Constitution of the Commonwealth of Kentucky
1891
Kentucky's fourth and current constitution was framed by a convention that met in Frankfort from 1890 to 1891 and ratified by voters on August 3, 1891. The framers were responding to the perceived capture of state government by railroad corporations and other concentrated economic interests, and the document reflects a Jacksonian suspicion of corporate power with unusually detailed restrictions on the legislature's ability to grant special privileges to private entities. The 1891 constitution is one of the longest state constitutions in the country, embedding in its text many provisions that other states handle by statute. It remains in force today, having been amended more than forty times but never replaced by a new convention.
Preamble
We, the people of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, grateful to Almighty God for the civil, political and religious liberties we enjoy, and invoking the continuance of these blessings, do ordain and establish this Constitution.
Bill of Rights
Section 1. Rights of liberty and self-government inalienable — All men are, by nature, free and equal, and have certain inherent and inalienable rights, among which may be reckoned: First: The right of enjoying and defending their lives and liberties. Second: The right of worshipping Almighty God in the manner most agreeable to the dictates of their consciences. Third: The right of seeking and pursuing their safety and happiness. Fourth: The right of freely communicating their thoughts and opinions. Fifth: The right of acquiring and protecting property. Sixth: The right of assembling together in a peaceable manner for their common good, and of applying to those invested with the power of government for redress of grievances or other proper purposes, by petition, address or remonstrance. Seventh: The right to bear arms in defense of themselves and of the State, subject to the power of the General Assembly to enact laws to prevent persons from carrying concealed weapons. Section 2. Absolute and arbitrary power denied — Absolute and arbitrary power over the lives, liberty and property of freemen exists nowhere in a republic, not even in the largest majority.