Lunar Bill of Rights

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A Bill of Rights for Lunar Settlers

All the people who live on the Moon will need a clear statement of their rights as lunar citizens. This is particularly important in view of the many bad visions of space settlement that have so far been presented to the public, for example in "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" and "Outland".

A Charter

A bill of rights must be a key part of any settlement's charter. The present expectation is that the charter possibilities for the Moon will be based on the current international treaties for Antarctica.

It follows that, like Antarctica, all settlements must be under the auspices of a sovereign country that is a signature to the treaty. The United States will be able to establish a settlement but a company could not. Companies could then operate under the United States charter.

It is therefore reasonable to start with the American Bill of Rights to develop a Lunar Bill of Rights.

Flag of Convenience

It is quite possible that once the research work is well advanced and lunar mining becomes a viable commercial venture, we may see lunar settlements under flags of convenience. Small countries, with no space capability of their own, may serve as cover for international corporations. We could see a lunar settlement under the Panamanian Flag. This is a common practice for ships. The country would receive fees and taxes. The corporation would receive legitimacy, low taxes, and firm control of the operation. Also in the event of a catastrophe, the company liability will be limited strictly to its lunar resources.

This is another reason we need to establish the Lunar Bill of Rights early.

Articles

Following the American Bill of Rights, here are a few suggestions for a Lunar Bill of Rights:

Freedom of Religion, Speech, and the Right to petition

Relligion

Having a right to religion, or to no religion, will help insure diversity in the lunar population. The mining operations needs to be a 24 hour / 365 day operation. Different people observing different Sabbaths and holidays will complicate work scheduling. In some ways it may help if people cover each others off time needs in a team effort.

Speech

Freedom of speech is likely to be mostly about free, bidirectional communication with Earth. If the government or the company can control that then they can spin problems any way they want. One possibility is to have Ham radio links back to Earth that are the strict properity of the citizens.

Assembly

Meeting rooms are likely to be very few and far between on the Moon and the security system will be automatically monitoring all such places. Priviacy for a meeting may be a serious problem.

The right to assemble peaceably will certainly include the right to organize a union, although the right to strike may be severely restricted, as it now is with government employees.

Right to bear and keep arms

Guns fire in space. If anything the lack of air in the barrel helps the bullet on its way. If guns did not fire, then rockets would not burn either. No phasers or laser rifles are needed. Explosives will also be needed for industral activities and construction. All guns and explosives are extremely dangerous in a space settlement.

That said, this article is about insuring that the people retain enough power to insure that the government or company cannot act as a tyrant.

There will certainly be a Chief Security Officer (see Sheriff in People on the Moon) and many of the people on the Moon will have had military training. This suggests that the concept of well regulated militia from the original article be retained in the version used in several American Western states, that of the Sheriff's Posse. The Sheriff would retain all guns and explosive in a locked facility. A number of other workers would voluntarily under go training and serve as first responders in emergencies supporting teh Sheriff. The Posse members, and they alone, would be licensed to carry guns and then only under the direct control of the Sheriff.

Unreasonable searches and seizures

If the government or company owns all the buildings, and the computer equipment, and all the means of productions, what do you own?

It is clear that people have a reasonable expectation of privacy in their own room no mater who owns the building. They certainly would have an expectation of privacy for electronic files on a device (like your Personal in What People Carry) that you carry on your person. The problem will come in areas were you share information with others on company computers and need public facilities for private purposes. These rules need to be very clearly worked out.

The owning of property can also be a problem given the extreme high cost of bring anything from Earth. Will paying the cost of transport from Earth define ownership? Will the settlers be entitled to periotic small personal shipments at company expense?

Right to a fair trial

Several of the of the articles deal with a right to a fair trial. We will need to establish rules for jurisdiction in legal maters. Almost certainly this will define the settler's relationship to specific Earth courts. The flag the settlement flies may be important here.