The Buckeye State will vote November 7th on Issue 1, an amendment to the Ohio Constitution which proclaims: “Every individual has a right to make and carry out one’s own reproductive rights.” The decisions include contraception, fertility treatment, continuing one’s own pregnancy, miscarriage and abortion.”
Category: Civil Liberties
Posted inPolicy Topics
Taking book bans to a whole new level: Right wing parents are trying to shutter an entire library in rural Washington via ballot measure
A rural community library system in the Pacific Northwest is under attack from a right wing ballot measure that seeks its closure after library staff and trustees refused to go along with a parent’s censorship agenda.
Posted inPolicy Topics
Donald Trump indicted again — this time, finally, for assaulting American democracy
The indictment is the result of careful, methodical work by Special Counsel Jack Smith and many hardworking investigators at the Department of Justice, who have labored to ensure that the work done to expose what happened on January 6th didn’t merely pass into history as a report, but led to charges.
Posted inLegislative Advocacy
Support for increasing the size of the U.S. Supreme Court inches upward in Washington
52% of 773 likely 2024 general election voters surveyed by Public Policy Polling earlier this month said they supported increasing the size of the Court to make it a more diverse and representative body, while 40% were opposed and 8% were not sure.
Posted inPolicy Topics
Second Trump indictment lands, this one from federal charges filed by special counsel
The indictment charges that Trump unlawfully took and retained classified information that did not belong to him after exiting the White House, and that he lied about his actions and obstructed the federal government’s efforts to recover the documents, because he didn’t want to give them back.
Posted inCivil Liberties, Events, Policy Topics
Issues facing LGBTQ+ community take center stage at 2023 YDWA Convention in Spokane
Though Washington has historically been one of the safer states to be queer, the LGBTQ+ experience east of the Cascades is a very different one due to the Republican-leaning local governments. After all, it wasn’t that long ago that it wasn’t very safe to be out in Spokane, the biggest city in the region.
Posted inLegislative Advocacy
Washington State Legislature swiftly agrees on a Blake fix after going into special session
“This bill recognizes the harm that public use causes our communities by creating the crime of public use,” said Representative Jamila Taylor. “More importantly, it focuses on the most up-to-date science on recovery, working to connect people to treatment, housing, services, and employment opportunities.”
Posted inCivil Liberties
Several Proud Boys convicted of seditious conspiracy in January 6th insurrection
These convictions are more than just a victory for the Department of Justice — they are an encouraging sign for the future of American democracy. For our republic to endure, attempts to overturn a free and fair election by force must be thwarted and their perpetrators held accountable.
Posted inCivil Liberties, Policy Topics
Oregon Republicans flee the Capitol to block gun safety and reproductive justice bills
Republicans in Oregon are once again holding up the business of the Oregon State Legislature by refusing to show up for work, which is preventing the Senate from taking up critical gun safety and reproductive justice bills.
Posted inPolicy Topics
Disney sues Ron DeSantis, seeking to have retaliatory laws declared unconstitutional
Of DeSantis’ actions, the Disney brief declares: “This government action was patently retaliatory, patently anti-business and patently unconstitutional. But the Governor and his allies have made clear they do not care and will not stop.”
Posted inLegislative Advocacy
DONE! Governor Inslee signs assault weapons ban and two more gun safety bills into law
On April 25th, Governor Jay Inslee signed into law three pivotal new gun safety laws: a ban on assault weapons, a permit-to-purchase requirement, and a duty to impose reasonable controls law that gun manufacturers, distributors, and sellers must abide by.
Posted inPolicy Topics
“Blake fix” bill fails in State House, prompting calls for special session on drug policy
Several Democrats joined the chamber’s forty Republicans in casting nay votes, creating a potent obstacle to the bill’s passage that leadership determined could not be surmounted before the clock ran out on the 2023 legislative session.
Posted inPolicy Topics
VICTORY! Assault weapons ban clears Legislature, heads to Governor Inslee’s desk
On April 19th, the state House of Representatives and Senate came to an agreement on mutually acceptable final language for House Bill 1240, which prohibits the manufacture, importation, distribution, selling, and offering for sale of assault weapons.
Posted inLegislative Advocacy
VICTORY! My Health, My Data Act heads to Governor Inslee after House concurrence vote
By a vote of 57–40, the House voted to concur in the Senate amendments to House Bill 1155, prime sponsored by Representative Vandana Slatter (D‑48th District: Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland, Medina, the Points communities).