#Anti Transgender Rally In Florida

[msclaritea]

"Jeanette made the false claim that nearly 50% of "trans kids" will take their own lives without these harmful interventions.

After sterilizing her effeminate son, Jeanette Jennings wants more parents to follow suit, even if it means spreading lies..."

[transfloridaresources]

Today (05/06/24), 4:30pm, Orlando

[Photo ID: Pink to white gradient image with various logos and info boxes. Text reads: 'Save the date: May 6th 4:30pm. Press Conference. 5205 South Orange Avenue - Orlando, FL 32809. Not one step back! Identification for all! Not one step back. Every Floridian. Every Identity. Every ID.' Logos for Orlando for Gender Equality, Free Mom Hugs, Inc., Dream Defenders, Zebra Youth, Come Out with Pride Orlando, HRC Orlando / Central Florida, Spektrum Health, The Center Orlando, GLSEN Central Florida, HOPE CC. /End ID]

[Photo ID: White box with rainbow border. Text reads: 'Statement on DMV Policy Change. LGBTQ+ advocates from around the state organized and mobilized in great numbers this past legislative session. Through actions like protests, letter-writings, die-ins, and more, we defeated 21 out of 22 anti-LGBTQ+ bills attempting to move through the Florida legislature. One of these bills, HB 1639, sponsored by local representative Doug Bankson, was particularly egregious. It sought to redefine "sex" in a way that excludes transgender, non-binary, and intersex people, and to prohibit a person's state identification documents from reflecting their gender identity. As the bill was heading towards its downfall in the legislature, the Deputy Executive Director, Robert Kynoch, of the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) released a memo to county tax collectors in late January rescinding previous department policy (IR08 - Gender Requirements), which allowed for Florida residents to change the gender marker on their ID to accurately reflect their gender identity. The memo wrongly excludes gender identity from "sex" in an effort to subvert the democratic process to redefine sex - and prohibit gender marker amendments - absent legislative authority. In a similar way, the legislature continued its attacks on the rights of immigrants and people experiencing homelessness in the form of HB 1451. This bill, which passed and was signed into law by DeSantis, restricts the acceptance of community IDs issued by community organizations to immigrants and individuals experiencing homelessness. Community IDs are essential for demonstrating that a person is a resident and member of a given community. It is already tremendously difficult for these groups to acquire valid identification, and this law imposes yet another barrier to identification.' /End ID]

[Photo ID: White box with rainbow border. Text reads: 'Statement on DMV Policy Change. Accurate identification is a human right; we must demand access to legal authenticity for all. Advocates for transgender individuals, immigrants, and people experiencing homelessness must stand together in the fight for equitable access to accurate identification. We demand that the FLHSMV restore their previous IR08-Gender Requirements policy to ensure that transgender people can obtain accurate IDs. Furthermore, we demand that legislatures take action to protect trans people's ability to obtain accurate identification as well as protect the acceptance of community IDs. Join us for a rally and press conference at SPEKTRUM Health (5205 South Orange Avenue) on May 6th at 4:30pm! WE CANNOT LET THEM TAKE US ONE STEP BACK! Signed, Orlando for Gender Equality, GLSEN Central Florida, HRC Orlando/Central Florida, SPEKTRUM Health, HOPE CC, PRISM, Zebra Youth, Youth Action Fund, Central Floridians for Social Equality, Justice Advocacy Network, Voices of Florida Fund/Women's Voices of Southwest Florida, UCF Students for a Democratic Society, Central Florida Queers for Palestine, LGBT+ Center Orlando, Inc., Come Out with Pride, Free Mom Hugs, Inc., Dream Defenders, Corey Hill, Vance Ahrens, candidate State Senate District 19, Amy Phillips, Beverly Washington, Orlando Drag Queen.' /End ID]

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Christopher Wiggins at The Advocate:

As election season peaks, conservative LGBTQ+ supporters of former President Donald Trump are hosting “Trump UNITY” events across battleground states despite the former president’s lengthy record of anti-LGBTQ+ policies. Organized by the Log Cabin Republicans, the UNITY tour held a rally in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Tuesday, where gay conservative attendees emphasized economic issues over LGBTQ+ rights and downplayed the need for further protections, NBC News reports. For attendees, whose attendance numbers were eclipsed by straight counterparts in a half-empty hotel ballroom devoid of rainbow flags, this event was a space to champion Trump as the candidate of choice — even as he pledges to roll back rights for LGBTQ+ Americans. “I’m not voting because of marriage equality or LGBTQ rights,” 23-year-old Gage West told the outlet. “I’m voting because I want more money in my wallet.” His comments reflect a prevailing sentiment among the crowd of conservative gay men who said their focus is on economic and border security issues rather than LGBTQ+ rights.

Pronouns were mocked by attendees, and calls for equality were dismissed as “victim mentality,” echoing comments from conservative social media influencer Rob Smith, who argued that “the problems that this country are facing are far greater than any small affinity group.”

Some attendees believe the LGBTQ+ community has already achieved full equality. Fifty-seven-year-old Don Webber remarked, “We’re past that. We’ve reached that level of equality. My focus is more on my kids and the grandkids, the economy, the safety of our borders.” This rhetoric has drawn backlash from LGBTQ+ advocates who point out Trump’s record as one of the most anti-LGBTQ+ administrations in recent history. 

[...] The UNITY tour has also drawn attention for the inclusion of high-profile far-right figures who promote harmful anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric, including Scott Pressler, who has pushed baseless “groomer” narratives against the LGBTQ+ community, and former Republican Illinois U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock, who once voted against marriage equality and the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell” but came out as gay years after leaving office. In early October, the Trump UNITY tour held a fundraiser in Pennsylvania. The event featured figures like Florida U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz. Gaetz has publicly pushed false narratives about transgender youth and endorsed anti-LGBTQ+ tropes.

The Trump UNITY events organized by quisling LGBTQ+ group Log Cabin Republicans have featured MAGA hacks who falsely assert that LGBTQ+ people have full equality. In reality, LGBTQ+ equality isn’t anywhere close to full completion and has backslidden in several states.

[beardedmrbean]

A U.S. House representative's transgender daughter was arrested in Boston on Saturday, when an anti-abortion demonstration drew counter-protesters.

Riley Dowell, a 24-year-old who police identified by her birth name, was arraigned at Boston Municipal Court on Monday on charges of disorderly conduct and interfering with lawful assembly. She is the daughter of congresswoman Katherine Clark, the Democrat from Massachusetts, who has served as minority whip since 2023.

All 17 people arrested were believed to be counter-protesters, Boston Police Department told Newsweek.

Dowell and 15 others were offered a deal that will see all charges dropped if they perform 40 hours of community service, Boston.com reported. The other person, who was arrested for allegedly assaulting a police officer, was not offered the deal, it added.

Newsweek contacted the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office and Representative Clark for comment on Tuesday by email outside of regular office hours.

Rep. Clark told The Boston Herald of her daughter's arrest: "Every American has the right to protest and stand up for their beliefs, but they must do so responsibly and peacefully."

Abortion rights debates have reignited since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022, allowing states to create a patchwork of legislation across the country. Massachusetts generally restricts abortion at 24 weeks post-fertilization.

On Saturday, clashes began after several hundred people attended a National Men's March to Abolish Abortion and Rally for Personhood demonstration, which began outside a Planned Parenthood facility on Commonwealth Avenue, local media reported.

'Extremely Hazardous'

A similar sized group of counter-protesters opposed the demonstration, some of whom attempted to block its progress towards Boston Common.

