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A Masonic "Bill of Rights". Is it needed? Is it possible?

cemab4y

Premium Member
There have been some sad developments over the past years, where individual Masons have been treated unfairly, and unmasonically, by persons in positions of Masonic Authority.

I am firmly convinced, that most of our Grand Line officers, and individual lodge officers, are men of integrity. Nevertheless, there are always men who act improperly. It would be naive and foolish, to believe otherwise.

Should there be a "Bill of Rights", to protect individual Masons, from being trampled by Masonic authorities, who act improperly? How could such a document be crafted? And how enforced?

"Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely"- Lord Acton
 
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Txmason

Registered User
That sounds interesting. What would the Bill of Rights contain? Would the aim be to better serve masons when it comes to Masonic law or perhaps help younger masons with Masonic manners when visiting lodges? Or simply putforth standards to protect masons?

Jerry
 

Bill Lins

Moderating Staff
Staff Member
Most, if not all, of what one would think should be included in a "Masonic Bill of Rights" is already codified in Title V of our GL Law, such as the right to due process, the right to counsel, and so forth.
 

JohnnyFlotsam

Premium Member
Is it too much to expect, from men of the caliber that we like to think Masons are, that such of a document (Masonic Bill of Rights) would be unnecessary? Not that I am advocating anarchy. Far from it. The notion that an organization such as ours does not need structure and guidelines of some kind is folly, but something akin to a "Bill of Rights"..., I don't know. Would not, should not, a collection of such basic principles be superfluous?
 

cemab4y

Premium Member
James Madison (4th President, not a Freemason) said "If all men were angels, there would be no need for government". Over the past several years, there have been some incidents, where individual Masons have been treated unfairly, and unmasonically, by various Grand Lodge officers. The recent situation in West Virginia, where a Past Grand Master was expelled from the fraternity, in total violation of all Masonic procedures, is one sad example. The Grand Lodge of WV spent $400,000 in legal fees, on the case.

A Mason in Florida, is under a "gag order", he cannot publish anything Masonically-related in the state of Florida, but he can publish Masonic articles out of state.

There are many cases of individual Masons, being trampled on, by persons in positions of power. The sad fact, is that not all men in positions of Masonic authority, are angels. I am convinced that the wide majority of our officers and Grand Officers, are men of integrity, who donate many man-hours to our Craft ,and serve the Masonic fraternity, selflessly .

But, there is always room for improvement. Maybe setting down some basic rights, in Masonic law, and encouraging all Grand Lodges to respect the rights of individual Masons is an idea whose time has come.

Let's have a serious discussion.
 

jwhoff

Premium Member
Just a small comment before the discussion begins.

Sure wish there were some way folks would pay attention to the vows they take after each degree. That alone would clear things up for the thinking man. Unfortunate, but Brother cemba4y has a valid point, we are plagued by those few men who don't have their hearts in the right place.
 

JohnnyFlotsam

Premium Member
Just a small comment before the discussion begins.

Sure wish there were some way folks would pay attention to the vows they take after each degree. That alone would clear things up for the thinking man.

That is exactly my point, about which I am quite serious. If the need exists for a Masonic bill of rights; a document defining fundamental principles of justice, of right and wrong, then we are already lost.

To be sure, there are many, many examples of injustice done by one Mason, or group of Masons, to another. And Bill is quite right that most of those protections probably exist in any given GL's constitutions and laws. That does not seem to have helped in the case of the GL of West Virginia's disgraceful treatment of one of their Past Grand Masters, or the many Masons for whom that individual sought simple justice.

That any collection of Masonic law should want for additional words like "...make any negative reference or take any negative action in regard to a petitioner's or member's faith, creed or race at any time...", speaks to me of a frightening degree of confusion in the temple. Maybe resolutions like that are a necessary part of "the way back" from the dark place that Freemasonry has found itself. Oh yes, dark. When I hear with my own ears one Mason refer contemptuosly to another member of his Lodge, (one who doesn't practice the "proper" religion, apparently) as a "devil worshiper", when I see Grand Lodge resolutions introduced that are clear and unabashed attempts to advance the status of one religion in Lodge, at the expense of others, when I see Masons on this very forum attempt to advance the line of reason that his Brother Masons should be excluded from Lodge for observing the strictures of their faith, or that their own religious strictures can be rightly applied to all others, then yes, I am forced to admit that a tool of law is in order. Certainly, we should not be above wielding any of our tools as the work dictates, but that we've allowed ourselves to become so distracted, so confused, that simply doing the right thing for our own Brothers has become such a challenge that the tools with which we should be most proficient are inadequate is a very sorry state of affairs.

But a discussion about confusion and darkness is one for another thread. So what "rights", which are not already codified, must we put down in writing so that those in need might be guided by them?
 
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Bro. Brad Marrs

Premium Member
Cemab4y asks a good question. I don't think we need a Bill of Rights though. We are all on the level. The Laws of the Grand Lodge of Texas contain the Charges of a Freemason. While simple, they clearly instruct us how to act towards Masons and non-Masons, inside and outside of Lodge. Our esoteric obligations fill in the rest.

