Oregon moves to dissolve constitutional ban on public officials settling grudges with duels

Alexander Hamilton duel.
(Image credit: STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images)

Oregon voters might soon have to decide if they want to end a constitutional ban on their public officials settling disagreements with duels, The Associated Press reports.

The article banning duels was signed just 30 minutes after it was drafted in 1845, and it states that anyone who participates in a "challenge to fight a duel ... or who shall agree to go out of the State to fight a duel, shall be ineligible to any office of trust, or profit." Republican Sen. Brian Boquist put it simply: "They decided that it would not be very civil if two members of the Legislature disagreed and then shot each other on the front steps of the provisional capitol."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
Explore More
Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.