Boston police said the counter-protest created an "extremely hazardous and offensive condition." As officers cleared the march route, those arrested "refused to peacefully disperse, they were extremely riotous and tumultuously assembled," police added.

Dowell was previously arrested in January 2023 after allegedly being part of a group that defaced a Boston Common monument with anti-police graffiti.

Dowell received a pre-trial probation term of one year, with the case dismissed if she fulfilled a number of conditions, including 30 hours of community service, a letter of apology to the injured officers and restitution for expenses incurred removing the paint.

Rep. Clark was herself arrested in July 2022 during a demonstration after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. In a statement at the time, she said: "I am furious and heartbroken, and I will proudly fight for our right to abortion. They can arrest me, but we won't allow them to arrest freedom."

Earlier this month, voters in seven states passed ballot measures that would protect abortion rights: Maryland, Missouri, Arizona, Colorado, New York, Montana and Nevada. Similar legislation in South Dakota and Florida did not pass, while Nebraska voted to prohibit abortion past the first trimester.

On Monday a judge in Wyoming struck down two laws restricting abortion access which she claimed impeded the "fundamental right to make health care decisions for an entire class of people, pregnant women."

The legislation banned abortion in all cases except where the mother's life was at risk, or in cases of rape or incest that had been reported to the police.

[memingursa]

Also Here’s that thread with 10 sources, rather than misunderstanding fascism from it’s dictionary definition. These people are liars.

Another 5 sources! 15. These people refuse to learn or make shit up.

People/Steamers crying about getting shit over buying and playing hogwarts legacy vs trans people dealing with politicians and pundits calling for their genocide and being kind of understandably furious at streamers for enabling JK Rowling’s anti semitism and transphobia in the midst of fascists using any means to get legitimacy to kill people.

[arcticdementor]

Larry the Cable Guy made the phrase “Git-R-Done” his signature. A new breed of young Republicans and populists has its own message for their establishment elders: Get it right.

This new strategic alliance refuses to clap like trained GOP seals at any shiny vehicle masquerading as a free speech rescue because their very lives and livelihoods are on the line. This is not a drill.

In Florida, conservative GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis has earned lavish praise and attention for backing anti-censorship legislation that he claims will reign in Big Tech’s power to exercise “clear viewpoint discrimination.” Among the DeSantis-backed statehouse bill’s key features: fines of between $25,000 and $250,000 per day for social media platforms that “censor, shadow ban, deplatform, or apply post-prioritization algorithms” to Florida candidates, users or residents; a ban on public contracts with social media entities found guilty or civilly liable for antitrust violation; and requirements to disclose standards and definitions used by the tech overlords to censor and stifle dissidents.

…

That’s exactly the right message and every red-state governor should be sounding it. But if you are going to take on the Silicon Valley overlords and protect free speech, you’ve got to make them pay. You’ve got to close gaping loopholes. And you’ve got to leave no deplatformed victims behind.

Citing Facebook and Twitter’s bans of former president Donald Trump, DeSantis has rightly blasted the immense control of “monopoly communications platforms” who now act as “enforcers of preferred narratives.” But the bill would not retroactively protect Trump or former Florida GOP congressional candidate and free-speech warrior Laura Loomer. As Loomer (who is running again for Congress in Florida’s 21st district) has warned for weeks, the bill only covers future state-level candidates, not federal candidates like her or the former president. A mechanism for review and restoration of already-canceled accounts is key. “The future of all of our future elections in Florida is dependent on this tech bill passing with the strengthening amendments,” Loomer told me. “In order to restore integrity to our elections in America, we must first hold Big Tech accountable for their discriminatory and anti-competitive behavior, as well as their illegal election interference in the form of deplatforming candidates.”

The bill would also only protect journalists working for large corporate entities and leave independent citizen media in the cold. Moreover, the Florida anti-social media censorship law fails to cover a wider universe of internet-based companies and financial institutions beyond Facebook, Twitter, Google and Instagram that are punishing conservative users for their political views. These include multinational banks, rideshare companies, payment processors and telecom companies. Loomer knows of which she speaks, having been banned by Paypal, GoFundMe, Patreon, Lyft, TeeSpring, Uber and even Uber Eats, among dozens of other companies, for her no-holds-barred journalism and anti-jihad activism.

Similarly, “America First” host Nick Fuentes has been banned by all the usual Big Tech suspects, along with livestream service DLive, Coinbase, “and every payment processor” for his forceful advocacy of populism, an end to mass migration and protection of the nuclear family. He was scheduled to join Loomer, former Delaware GOP Senate candidate Lauren Witzke (banned from Twitter for calling a pedophilia-flirting transgender activist “demonic”), and me in Palm Beach Tuesday at a rally to push for loophole-free legislation holding Silicon Valley accountable for discriminatory deplatforming.

But Fuentes never got off the ground, because two airlines and Joe Biden’s TSA informed him that he didn’t have “clearance” to fly. He has been charged with no crimes and was blocked from exercising his First Amendment rights to free speech and peaceable assembly.

…

I’ve fought the deplatforming tyrants for 15 years as an internet entrepreneur and will do all I can to protect and support this new generation of free speech warriors from the globalist speech-squelchers and thought crime police. If you care about the future of this crumbling sovereign nation, you should, too.

First, send this message to DeSantis and every Republican governor and state legislator purporting to oppose Big Tech: Get it done, GOP. Get it right.

[96thdayofrage]

The clashes in Charlottesville catalyzed the American public’s reckoning with the budding white nationalist movement, which had accelerated after Donald Trump’s election. Afterward, the wave of public shaming of the violence in Charlottesville led at least one “Unite the Right” marcher to insist his participation in the rally was misinterpreted as racist. Others who attended quickly lost their jobs after online campaigns exposed them.

But the eventual identification of the man in the white tank top and red hat shook many: He was revealed to be a 33-year-old Puerto Rican resident of Georgia, originally from the Bronx. “I’m the only brown Klans member I ever met,” Alex Michael Ramos joked in a Facebook Live video before he turned himself into police Aug. 28. The Facebook post has since been taken down.

But Ramos wasn’t the only “Unite the Right” marcher with a Hispanic background.

Christopher Rey Monzon, a 22-year-old Cuban-American, is associated with the League of the South, which the Southern Poverty Law Center classifies as a neo-Confederate hate group. Monzon was arrested weeks after Charlottesville for charging at protesters in a separate Florida demonstration. And Nick Fuentes, a 19-year-old student who hosts an alt-right podcast called America First, said he had to leave Boston University in the aftermath of the Charlottesville protests after receiving death threats over his participation.

The presence of these Latino men at the largest white nationalist event in recent memory underscores the complicated racial position of Latinos in the United States. Latino white supremacy, it turns out, might not be a contradiction in terms.

Increasingly, Latinos are identifying racially as white. In fact, more than half did so in the 2010 U.S. Census. A March 2016 report from Pew Research Center found that 39% of Afro-Latinos also identified “as white alone or white in combination with another race.” With a current population of around 58 million, Latinos make up the second-largest ethnic group in the U.S., just behind whites.

Another Pew Research Center study from December found that 59% of U.S. adults with Latino heritage who identify as white believe others see them as white, too. Over time, the study found, descendants of Latino immigrants stop identifying with their countries of origin and consider themselves more and more American.

