Migration Category: National Old Site

On the last day of her term, outgoing North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue (D) granted a full pardon for ten activists who were convicted of firebombing a grocery store in 1972 as part of a civil rights protest. The group, known as the “Wilmington 10,” were comprised of nine black men and one white woman who served a combined 282 years in prison. Only six of the Wilmington 10 are alive today.

In her statement issuing the pardon, Governor Perdue said “I have spent a great deal of time over the past seven months reviewing the pardon of innocence requests of the persons collectively known as the Wilmington Ten. … These convictions were tainted by naked racism and represent an ugly stain on North Carolina’s criminal justice system that cannot be allowed to stand any longer. Justice demands that this stain finally be removed.”

Benjamin Chavis, one of the Wilmington 10 and former executive director of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, told the Wall Street Journal, “You’re supposed to be innocent until proven guilty, but for 40 years, we’ve struggled to prove our innocence. … Finally, everything showed that we were framed up.” He hopes that the pardon will draw attention to changes that still need to be made. “Some people think we’re in a post-civil-rights era, but I disagree with that,” he said. “We still have a lot to do.”

Tom Monaghan, founder of the Domino’s Pizza franchise, was awarded a temporary restraining order by a federal judge on Sunday against the provision under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that requires employers to provide birth control coverage.

Federal Judge Lawrence Zatkoff, who issued the temporary restraining order while Monaghan’s lawsuit against the federal government is pending, supported his decision by claiming that Monaghan had “shown that abiding by the mandate will substantially burden his exercise of religion.”

Monaghan, who is devout Catholic, filed a lawsuit against the federal government over the mandate requiring employers to provide coverage for contraception. Monaghan argued that contraception is not healthcare but a “gravely immoral” practice. His is among 11 other lawsuits pending against the federal government on contraception access.

Monaghan sold Domino’s Pizza to Bain Capital in 1998, but is still owner of Domino’s Farms Corp., a land management company in Michigan.

Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell certified new abortion regulations known as TRAP (targeted regulations of abortion providers) laws on Friday, December 28th. There will be a 60-day public comment period before a final vote by the Virginia Board of Health, likely in March.

These TRAP laws were designed to force existing abortion clinics to meet the same building codes as new hospitals. If enacted, the new regulations would require existing clinics to come into compliance with the regulations within two years or face closure. In September 2012, the Virginia Board of Health voted 13-2 to reverse their previous decision to grandfather in existing clinics, thus exempting them from new, hospital-like restrictions.

The board’s reversal on grandfathering in existing clinics came after Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli refused to accept the grandfather provision and asserted the board did not have the authority to amend the regulations by adding the provision. Cuccinelli also released a memo in September 2012 threatening Board of Health members by stating that they would not be able to receive state legal counsel if they disregarded his recommendations.

In response to Governor McDonnell’s certification of the TRAP laws, NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia Executive Director Tarina Keene, said in an email statement, “After two years of shocking backroom deals and bullying public health servants, Governor Bob McDonnell is clearly proving his disregard of Virginians’ opinions about women’s health care…Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli and McDonnell are clearly pushing an ideological agenda that is out of touch with the residents of this state – they have been using elected office to play political games with the health of women, and they may succeed in passing some of the most extreme state abortion laws in the country while ignoring the will of Virginians.”

Virginia Health Commissioner Dr. Karen Remley resigned from her position in October 2012, citing targeted regulation of abortion providers (TRAP) laws approved in late September as the primary reason for her resignation.

On Monday, a Texas judge denied Planned Parenthood’s request for a temporary restraining order against enforcing a new measure that prevents the organization from receiving state funding for cancer screenings and well-woman visits. A hearing in a lawsuit regarding the funding restrictions is scheduled for mid-January. As a result, almost 50,000 poor women in Texas will be forced to find new doctors or pay for services at Planned Parenthood out of pocket.

The judge allowed the new law restructuring the Women’s Health Program to go into effect Tuesday. The new guidelines prevent organizations affiliated with abortion providers from receiving state funding as part of the Women’s Health Program. Planned Parenthood has filed several lawsuits trying to have their well-woman funding from the program reinstated.

Ken S. Lambrecht, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas, told reporters “It is shocking that once again Texas officials are letting politics jeopardize health care access for women. …This case isn’t about Planned Parenthood — it’s about women like Marcy Balquinta who rely on us for basic, preventive health care.”

