“If America’s founding documents — gifts to governance writ large — could be improved, then the Missouri Plan — Missouri’s gift to American governance — can also be improved.”

JEFFERSON CITY – Better Courts for Missouri Executive Director Jonathan Bunch today confirmed that the Better Courts Coalition had filed an initiative petition to modernize the Missouri Plan. The Coalition yesterday held a press conference to announce bipartisan support for the proposed initiative.

Bunch opened the press conference by citing John Adams, stating “Adams considered unanimous agreement to the Declaration of Independence the greatest achievement in the greatest debate that would ever take place in America.” But, said Bunch, “Despite the genius of Adams and his colleagues, it took centuries for some of the promises of the Declaration of Independence to take the force of law through our Constitution.” “The Civil War and many necessary amendments have demonstrated that not even the greatest Charter of Freedom was intended to be immune to improvement, so it is very difficult to argue with a straight face that the Missouri Plan cannot be improved.”

Bunch’s statements came in the context of former Representative Elbert Walton’s argument that one of the greatest flaws in the Missouri Plan is its systematic exclusion of African Americans and other minorities. Walton’s wife, Representative Juanita Head Walton (D-81) expressed her support for the initiative petition and urged passage of HJR 66, her proposal to reform the Missouri Plan.

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