Fuentes — who says he’s about 25% Mexican — identifies as white, not Latino. In an interview with Mic, Fuentes also said he believes multiculturalism threatens white national identity. Monzon, meanwhile, has called for South Florida to secede from the U.S. His ties to the League of the South are generational, as his parents have also protested with the white supremacist fringe group, according to the SPLC. In a Facebook profile the SPLC has attributed to him, Monzon goes by “Ambrosio Gonzalez,” the name of a Cuban general who fought as a Confederate colonel in the Civil War.

Ramos, however, rejects any notion that he’s racist, insisting he went to Charlottesville in defense of free speech and as a show of force against left-wing groups like Black Lives Matter and Antifa.

During the nearly hourlong video Ramos posted to Facebook, he became agitated at users who challenged him for marching with the KKK and jumping a black man.

“Yeah, I stood side-by-side with racist people, but they weren’t racist to me,” Ramos said. “They did not call me a ‘spic,’ they did not call me a ‘fucking wetback,’ they didn’t say nothing as such. We stood for the same common goal.”

Alex Michael Ramos has been charged in connection with the beating of a black man during violent clashes in Charlottesville, Virginia, during the “Unite the Right” rally Aug. 12.

Uncredited/AP

Despite his stated goals, the brutal violence in the video from that day was enough for judges in Charlottesville to twice deny Ramos bond.

“The victim was defenseless,” Judge Richard Moore of the Charlottesville General District Court said at Ramos’ bail hearing in November. “Mr. Ramos rushes into something where people are pummeling Mr. Harris. He is an unreasonable risk to others.”

Ramos is facing a malicious wounding charge and could spend up to 20 years in prison if convicted, according to local station WVIR-TV. Through his attorney, Ramos declined to be interviewed.

Other alleged perpetrators include Daniel Patrick Borden of Ohio, who was identified online and arrested in connection to Harris’ attack. Like Ramos, he was also denied bond. Authorities arrested another suspect, Arkansas man Jacob Scott Goodwin, in October and extradited him to Charlottesville the following month.

Harris himself was later forced to turn himself in when Harold Ray Crews, an attorney and resident of Walkertown, North Carolina — and the state’s chairman for League of the South — claimed Harris injured him in the same scuffle. Though Harris’ felony charge for unlawful wounding was dropped in December, “there are still misdemeanor charges pending,” according to the Root.

Fuentes is, in many ways, representative of the ideas of the so-called alt-right, which the Anti-Defamation League defines as a “loose network of racists and anti-Semites.” His Twitter feed shows equal disdain for conservative commentator Ben Shapiro and the South Side of Chicago, which has seen a sharp increase in gang-related murders in recent years. Though he decried Heyer’s murder at the “Unite the Right” rally during his interview with Mic, he also equated it with antifa violence.

Fuentes did acknowledge there isn’t much reconciliation between his stance on multiculturalism — simply put, it’s bad and should be avoided — and his own cultural background: His Mexican ancestors immigrated to the U.S. at the turn of the 20th century. Intermarriage has created a “beige, rootless mass,” he said, and he rejects any notion that Latino immigrants can assimilate.

“I don’t buy the idea that if you come to a country and your kids learned the language, you’re from that country,” Fuentes said. “You have to understand that America is an exceptional nation; it’s the proposition nation. That’s why the identity question is so big here. America was obviously settled only very recently. If I moved to China and I filled out the paperwork, would that make me Chinese? Of course not. I would maybe be a part of the People’s Republic.”

“They demonize the ‘other,’ but the irony is that they were once the ‘other.’”

Fuentes’s own standard — that learning English and settling in the U.S. does not make you American — disenfranchises himself and his parents, a fact he acknowledged. From the perspective of someone who sees the U.S. as a foundationally European nation, as Fuentes does, being anything less than white is the same as being a nonentity.

“You rob children of something very fundamental when you take away a common and coherent identity,” he said. “I look at my Eastern European people from high school and they have their food and their special clothing from their home country. But when you have race mixing, you rob them. I do pause at that. This is not an experience I wish to replicate. I don’t know if I wish I could turn back the clock and change things, but ideally there wouldn’t be mixing.”

Joanna Mendelson, senior investigative researcher and director of special projects for the ADL, sees growing anti-immigrant views from the descendants of Latino immigrants as a unique conundrum.

“It’s this idea that, ‘we did it right, we did it legally,’” Mendelson said in an interview with Mic. “They’re not just addressing illegal immigration — which would be one thing — but they’re against refugees and Muslims and legal immigration. They demonize the ‘other,’ but the irony is that they were once the ‘other.’”

On Aug. 20, days after the Charlottesville protests, Juan Cadavid, a Colombian-born Californian who now goes by the name Johnny Benitez, led an “America First!” rally in Southern California he described as a vigil for victims of crimes committed by undocumented immigrants. Dozens of supporters were drowned out by nearly 2,500 counterprotesters, the Los Angeles Times reported.

In an interview with NPR in December, Benitez shared how he went from Occupy Wall Street protester and Bernie Sanders supporter to alt-right nationalist, claiming he was exiled from Occupy and called a bigot after he questioned the need for the group to support transgender people. He insisted he was not a white supremacist, but an advocate for what he called “white identity politics” — which includes embracing the 14 Words slogan used by white supremacists: “We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children.”

Benitez also told NPR he pushes for a United States that is “Italo-Spanish” white, to make room for the descendants of southern Europeans (which he considers himself to be). White nationalists such as Richard Spencer have said white Latinos could theoretically be part of a white ethno-nationalist state, but they still have mixed feelings about assimilation.

“In some instances you are rejected from the host culture, made to feel not American,” Benitez said of being an immigrant in the U.S. “And if I go back, I’m definitely not Colombian. You know, I didn’t live there, you can hear that I have an American accent, things like that, when I speak Spanish.”

Benitez’s girlfriend, Irma Hinojosa, cohosts The Right View, a YouTube talk show hosted with four other women who call themselves the “Deplorable Latinas.” The show features conservative Latinas commenting on the news from a point of view that conversation about Latinos and immigration focuses on the undocumented versus those who entered the country legally. Hinojosa also has her own YouTube channel where she livestreams protests and alt-right events. She was the only woman to speak at a June “Freedom of Speech” rally featuring Spencer and other alt-right figures.

[eric-raleigh]

War Against Humanity

Friends... I am struggling to find the right words around my outrage right now. 2020 has brought to light the ugliest parts of hatred I have ever been witness to. From the boldness of white supremacists and racists, waving their confederate flags, to the Trump administration rolling back LGBTQIA+ protections in healthcare, it feels like there is an all out war on humanity right now. 

Below the cut are some of the most recent outrages...but also concrete actions that you can take to help heal this nation and her people.

The Black Lives Matters protests are still going strong around the country, but are not getting as much publicity, and I fear that--once again--heads are going to be buried in the sand and our black brothers, sisters, and non-binary siblings are going to continue to face police brutality simply for living while black. Did you know Breonna Taylor’s murderers have yet to be arrested? She was murdered by  Louisville Metro Police Department on March 13th. Here we are, three months later, and no charges have been made. We have to keep fighting this fight. We cannot let the world go back to pretending that things are okay, because they never were. We need massive reforms to our police force and criminal justice system nationwide. 

Amidst the protests, we are still facing a global pandemic and numbers are starting to spike again. It is critical that you listen to experts and scientific facts right now. Maintain social distancing, wear a mask, be safe!! Again, there hasn’t been as much coverage of COVID-19 as there was in the past, but this crisis is not over!! Native Americans and communities of color are among the most vulnerable right now, and need our help. 