In Ohio, Secretary of State Jon Husted’s 11th hour directive that could cause legitimate provisional ballots to be thrown out is being challenged in a federal court by voting rights advocates. On Election Day, provisional ballots were cast by voters whose registration or identification was called into question for some reason when they went to the polls. After multiple courts ensured that early voting would remain intact in Ohio, despite Husted’s efforts to restrict it, at 7pm on the Friday before voting began, Husted issued a directive that shifted the burden of correctly filling in a provisional ballot from the poll workers to the voters, and instructed officials to throw out any ballots with incorrect information. This directive directly contradicted an agreement that had already been reached with US District Judge Algenon Marbley, which stated that the burden was on the poll worker. In addition to disregarding the agreement with the Judge Marbley, voting rights advocates who filed the current lawsuit pointed out that the directive also violated Ohio law, which states: “the appropriate local election official shall record the type of identification provided, the social security number information, the fact that the affirmation was executed, or the fact that the individual declined to execute such an affirmation and include that information with the transmission of the ballot . . . .” On Wednesday, the day after Election Day, Husted sent his lawyers to US District Judge Algenon Marbley’s court room once again. Arnold Epstein represented the state of Ohio, and was responsible for defending Husted’s directive. The transcript shows that Judge Marbley challenged Epstein again and again over the directive: THE COURT: It only became the voter’s burden after the secretary declared it was the voter’s burden and sent you in here to defend it. You haven’t been able to show me any law that would justify that, nor have you shown me any facts that would require him to change it. [“] THE COURT: Show me where it’s meant. Show me the legislative history. Show me the facts that the secretary used to make the decision to change this directive at seven o’clock on a Friday night on the eve of an election. I want to see it, and I want to see it now. Show it to me. MR. EPSTEIN: Your Honor, I have no legislative history to present to the Court. A ruling in this case is expected later today. Provisional ballots will be counted on November 17th in Ohio. Although the outcome of this election has already been decided, Andrew Cohen at the Atlantic argues that this court case matters in terms of having accurate data on the final popular vote count in Ohio for the 2012 election and it matters in terms of setting a legal precedent for future elections.

Ohio high school students faced disciplinary action early this week for wearing t-shirts that featured messages supporting LGBTQ equality. Last week, while celebrating “twin day” at Celina High School, two students came dressed in “Lesbian 1” and “Lesbian 2” T-shirts, but were forced to remove them. In solidarity, Tuesday, twenty additional students came to school wearing t-shirts of their own creation with the slogans “I Support [Rainbow] Express Yourself” and “Straight but Supportive”. These students were also forced to remove their shirts and faced threat of detention or suspension. According to Think Progress, in a comment, Superintendent Jesse Steiner gave this explanation for the action: “The only reason they would be told that they couldn’t wear something is if it is a disruption of the educational process, or if it’s not allowed in the handbook. And there’s a line in our handbook about drawing undue attention to yourself.” Drew Dennis, litigation coordinator for the American Civil Liberties Union Ohio, said, “It sounds like the school is trying to silence the students who are expressing an unpopular viewpoint on the basis that there will be individuals who disagree with that message.” The school has a history of tolerating other politically minded t-shirts, like “Students for Life” and even hosted a Romney campaign rally at the school this past week. Both the students and the school are seeking legal advice. The students have a strong case due to the precedent set by the historic 1969 Supreme Court Case Tinker v. Des Moines. In this case, the court found that students are entitled free speech as long as it does not disrupt the educational operation of the school.

Last Friday, a federal judge issued a temporary injunction that blocks an Arizona law prohibiting federal funding, through Medicaid, for health providers who also perform abortions. The request was granted to Planned Parenthood since the District Court Judge Neil Wake “said the organization was likely to succeed on the merits of its case”. In a statement, Bryan Howard, president and chief executive officer of Planned Parenthood Arizona, responded that “The court’s ruling protects the right of Arizona women to continue to receive important medical care from the medical providers of their own choice, without interference by the state”. In July, Planned Parenthood sued the state of Arizona in an effort to overturn the law that blocked it from receiving government funds. The law was signed by Arizona Governor Jan Brewer in May and is designed to prevent the allocation of public funds to clinics that also provide abortion in the state. The law will effectively cut funding for all health services provided by Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers, impacting the nearly 4,000 women receiving Medicaid-funded health care in the state. Arizona does not currently provide tax dollars for abortion and these funds were all allocated for other health services.

