For the second consecutive year, an informal coalition of 23 Missouri Tea Party groups and others will stage a Consent of the Governed Rally in the rotunda of the Missouri Capitol Wednesday morning.
The rally from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. comes just before the Missouri General Assembly convenes for its 2012 session at noon Wednesday.
Organizers say they want to impress upon legislators the importance of passing laws that conform to the Missouri Constitution.
James Holland, a member of the Callaway Patriots Tea Party, said the coalition has very little organization, has no officers and is interested in preserving constitutional government.
During the rally, the coalition plans to present each Missouri legislator with a framed and matted document that includes the preamble to the Missouri Constitution and the first four sections of Article 1 of the state constitution.
Each of the four main speakers at the rally will discuss one of the first four sections of Article 1 of the Missouri Constitution.
The four main speakers will be Dave Roland, Rep. Ed Emery, Dave Linton and Ed Martin.
The preamble to the Missouri Constitution states: "We, the people of Missouri, with profound reverence to the Supreme ruler of the Universe, and grateful for His goodness, do establish this Constitution for the better government of the state."
The first four sections of the Missouri Constitution emphasize the role of the citizens of Missouri in establishing rules and regulations that affect their lives and that the government exists only with the consent of the governed.
The Consent of the Governed Rally takes its name from the thoughts expressed in the second paragraph of the U.S. Declaration of Independence "that to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed" and Article 1, Section 1 of the Missouri Constitution that states "all political powers is vested in and derived from the people."
Holland said citizens and grass-roots activists from all corners of the state will gather for the purpose of offering support and encouragement to Missouri legislators.
"We want to remind them of the oath that they have sworn and that we have elected them to conduct our business," Holland said.
Holland said speakers at the event will not be offering political stump speeches urging people to vote for a candidate or lobbyists urging support for legislation. Instead, all four speakers will discuss the first four articles of the Bill of Rights of the Missouri Constitution that the group believes set forth the basic principles that are the bedrock foundation of Missouri government.