Today, it was announced that the Trump administration reversed transgender health protections, making one of the most vulnerable groups even more vulnerable at a time when we are facing a global crisis. Not only does this come during Pride month, but on the 4th anniversary of the Pulse shooting which claimed the lives of 49 LGBTQIA+ individuals and straight allies.  

Trump’s attempts to appeal to his racist, white supremacist base have become overt and obscene. On Juneteeth, Trump will hold a rally in Tulsa, OK followed by his acceptance of the Republican nomination on August 27 in Jacksonville, Florida. These dates and locations are not arbitrary or random, despite the Trump administration’s claim to the contrary. Juneteeth, is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. Tulsa, OK was the site of one of the deadliest acts of racial violence in which more than 300 black men, women and children were brutally massacred. In Jacksonville, on August 27, 1960, a group of 200 white men began chasing black protesters through the streets, beating them with ax handles and baseball bats. Soon, the violence shifted to more than just the protesters--to anyone who was black.

Just recently, in Georgia, after having MONTHS to prepare for the primary election and even postponing it twice, the Secretary of State in Georgia failed to deliver equitable and fair voting opportunities, and most heavily impacted were communities of color.  This is voter suppression, and it is systemic racism in action. We have seen this across the country, and it is an epidemic that is fueled by a Republican machine desperate to hold on to power.  

If you’re as sick as I am, as outraged, as overwhelmed... please take action. You might be wondering what you can do, how you can help, and feeling lost on where to even begin because of the array of issues we’re facing. Below are some resources to help get you started. I know this list isn’t exhaustive, so please feel free to share additional resources or suggestions.

You need to make sure you make a plan and VOTE in your local, state, and national elections this year. The primaries MATTER, so if your state hasn’t had its primary yet, or it has an upcoming primary runoff, VOTE!! Make sure you’re registered to vote and that you know your polling location. Consider volunteering at the polls during early voting and on the day of the election. Donate to organizations like Fair Fight or Black Voters Matter, who are working to end voter suppression. 

Help COVID relief efforts, especially for the First Nations and Black Women’s Wellness.

Consider contributing to the Bail Funds Network, a network of over 60 community bail/bond funds that free people from jail and immigration detention, and specifically the bail funds for protesters. Color of Change  is advocating racial justice through specific efforts to change corporate and public policies, and the Advancement Project is supporting organized communities in their struggles for racial and social justice, providing legal, communications and campaign organizing resources. The Collective Pac’s Justice for All Fund is working to recruit, train, and fund Black judicial, prosecutorial and attorney general candidates to ensure more representative leaders for the criminal justice system.

If you can’t give financially, you can also sign petitions to help generate change. Reclaim the Block has a petition to defund the Minneapolis Police Department and invest in the resources that really keep us safe and healthy, especially in Black communities, Indigenous communities and communities of color. Congresswoman Lucy McBath is also working to end voter suppression in Georgia. 

Volunteer to phone, text, or write postcards for local or national politicians. It’s important that we focus as much on the down ballot races as we do the presidency right now, so look into who is running in your city, district, and state. Everything from the Railroad Commissioner to Mayor to State Senate and Representatives. There are so many great candidates running across the nation who need your help. Win the Era has recently endorsed 22 candidates across the nation  who are lifting up the issues facing this and subsequent generations; who are committed to building a sense of belonging in our country; who are running pioneering campaigns; who are proposing and supporting meaningful, bold policies; and who model the values and spirit of the Pete Buttigieg campaign. Consider donating to some of these candidates, or the PAC itself to help future endorsements, or reach out to the candidates and ask how you can help them get elected. 

Join and support organizations like Black Lives Matter and the Human Rights Campaign.  

Educate yourself. This is a time to step back and critically look at our own privileges and prejudices and find ways to be better allies. There are so many excellent books about the conversation of race and anti-racism, as well as the LGBTQIA history. As uncomfortable as it is to talk about race, gender identity, and sexuality these are the conversations that we need to be having right now. I encourage you to listen to the conversation between Emmanuel Acho and Matthew McConaughey as a starting point.

Most importantly: Be aware and stay involved. There’s a desire to tune out, turn the channel, and give up right now, but please fight that urge. We need everybody on board with making change happen. Ignoring the problems won’t make them go away. We cannot wait for the next black life to be taken from us to feel outraged enough to want to do something. Use your privilege to amplify black voices, to speak out against injustices for the LGBTQIA+ community, to defend immigrants and their children. 

2020 is a defining moment, and we need to make sure it defines an era of true justice and freedom for all in this country. Until we are all free...none of us can be free.  

[the-cash-cache]

Florida is trying to suppress the League of Women Voters

https://www.propublica.org/article/florida-roadblocks-league-of-women-voters

For those unfamiliar with the LWC, they’re a well-known non-partisan organization dedicated to voting rights, registering voters, and informing the public about candidates with voter guides and hosting unfiltered and unscripted forums for all candidates.

Now normally, there should be nothing wrong with this! Who could possibly take issue with everyone getting a voice to encourage a fair and open election process? I think you see where I’m going with this. The Republican party is so far right now that promoting voting rights and registration is seen as “hyperpartisan” by them.

“The League of Women Voters, while that sounds like a nice organization, they don’t do a lot of nice work,” Catalina Lauf, a Republican candidate for Congress in Illinois, said in a video posted in May [2022] on Instagram, explaining her reasoning for refusing to participate in a league-sponsored debate.

The league, she claimed, “peddles Marxist ideology” and is “anti-American.” In an interview with ProPublica, Lauf cited the league’s support for the rights of transgender student athletes as one reason she is suspicious of the group. She also claimed the league has endorsed the defunding of police departments, though that is inaccurate. The league has, however, taken stands in favor of sweeping police reforms that would address brutality and racial profiling.

“They need to switch their brand fast,” Lauf said. “Because their hyperpartisanship is turning off a lot of women who just want common sense.”

Now Florida is trying to stop them from organizing by telling them that they need to be sponsored by a state agency, which is less than ideal if you have to wade through red tape to get the government to allow you to say the government should do things differently.

“We were told the rally space was already taken up, [said LWC Florida president, attorney Cecile Scoon.] And then we asked for any other space and we were told that we had to get an agency to sponsor the paperwork and basically authenticate whatever we were trying to do, and our statement needed to be in accord with that agency’s policies. And that didn’t make any sense because sometimes you want to complain about the government itself, you want to say, ‘Hey you can do better here, please consider this and that.’”

‘You can say whatever you like, as long as the state already agrees with it’ sure sounds like freedom of speech to me!

[newjerseyprelawland-blog]

Republicans Propose “Don’t Say Gay Bill”

By Anika Ponni, Rutgers University–New Brunswick Class of 2026

October 28, 2022

Recently, politicians have taken aim at individuals’ rights to sexuality. On October 18th, 2022, the “Stop the Sexualization of Children Act” was introduced in Congress by Lousianna Rep. Mike Johnson and 32 other Republican members. The bill prohibits “the use of Federal funds to develop, implement, facilitate, or fund any sexually-oriented program, event, or literature for children under the age of 10, and for other purposes.” If passed, the repercussions of this bill would be quite extensive since a wide range of institutions receive federal funding. These include schools, libraries, and hospitals to name a few. The “Stop the Sexualization of Children Act,” dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, bans “sexually-oriented material” which includes “any topic involving gender identity, gender dysphoria, transgenderism, sexual orientation, or related subjects.” The bill also gives parents and guardians the right to sue a “government official,  government agency, or private entity for a violation” if their child is under the age of 10 and has been exposed to such topics at a federally funded institution [1].

