One Vote to Redraw the US Abortion Rights Map
Analysis by Zachary B. Wolf, CNN
Charlotte, North Carolina voters “had every reason to expect their representative would vote to protect abortion rights.” After all State Representative Tricia Cotham told her abortion story on the state House floor and previously co-sponsored and signed onto a bill to codify rights.
But that did not happen. And abortion rights continue to be taken away, State by State.
Read story.
California Attorney General Bonta Joins Multistate Fight to Protect LGBTQ Youth and Children
“Not only is conversion therapy a serious threat to the lives and health of LGBTQ people, it’s also completely ineffective. Being gay or transgender is not a ‘disorder’ that can or needs to be ‘cured.’ I stand with my fellow attorneys general in full support of Colorado and other states’ conversion therapy bans, which are crucial to protecting our kids and our most vulnerable residents.”
Read here.
Securing a Win in the U.S. Supreme Court
California victorious: SCOTUS Upholds Proposition 12 and States’ Role in Regulating Sale of Goods.
National Pork Producers Council v. Ross
Attorney General Rob Binta recently announced “This week, we secured a U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding a California law — Proposition 12 — that prohibits the sale of certain pork products produced using inhumane methods. The decision means that California can continue to have in place humane and commonsense standards, instead of the extreme confinement pushed by some pork producers. The ruling by the Supreme Court affirms states’ important role in regulating goods sold within their borders. I’m immensely proud of our legal team for prevailing and ensuring that the will of California voters who approved Proposition 12 in 2018 is respected.”
Add your voice: Protect Communities of Color from Biased Profiling
From Brennan Center for Justice
“Federal rules still allow biased profiling by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) — which means Americans continue to be targeted for suspicion and investigation on the basis of race, religion, and ethnicity.
It is unacceptable for federal agencies to treat Americans differently due to their religion or their race. Right now, the Biden administration has an opportunity to do what’s right and close the loopholes that allow biased profiling by federal agencies.”
Click here if you want to join in asking the White House to fully ban biased profiling.
The Ohio GOP Votes to Undermine Direct Democracy
From On The Docket
Resolution Redistricting Ballot Measures Will Head to Voters
“On Wednesday (5/10), the Ohio Legislature approved a proposed amendment to the Ohio Constitution that would increase the threshold to pass constitutional amendments from 50% to 60% of the vote. If approved by Ohio voters, it would make it more difficult to amend the state constitution. Republicans intend to place the proposal before voters during a special election on Aug. 8, 2023. However, their own omnibus voter suppression law enacted in January specifically banned August elections for most purposes, so some speculate that it may be illegal to hold a vote on that date.”
When the resolution was first proposed it was directly linked to Republican efforts to stop a measure to constitutionalize the right to abortion which was supported by the 59% of Ohioans.
UPDATE – After North Carolina Supreme Court Overturned Its Decision in Moore v. Harper, Can SCOTUS Still Decide on Redistricting?
Last week, after the North Carolina Supreme Court overturned its prior decision in the case, parties filed additional briefs with SCOTUS on the future of the “bizarre, ahistorical” reading of the US Constitution’ Election Clause.
Questions before SCOTUS relate to whether or not the Court still has jurisdiction (legal authority) to hear and decide a case that no longer exists.
CNN Reliable Sources with Oliver Darcy
Punishing PBS
Republican Oklahoma Governor, Kevin State, vetoed a bill to renew and fund Oklahoma Educational Television Authority, the statewide PBS network. Stitt’s veto was mostly against the LBGTQ-inclusive programming and “indoctrination and over-sexualization of our children.”
That programming includes Sesame Street, Clifford the Big Red Dog and Mister Rogers. Read here.
Read Opposite Directions.
The New Yorker, by Jessica Winter
The Parents Forced to Sue N.Y.C. Public Schools for Services for Children with Disabilities
Children with disabilities in the U.S. have been guaranteed “free appropriate public education” and Individualized Education Plans (IEP). Some 181, 000 students in the NYC Public Schools have IEP’s. But parents and school do not agree on plans and some schools are unable to provide services under the IEP. So – parents have take the drastic step to sue NYC schools to get what they feel their children were promised.
Read.
How Congress Lost Control of the Supreme Court
What Matters, CNN, analysis by Zachary B. Wolf
Holding more power than ever and with the shadow docket, SCOTUS can and is making consequential decision effecting all of us without even a written decision.
Read Wolf’s interview with Stephen Vladeck, University of Texas law professor and author of The Shadow Docket: How the Supreme Court Uses Stealth Ruling to Amass Power and Undermine the Republic.