There is a clear path to escalation for wrong doing. We are instructed to bring it forward within our own Lodges, then appeal to Grand quarterly communications, and then finally, bring it before Grand annual communication. (page 63).

We should always use our trowel in this regard. Thanks for the thought provoking post.
 

jwhoff

Premium Member
The very big question is, what are we willing to do about it? What are we going to start doing to prevent it? Where do we take the stand? As we all agree, these are trying times. I'm not so sure it can all be solved with time.

Could be a way to get it out of the back room and on the front burner is to consider a bill of rights.

This is a good topic and I thank the good brother for breaching the subject. We don't appear to be guarding our inter-door as well as we should.

More please.
 

cemab4y

Premium Member
Here is a case, of a Mason, having his rights trampled by a Grand Lodge (NJ):

www.freemasoninformation.com/2010/09/mike-mccabe-versus-the-grand-lodge-of-new-jersey-part-2

Read this story, and pay particular attention to this fact:

quote:

The Grand Lodge’s attorney responded that the members of a Masonic Lodge “Are not entitled to be treated fundamentally fair”.

end quote.

If you think that there is no need for a Masonic Bill of Rights, you should take a look at what is happening in New Jersey, and what happened to PGM Frank Haas, in West Virginia
 
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JohnnyFlotsam

Premium Member
I urge caution and temperance, Brother. The story of what's going on in New Jersey seems outrageous, and it may well be accurate as told, but we do not know all the facts. Furthermore, some of the personalities involved in the telling of the tale have "history" with each other. I can not say the same about WB Mike McCabe, so his words I judge a little less harshly. Nevertheless, we are hearing only one side of the story, a fact which tends to weigh against the GL of NJ, but still a fact.

Sadly, very sadly, I observe that no "bill of rights" would have prevented what is happening in New Jersey if the tale, as told, is at all accurate. Some of the players allegedly involved acted without honor and have flagrantly violated their obligation. If they were not bound by that, what earthly power would a "bill of rights" have had over them?

At the risk of steering us into the weeds, I'll point out that the idea that a Grand Lodge "owns" all the property belonging to the member Lodge's in it's jurisdiction is not a new one. It is something that we are likely to see more of as our membership and revenues continue to dwindle. Some jurisdictions have sorted this out in their Constitutions and Laws, others not so much.
Hmmm.... A "who owns your Lodge's real estate, really?" might make for an interesting survey/thread by itself...
 

cemab4y

Premium Member
I just want to say, that I am not "picking on", any one individual nor any Grand Lodge. I am firmly convinced, that the wide majority of men, who are in positions of Masonic leadership, are men of integrity. I believe that all Masons should take their obligations seriously, and most especially, when a man is honored by serving as a Grand Lodge officer.

But Masons are human, not saints. There have been cases of Masons being treated unfairly and unmasonically, by individuals who in positions of power. This is a reality. Pretending that such cases do not exist, is naive, and not in the best interests of our Fraternity.

I am not a Texas Mason, and as such, I am in no position to criticize anyone. I wish you well. I am delighted that Texas is getting a Masonic vehicle license plate. Maybe this development, will spur other states, to getting their DMV to issue the Masonic plates, as well.

The recent situation in West Virginia is a stain on all Masonry. We all know that each Grand Lodge is an independent body. Grand Lodge authority stops at the state line. But the public just sees "Freemasonry". So we all suffer, when an incident like this occurs.

I cherish this craft. That is why we must all be on guard, and hold our leaders to a high standard, and demand that the regulations of our Grand Lodges are followed. Will it help, to establish a "Bill of Rights"? I don't know. I did not come up with the idea. Tim Bryce posted it some time ago.
 

cemab4y

Premium Member
The Grand Master of Masons in Arkansas, has forbidden any Arkansas Mason, from purchasing the official state Freemason vehicle license plate. Here is the plate:

CLICK HERE -> AR Arkansas dmv department of motor vehicles

Reason: The plate was designed by the MW Prince Hall Grand Lodge, and a portion of the sales proceeds, is rebated to the Prince Hall Masonic scholarship fund. Unless you belong to a Prince Hall Masonic Lodge, you cannot get this plate from the Arkansas Department of Motor Vehicles.

I am not an Arkansas Mason. But I find this action to be a disgrace. The plate does not say "Prince Hall", and who cares if some funds are rebated to a scholarship program for deserving youth?

This is exactly the kind of arbritrary decision, that a "Bill of Rights" could prevent.
 
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JohnnyFlotsam

Premium Member
It would appear that existing laws of the GL of Arkansas have been violated by it's Grand Master. More laws won't change that. Removing recognition might.
 

cemab4y

Premium Member
Alexander Hamilton wrote this about Government. I think it applies equally well to Freemasonry, and especially to Grand Lodges.

"If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself."--Alexander Hamilton on human nature and government.
 
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