Understandably, the bill received instant criticism from many leaders in the LGBTQ+ community for politicizing basic human rights.

Sarah Kate Ellis [President and CEO of GLAAD]: “Instead of joining the rising tide of acceptance and bipartisan support for LGBTQ people, members of Congress trying to score political points propose a bill filled with misinformation with the futile attempt of smearing and erasing who we are….The American people see this for what it is: a desperate and losing effort targeting the most vulnerable students, with the goal of spreading lies.”

David Stacy [Government Affairs Director of Human Rights Campaign]: “A federal 'Don't Say Gay or Trans' bill…aiming to drive LGBTQ+ families and teachers out of the education system – is their latest cruel attempt to stigmatize and marginalize the community, not in an attempt to solve actual problems but only to rile up their extremist base” [2].

Melanie Willingham-Jaggers [Executive Director at GLSEN]: “Erasing LGBTQ+ issues from classrooms jeopardizes the foundation of our democracy” [3].

Alejandra Caraballo [Clinical Instructor at Harvard Law School and Transgender-rights Advocate]: “Your bill defines ‘sexually oriented material’ as anything that involves sexual orientation, gender identity, or related subjects…Equating LGBTQ people to sexually explicit material is dehumanizing and disgusting. Let’s call this what it is, a national ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill” [4].

Inspired by Florida’s “Parental Rights in Education” law, the bigoted nature of the “Stop the Sexualization of Children Act” is not new to Americans. Florida’s law states that “Classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur in kindergarten through grade three or in a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards.” Essentially, both pieces of legislation contribute towards creating an unwelcome atmosphere for members of the LGBTQ+ community.

Alabama, Arizona, Iowa, Georgia, Louisiana, South Carolina, Missouri, Indiana, Kentucky,Tennessee, Ohio, and Oklahoma, all already have either similar legislation enacted or in the works [4].

Currently, the chances of a “Don’t Say Gay” bill becoming law at the Federal level is extremely unlikely considering that Democrats control the executive branch, the House, and the Senate. However, with the November midterm elections approaching, Democrats’ hold in Congress is becoming more and more uncertain. Overall, the “Stop the Sexualization of Children Act” exemplifies how Republicans have directed their efforts toward advancing anti-LGBTQ agendas as a means of rallying their base [5].

______________________________________________________________

[1] Stop the Sexualization of Children Act, H.R.____, 117th Cong. (2022). https://mikejohnson.house.gov/uploadedfiles/johnla_083_xml.pdf

[2] Yurcaba, J., & Valle, J. (2022, October 20). What a national “Don’t Say Gay” bill wouldmean for education. ABC News. https://abcnews.go.com/US/national-dont-gay-bill-education/story?id=92005939

[3] Natanson, H. (2022, October 20). Republicans propose bill barring lessons on gender, sexuality for children. Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2022/10/20/lgbtq-gender-sexuality-bill-school-mike-johnson/

[4] Jones, D., & Franklin, J. (2022, April 10). Not just Florida. More than a dozen states proposeso-called “Don’t Say Gay” bills. NPR.https://www.npr.org/2022/04/10/1091543359/15-states-dont-say-gay-anti-transgender-bills

[5] Levine, S. (2022, October 20). Republicans aim to pass national “don’t say gay” law. TheGuardian.https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/oct/20/republicans-national-dont-say-gaw-law-lgbtq

[t2h2r]

September 19, 2017

1. Republican-Controlled Michigan State Senate (Senators Hertel, Knezek and Ananich, specifically) issued a resolution condemning various anti-LGBTQA+ hate groups as “domestic terrorists.” They explicitly name Neo-Nazis and the Alt-right.  This resolution is the Michigan State Senate’s response to the events that occurred in Charlottesville.

2. 22-year-old Morris May was arrested after arriving at a peaceful Stand Against Hate Rally and pepper spraying a Transgender Individual.  May was wearing a T-Shirt which bore the image of Pepe the frog, had brought his younger brother.

3. Chicago Mayor, Rahm Emmanuel, declared that the city is a “Trump-Free” zone. This move is a response to the threat of Trump’s declaration to eliminate the DACA immigration programme.

4.  Polk County Florida Sheriff, Grady Judd recently threatened that anyone who was seeking shelter from Hurricane Irma would be arrested and thrown into the Polk County Jail. He later reinforced this threat with a hard confirmation and reminder of intent.

5. Hurricane Jose is expected to make landfall in New England along Massachusetts’ coast sometime this week.  Currently Jose is a Category 1 Hurricane and is expected dissipate towards the end of the week. 

6. Hurricane Maria is currently over the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico and is expected to make its way up towards the Bahamas before the end of the week.  Hurricane Maria is currently a Category 5 Hurricane, and will maintain its status as a Hurricane until at least Saturday.

For the record, The primary evaluation of hurricanes and storm winds is by using the Saffir-Simpson Scale.  According to the National Hurricane Center:

Tropical Depression: Winds less than 39 mph (62 Km/h) Tropical Storm: Winds between 39 mph and  73 mph (63 - 117 Km/h) (Cat. 1/ Cat. 2) “Hurricane”: Winds between 74 and 110 mph (117 - 177 Km/h) (Cat. 3): Major Hurricane: Winds between 111 and  129 mph (178–208 km/h)   (Cat. 4): Winds between 130 and 156 mph (209 251 km/h) (Cat. 5): Winds greater than >156 mph (252 km/h)

7. Kim Jong-Un has launched another missile over Japan. This has prompted Japan to begin its nuclear cover drills.  

8. Trumpcare has been revived for the third time.  It has been called the “Trumpcare Zombie.” This bill was crafted by Lindey Graham (R-NC) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA)  “It slashes Medicaid,” according to the Rolling Stone. It is estimated that this bill will affect 23 million Americans, and will adversely affect at least 13.5 million American Women.

9. Independent Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has released his official plan for the Universal Healthcare Bill.  It has grown from no support from Senators or Representatives to roughly 20 Senators within 10 days.

These are some things that have happened recently.

[fuckyeahmarxismleninism]

Solidarity with the Jacksonville Five!

April 13, 2017 - The Jacksonville Five are a group of anti-war protesters in Florida beaten and arrested by police at a “No War in Syria” rally held on Friday April 7, 2017. A right-wing provocateur appeared with a Trump flag, and then harassed and shoved anti-war activists, while police did nothing to him. Then the Jacksonville Sheriffs Office (JSO) physically attacked the anti-war protesters who did nothing wrong.

The police descended upon Connell Crooms, a deaf African American man, who had been leading chants. The police savagely beat, kicked and tased Crooms until he was unconscious and had to be taken to the hospital. Crooms is a well-known Teamster and a Black Lives Matter leader.

The police also punched Vietnam veteran Willie Wilder in the face and arrested the 74-year-old peace activist. Christina Kittle, the leader of the Jacksonville Coalition for Consent was thrown to the ground and arrested. Transgender activist Toma Beckwith was also tackled and arrested.

As protesters were leaving the park to do jail support, the police arrested union activist and anti-war speaker Dave Schneider, charging him with “felony inciting a riot” for organizing the anti-war protest. Police never arrested the right-wing provocateur. In fact, there are many photos on social media of him posing with JSO police, including Sheriff Mike Williams.

