleague Andrew Turner.
Another Tory, Philip Davies, told the newspaper he would like to see all murders punishable by death.
"The last time this was debated - during the passage of the Human Rights Act in 1998 - restoration was rejected by 158 votes.
"But, if lots of people want Parliament to do something which it rejects, then it is up to MPs to explain the reasons to their constituents. What else is Parliament for?
"People have strong opinions, and it does not serve democracy well if we ignore them or pretend that their views do not exist."
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#2
The people get what the ruling class allows them...
Ah yes, "Eat your peas!" Also recall ObamaCare was not favored by nearly around 70% of the people in the U.S. Also passing Tarp and raising the debt-limit were also not favored by about 70% of the people.
At what point do we say we are taxed enslaved by our political class without representation?
#3
Petition may force British MPs to have meaningless debate on restoring capital punishment.
Because first the UK would have to de-obligate themselves from the European Convention on Human Rights, as well as various EU treaties, before reinstatement could even be considered. Fat chance.
And even then, I would imagine the cultural prejudices to be insurmountable. After all, only barbarians - like the Chinese, Saudis, and Americans - still countenance such a medieval view of justice.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
