On January 4, 2012, Dave Roland gave this speech (text version may be found below) at the state capitol in Jefferson City, explaining the historical context for Article I, Section 2, of the Missouri Constitution. That provision reads:
“All constitutional government is intended to promote the general welfare of the people; all persons have a natural right to life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness and the enjoyment of the gains of their own industry; all persons are created equal and are entitled to equal rights and opportunity under the law; to give security to these things is the principal office of government, and when government does not confer this security, it fails in its chief design.”