Jacksonville quickly rallied to the defense of the Jacksonville Five. The next day, April 8, over 200 people rallied to demand all charges be dropped. Leaders of the labor, African American, and progressive movements chanted, “Drop the charges!” The mother of Connell Crooms gave a tearful testament to her son’s good character and denounced the police attack on her son, “JSO should not be allowed to get away with this type of behavior.”

The rally demanded a full independent investigation into the police misconduct of April 7. Protesters are also demanding an independent investigation into a police spying program. Just weeks earlier the Florida Times Union newspaper reported the Sheriff’s Office was spying on activists, including the Jacksonville Five, with photos of Dave Schneider, Connell Crooms and Christina Kittle appearing.

Jacksonville Sheriffs are lying and denying, claiming the protesters “incited a riot.” Fortunately, dozens of people took video of the police brutality. The social media pages of the provocateur contain ties to white supremacist groups and to Sheriff Mike Williams who denies he knows him, despite their photo together at a Trump rally.

To add insult to injury, the total bail amount issued by the court for all five arrestees came out to over $157,000. They are outrageously charging the people who were beaten and arrested by the police with serious felony charges. We need to mobilize national support and raise enough money to cover this and pay for the defense.

There is a continuing campaign to drop the trumped-up charges and investigate the abuses by the JSO.

Please call the State Attorney for the Florida 4th Circuit, Melissa Nelson at 904-255-2500, and demand she drop the charges against the Jax5.

Please share this link to donate to the Jacksonville Five legal defense fund: http://tinyurl.com/DefendJax5

[stopkingobama]

In day of pro Trump rallies California march turns violent (PHOTOS)

A demonstrator opposing President Trump chants slogans against pro-Trump supporters during a “People 4 Trump” rally in Berkeley, California. REUTERS/Stephen Lam

An injured demonstrator walks away after a “People 4 Trump” rally turned violent in Berkeley, California. REUTERS/Stephen Lam

A demonstrator in opposition of President Trump sets a hat on fire during a “People 4 Trump” rally in Berkeley, California. REUTERS/Stephen Lam

A bloodied supporter of President Trump is seen after a “People 4 Trump” rally and counter-protest turned violent in Berkeley, California. REUTERS/Stephen Lam

A demonstrator in support of President Trump sprays pepper spray towards a group of counter-protesters during a “People 4 Trump” rally in Berkeley, California. REUTERS/Stephen Lam

A man (L) punches a supporter of President Trump during a “People 4 Trump” rally in Berkeley, California. REUTERS/Stephen Lam

Supporters of President Trump gather for a “People 4 Trump” rally at Neshaminy State Park in Bensalem, Pennsylvania. REUTERS/Mark Makela

Trump supporter Beth Holz salutes during a “People 4 Trump” rally at Neshaminy State Park in Bensalem, Pennsylvania. REUTERS/Mark Makela

Gia Morris (R), 8, carries a doll while cheering during a “People 4 Trump” rally at Neshaminy State Park in Bensalem, Pennsylvania. REUTERS/Mark Makela

Eric Falco, 32, embraces Alyssa Klingman, 23, while holding a “Make America Great Again” sign during a “People 4 Trump” rally at Neshaminy State Park in Bensalem, Pennsylvania. REUTERS/Mark Makela

Supporters of President Trump gather for a “People 4 Trump” rally at Neshaminy State Park in Bensalem, Pennsylvania. REUTERS/Mark Makela

Supporters of President Trump gather for a “People 4 Trump” rally at Neshaminy State Park in Bensalem, Pennsylvania. REUTERS/Mark Makela

Alex Carlin waves while wearing a mask depicting President Trump during a “People 4 Trump” rally at Neshaminy State Park in Bensalem, Pennsylvania. REUTERS/Mark Makela

Betsy Grosskopf wears an autographed hat by President Trump during a “People 4 Trump” rally at Neshaminy State Park in Bensalem, Pennsylvania. REUTERS/Mark Makela

Trump supporters Ken and Bonnie Sodano pose for a portrait before a “People 4 Trump” rally at Neshaminy State Park in Bensalem, Pennsylvania. REUTERS/Mark Makela

Trump supporters Ken and Bonnie Sodano pose for a portrait before a “People 4 Trump” rally at Neshaminy State Park in Bensalem, Pennsylvania. REUTERS/Mark Makela

Supporters of President Trump gather for a “People 4 Trump” rally at Neshaminy State Park in Bensalem, Pennsylvania. REUTERS/Mark Makela

Supporters of President Trump gather for a “People 4 Trump” rally at Neshaminy State Park in Bensalem, Pennsylvania. REUTERS/Mark Makela

Gia Morris (R), 8, carries a doll while cheering during a “People 4 Trump” rally at Neshaminy State Park in Bensalem, Pennsylvania. REUTERS/Mark Makela

A man is pulled away from a scuffle as scattered fights break out between supporters of President Trump and counter-protesters during a “People 4 Trump” rally in Berkeley, California. REUTERS/Stephen Lam

By Stephen Lam and Tim Branfalt

BERKELEY, Calif./LANSING, Mich. (Reuters) – Supporters of Donald Trump clashed with counter-protesters at a rally in the famously left-leaning city of Berkeley, California, on a day of mostly peaceful gatherings in support of the U.S. president across the country.

At a park in Berkeley, across the bay from San Francisco, protesters from both sides struck one another over the head with wooden sticks and Trump supporters fired pepper spray as police in riot gear stood at a distance.

Some in the pro-Trump crowd, holding American flags, faced off against black-clad opponents. An elderly Trump supporter was struck in the head and kicked on the ground.

Organizers of the so-called Spirit of America rallies in at least 28 the country’s 50 states had said they expected smaller turn-outs than the huge crowds of anti-Trump protesters that clogged the streets of Washington and other cities the day after the Republican’s inauguration on Jan. 20.

“There are a lot of angry groups protesting and we thought it was important to show our support,” said Peter Boykin, president of Gays for Trump, who helped organize Saturday’s rally in Washington.

In many towns and cities, the rallies did not draw more than a few hundred people. At some, supporters of the president were at risk of being outnumbered by small groups of anti-Trump protesters who gathered to shout against the rallies.

In Berkeley, the total crowd of both supporters and detractors numbered 200 to 300 people, police spokesman Byron White said. Three people were injured in the clash, including one who had teeth knocked out, and police made five arrests.

One Trump supporter who took part in the violence came equipped with a baton, a gas mask and a shield emblazoned with the American flag.

White said police did break up fights between the two sides.

“We’ve made a number of arrests, it’s one of those things where we monitor the situation and take action as necessary,” he said.

The violence comes a month after mask-wearing protesters at the University of California, Berkeley, shut down a planned speech by a provocative far-right commentator by lighting fires and smashing windows.

On Saturday, smaller skirmishes broke out in other parts of the country.

In Minnesota, 400 Trump supporters packed the state capitol rotunda in St. Paul and were met by a smaller group of counter-demonstrators, according to the Star Tribune. Scuffles erupted and six counter-protesters were arrested, the newspaper reported.

In Nashville, Tennessee, Trump supporters and counter-protesters cursed at each other and occasionally made physical contact, but state troopers broke up the fighting, according to the city’s public radio station.

Most rallies appeared to take place without any disruption or violence, like one outside the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing.

“How can anyone be disappointed with bringing back jobs? And he promised he would secure our borders, and that’s exactly what he’s doing,” said Meshawn Maddock, one of the organizers of the rally which drew about 200 people.

Brandon Blanchard, 24, among a small group of anti-Trump protesters, said he had come in support of immigrants, Muslims and transgender people, groups that have been negatively targeted by Trump’s rhetoric and policies.

“I feel that every American that voted for Trump has been deceived,” Blanchard said.

More than 200 supporters of the president rallied in downtown San Diego.

“After this, I think people will take the hint,” said former U.S. Marine David Moore, 42, a participant in the rally. “It’s okay to voice support for the president and the country.”

In Palm Beach, Florida, where Trump is staying this weekend at his Mar-a-Lago resort, the president’s motorcade stopped and Trump stepped outside his car to wave at a crowd of dozens of supporters. A smaller group of protesters stood across the street.

In New York, about 200 people demonstrated their support for the president in front of Trump Tower in midtown Manhattan. In Washington, about 150 people marched from the Washington Monument to Lafayette Square in front of the White House to show their support for the president.

(Additional reporting by Ned Randolph in San Diego, Melissa Fares in Palm Beach, Florida, and Jonathan Allen in New York; Writing and additional reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis; Editing by Dan Grebler and Mary Milliken)

[thisdaynews]

String of gun deaths reshapes Democratic primary

New Post has been published on https://thebiafrastar.com/string-of-gun-deaths-reshapes-democratic-primary/

String of gun deaths reshapes Democratic primary

Mourners gather for a vigil at the scene of a mass shooting in Dayton, Ohio. | John Minchillo/AP Photo

2020 Elections

The mass shootings shifted the focus to lower-tier candidates and divisive issues, and could change the contours of the race for the White House.

The back-to-back mass shootings in Texas and Ohio over the weekend shook up the Democratic presidential primary, elevating the profile of lower-tier candidates, reorienting the focus of the contest and fusing the divisive issues of immigration, racism and gun control for the first time on the campaign trail.

The tragedies have the potential to change the dynamics in the broader campaign for the White House, as President Donald Trump and his supporters reeled fromcomparisonsof their rhetoric about immigrants with that of amanifestosuspected of being from the shooter in El Paso, a border city with a mostly Latino population.

Story Continued Below

The immediate aftershocks of the shootings were felt by the three candidates whose home states were affected: Tim Ryan in Ohio, and Beto O’Rourke and Julián Castro in Texas. Struggling in the polls and unable to command significant coverage, all found themselves over the weekend the subject of intense media interest as they abandoned the campaign trail, canceled events and headed home amid a crush of national and local interest.

The shootings also heightened the stakes for an upcoming gun violence forum for the Democratic candidates, all of whom blanketed television, radio and social media over the weekend to highlight their gun controlplans, to call on the Republican-led Senate to come back from summer break to pass gun safety legislation, and to attack President Trump’s rhetoric on immigration.

O’Rourke, the former congressman from El Paso who is polling nationally at about 3 percent, suddenly found himself in the spotlight and the focus of five national TV interviews on Sunday, telling CNN from his hometown that be believed Trump is a white nationalist.

“The things that he has said, both as a candidate and then as the president of the United States — this cannot be open for debate,” O’Rourke said, prompting the chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, Ronna McDaniel, to reply on Twitter that “a tragedy like this is not an opportunity to reboot your failing presidential campaign.”

Ryan, a congressman from Youngstown, Ohio, made similar remarks in interviews with POLITICO and CNN.

“White nationalists believe Trump’s a white nationalist,” Ryan said, pointing out that the president held a rally in Florida’s Panhandle in May during which someone from the audience yelled “shoot them!” when the president asked how to stop the flood of illegal immigrants. Trump didn’t issue a rebuke, and instead joked that “that’s only in the Panhandle [where] you can get away with that statement.” The crowd laughed.

Just last month, in another crowd controversy, Trump did little to stop a “send her back” chant aimed at Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), a Somali refugee, who was the subject of criticism from Trump that a majority of Americans say areracist.

Immediately after the violence in El Paso on Saturday, activist groups like the League of United Latin American Citizens squarely placed blame on Trump for what it said was “deliberately feeding into the anti-immigrant frenzy and white supremacist violence.”

The candidates are expected to raise the issue of gun violence and immigration Monday at a San Diego conference hosted by the Latino outreach group UnidosUS. Before the conference, immigration and healthcare were going to dominate the discussion. But the shooting and the anti-Hispanic racism of the El Paso shooter made it impossible to ignore.

The campaigns’ presence at the UnidosUS conference speaks to the party’s intense focus on Latino voters, from whom Democrats need a big turnout in states like Arizona and Florida — which also has a proposed assault weapons ban that voters might consider in 2020 — in the hopes of flipping them from red to blue next year. Latinos are also set to play a large role early in the Democratic race in Nevada — which has the third-in-the-nation primary and where the candidates just campaigned over the weekend — and in California, which moved up its massive primary by three months, to March 3.

The issue of gun violence in the primary and beyond isn’t likely to go away anytime soon, in great part because mass shootings happen with such frequency in the U.S. In just the span of a week, three separate gunmen — all of them white — went on unrelated rampages that left a total of 33 people dead and dozens more wounded in Dayton, Ohio, on Sunday, El Paso on Saturday and Gilroy, Calif., on the Sunday before.

Before the killings in those three cities, the Democratic candidates had already made gun control a top issue on the campaign trail. Democratic voters rank it asone of their most important issues, and gun control groups believepolls— including a recentsurveyfrom the gun control group Giffords — that showed it was a winning issue in the 2018 elections and would be again in 2020.

“This is a sea change in American politics, the fact that every single candidate is competing to be the best on this issue,” said Shannon Watts, founder of the advocacy group Moms Demand Action. “Gun safety used to be a third rail of American politics for so long, and we’ve really retired that myth.”

Watts also pointed out that the National Rifle Association is in turmoil, giving gun control advocates another possible advantage this election season.

While praising the Democratic candidates across the board, Watts earlier this year criticized Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont for failing to mention guns in his campaign-launch video and said on Twitter that he had “historicallysided with lobbyists” — an issue that haunted Sanders on the presidential campaign trail in 2016 andcould surface again.

Both Sanders and Ryan had voted for 2005 legislation shielding gunmakers from lawsuits. Both campaigns say their candidates have evolved on the issue, with Ryan’s specifically pointing to the 2011 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Conn., which killed 26 people, including 20 young children.

After Sandy Hook, Watts founded her group and joined with Giffords to increase grassroots outreach and lobbying for gun control. The 2018 killing of 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., led to a groundbreakingpolitical shiftin Florida, where a Republican-led legislature and the Republican governor enacted gun control legislation for the first time.

The group March for Our Lives was born out of the Parkland massacre, and in anannouncementwith Giffords just two days before the El Paso gunman opened fire, the two announced that they would co-host the Democratic candidates at a gun violence forum in Las Vegas on Oct. 2 — a day after the two-year anniversary of the massacre of 58 people and the wounding of 422 others by a lone gunman, the deadliest mass shooting in the U.S.

“This weekend has changed the stakes,” said Robyn Thomas, executive director of Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. “We can rattle off the statistics about the gun violence problem we have in this country. But when things like this happen, it really amplifies it in a way that it becomes impossible to ignore for the average American voter.”

The candidates couldn’t avoid the shocking news of the killing in El Paso on Saturday, which happened just as they convened at a union conference in Las Vegas.

Adjusting his speech with the news, Pete Buttigieg implored the nation to “confront white nationalist violence” and to enact “gun safety policies that most Americans think we ought to do.” For Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Ind., the focus on gun violence and white supremacy comes as his campaign reels from depressed African American support after the shooting death of a black man in his home city by a white police officer.

Later Saturday in Nevada, former Vice President Joe Biden reminded a crowd at one of his events that he carried the 1994 crime bill, which included the now-expired assault weapons ban.

“The fact is, we can beat the NRA, we can beat the gun manufacturers. I did it,” Biden said. “We’ve beat them before, we can do that again, and it’s my intention to do just that.”

In an email to supporters on Sunday, Biden’s campaign linked the El Paso shooting to white supremacism and violence: “We continue to bear witness to acts of terror carried out with a common thread: hatred of ‘the other.’ We saw it in Charlottesville two years ago, at synagogues in Pittsburgh and Poway, and now in El Paso.”

Sens. Cory Booker of New Jersey and Kamala Harris of California, the only black candidates in the primary, also accused the president of inciting hate.

While local police say the El Paso shooter had expressed anti-Hispanic rhetoric to them, there’s no suspected racial motive behind the rampage of the Dayton shooter, who reportedly shot and killed his sister along with seven others and wounded 27 before he was killed.

Gun rights advocates complained on social media that the gender and race of mass shooters were discussed only if they were white men and notblackortransgender. Conservative websites and pundits focused on how the Dayton gunman was a Democrat or how the El Paso shooter believed in universal healthcare and universal basic income, progressive ideas.

While Democrats were moving to draw distinctions on gun policies, they were also advancing the issue as a collective against Trump. After Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts tweeted to O’Rourke that “my staff and I are mourning with you for your friends and neighbors,” he responded: “Thank you, Senator Warren. Grateful for your kind words and all of the work you’re doing to end this epidemic.”

Read More

[risepepper9-blog]

The 2018 Midterm Elections Were a Huge Win for Democrats—Here's Why

On Wednesday America woke up to a redrawn political map, a divided government, and of course countless tweets, sound bites, and stories that declared the “blue wave” that had been promised in the midterm elections was little more than a trickle. That’s just not true.

For starters, Democrats will now command the House of Representatives, drawing (at last!) to a close 24 months of unmitigated powerlessness in Washington. This, THIS is the result we organized and door-knocked and raised small-dollar donations for. Politicians with a conscience (example: those who think immigrant children shouldn't be housed in cages) can now function as the legislative branch is supposed to, conducting real oversight on an executive branch that has, until now, faced none. I know we’ve gotten used to that sense that haha #nothingmatters, but the real world isn’t Twitter and this wasn’t a game. Power was divvied up. For the first time in what feels like centuries, we got some of it.

So let’s recap: More than 100 women are now bound for D.C. That happened because thousands of women rallied for them—domestic workers and stay-at-home moms and teachers and nurses. Together those women built a new political infrastructure run by—and accountable to—them.

Also notable is that women of color eked out some of the nail-biter victories that control of the House of Representatives depended on. These are the women whom Democrats have relied on to turn out the vote for decades but have never quite empowered to lead. Well, Lucy McBath, the mother of Jordan Davis, who was shot and killed at 17; Ilhan Omar, a Somali refugee and Muslim woman; and Ayanna Pressley, who will soon become the first black congresswoman ever from Massachusetts, didn’t ask for seat at the table. They demanded it.

In Florida, a state that bitterly disappointed progressives on Tuesday night—with Bill Nelson heading into a recount in the Senate race and Andrew Gillum losing his gubernatorial bid—almost 1.5 million people convicted of felonies will have their right to vote restored. To put that in perspective: Nelson is just 34,000 votes from a dead tie. In 2020, when a Democrat will need Florida to have a shot at the Oval Office, this population, whom Democrats have fought for, could decide the race.

We elected some of the best shots we have to battle evil. We put people in office when we could have thrown up our hands.

Meanwhile, Massachusetts enshrined transgender rights. Three blood-red states voted to expand Medicaid, giving hundreds of thousands of people access to health care that will save their lives. Some in the media like to treat politics like a horserace, but the people who cried out at town halls and protested the NRA knew better. It's not about a point here or there. It's about survival.

Each loss is a heartbreak. Of course, we wanted Beto O’Rourke to win in Texas. We wanted a decisive triumph for Stacey Abrams, whose opponent in Georgia expelled close to 700,000 voters from the polls in 2017 and is at the moment ahead by a mere 70,000. Alabama approved a ballot measure that will extend full legal rights to fertilized eggs (and thus rescind them for women).

It's OK to grieve. Gerrymandering and voter suppression are real, and their costs are greater than we can bear.

But how do we build political power? How does that happen?

It happens when Democrats can help draw district lines. (Hello to the seven legislative chambers nationwide that Democrats flipped, with over 300 seats changing from red to blue. Welcome to people like Gretchen Whitmer and Laura Kelly, new governors in Michigan and Kansas.) It happens when people like Beto O’Rourke convince voters in Texas who've never bothered to vote that it’s worth it to come out. Democrats picked up at least two GOP-held congressional seats in the Lone Star State. O’Rourke deserves a serious portion of the credit for that. His exuberance and relentless ground game drove some of the unlikeliest people to the polls.

Blind optimism won’t fuel a revolution. But neither will blind despair. Because of the work that women in particular did, a grassroots movement grows in Texas. A lesbian Native American MMA fighter will represent a district in Kansas. In New York, that supposed "bastion of coastal elitism," Democrats took control of the state senate, which it hasn’t had for almost two decades, and Andrea Stewart-Cousins will now become the first woman ever to lead a legislative chamber in the state.

It's fine if this all sounds delusional. I have no doubt that the racism and homophobia and sexism and anti-Semitism and xenophobia that fueled the GOP in these elections (and won them, in several cases) have made their mark. But on Tuesday we elected some of the best shots we have to battle those evils. We put people in office when we could have thrown up our hands. No one knows what impact that'll have—not The New York Times election needle, not Nate Silver, not Wolf Blitzer. No one.

Here is what I know: 990 miles and a million headlines apart, two 29-year-old women were elected to the House of Representatives last night.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was one of them, a progressive powerhouse who rose to national attention after she beat Democratic incumbent Representative Joe Crowley in June. The political newcomer launched and led a pitch-perfect race over the summer. She’s one of a thousand reasons I’m not just pleased, but (what is this emotion; I hardly remember it?) hopeful in the aftermath of the midterm elections.

But allow me to introduce another cause for celebration, and one with whom some are less familiar: Meet Abby Finkenauer, the other woman under 30 who won last night. Finkenauer was elected in Dubuque, Iowa, defeating Republican incumbent Rep. Rod Blum. She is only the third Democrat since 1973 to hold this seat. And when she decided to run for the Iowa State House of Representatives (a chamber in which she then served two terms), she was just 24, saddled with student debt and up against three men in their forties. She flattened them.

Ocasio-Cortez and Finkenauer have their political differences, but both are about to launch careers in federal politics that could last decades. Both are women who’ve decided to dedicate their considerable skills and political prowess to the creation of better opportunities for more people. When’s the last time it felt like that happened?

These two women triumphed, not to mention the victories of Deb Haaland and Sharice Davids, the first Native American women ever elected to the House, Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, the first Muslim women ever elected to the House, Lucy McBath, Ayanna Pressley, Abigail Spanberger, Mikie Sherrill, Lauren Underwood…

Should I continue?

Because I could find 10,000 more words. I could quote Pressley, who insisted that representation mattered. I could narrate the ascendant McBath, who poured her sorrow into this race and gained the respect of her constituents. I could go on and on.

And that's the point. That's the win. There is so much more of this story to write.

Source: https://www.glamour.com/story/democrats-won-midterm-elections-2018-heres-why