Reproductive rights groups are partnering up for the ‘Educate Congress’ initiative, which will send a copy of Our Bodies, Ourselves to every congressional office. The action is designed to educate congressional representatives on how women’s bodies work. Our Bodies, Ourselves was originally published in 1971 by the Boston Women’s Health Book Collective and is currently in its 9th edition. Judith Norsigian, Executive Director of the Our Bodies Ourselves organization, said that the goal of the action is to “advance evidence-based reproductive health policy-making in this country.” She also went on to say, “most of us get pretty poor quality sex education and reproductive health education when we’re growing up. This country has a long way to go in that respect.” Robert Macphearson notes that, after Congressman Todd Akin’s “legitimate rape” comments on August 20, contributors to the latest editions of Our Bodies, Ourselves actually drove from Chicago to hand deliver a copy of the 944-page tome to Akin’s office in Saint Louis, Missouri. To fund the cost of the action, the groups in the Educate Congress initiative are doing a fundraiser on Indiegogo.com, a crowdfunding website. You can learn more about their campaign action plans and goals on their campaign home page.

Missouri Senate candidate and current Congressman Todd Akin (R-MO) recently compared his opponent Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO) to a dog in remarks he made at a campaign fundraiser. “She goes to Washington, D.C., it’s a little bit like one of those dogs, you know ‘fetch,'” Akin said. “She goes to Washington, D.C., and get all of these taxes and red tape and bureaucracy and executive orders and agencies and she brings all of this stuff and dumps it on us in Missouri.” To hear his comments in full you can watch the video here. Akin already faced nationwide criticism in August after sparking controversy by claiming that “legitimate rape” does not usually lead to pregnancy. Akin has been endorsed by right wing staunch women’s rights opponent Phyllis Schlafly, who stood to the right of Todd Akin at his press conference in September when he announced he will stay in his race against incumbent Senator Claire McCaskill. Akin had faced pressure to drop out of the race due to his “legitimate rape” comment. Many Republicans, including Presidential candidate Mitt Romney, Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO), and four former Missouri Senators, urged Akin to step down from the race.

Schools in East Aurora, Illinois, will implement a policy that supports transgender and gender nonconforming students after the school board voted unanimously in favor of it Monday. The policy states that transgender and gender nonconforming students have the right to be addressed by the name and gender pronoun with which they identify. According to the policy, a court-ordered name or gender change is not required. Students also have the right to use the restroom and locker room that corresponds to their gender identity. This decision comes soon after a Catholic school in Indianapolis, Indiana, publicly stated that it would not recognize a transgender student’s preferred gender, saying that it conflicted with their Catholic beliefs. Students protested the decision in support of the transgender student. The school board of Toronto, Canada, introduced a policy similar to that of East Aurora last week. Their proposal extends the policies to staff as well as students, and includes guidelines for students’ privacy.

The Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR) has launched a new campaign called “Draw the Line,” asking Americans to sign a “Bill of Reproductive Rights.” The CRR aims to “deliver a thundering statement” to the U.S. Congress and the President that it is their responsibility to secure reproductive rights as fundamental human rights. The Bill of Reproductive Rights reads: “We the people of the United States hereby assert the following as fundamental human rights that no government may deny, and that our governments at every level must guarantee and safeguard for all.

1. The right to make our own decisions about our reproductive health and future, free from intrusion or coercion by any government, group, or individual.
2. The right to a full range of safe, affordable, and readily accessible reproductive health care-including pregnancy care, preventive services, contraception, abortion, and fertility treatment-and accurate information about all of the above.
3. The right to be free from discrimination in access to reproductive health care or on the basis of our reproductive decisions.”

“Draw the Line” addresses continual attacks from politicians on reproductive rights. The CRR has attracted a number of A-list celebrities to promote the Bill, including Meryl Streep, Kevin Bacon, Amy Poehler, Lisa Kudrow, Sarah Silverman, Billy Crudup, and Caroline Kennedy. The launch of this campaign marks the 20th anniversary of the CRR, and highlights the upcoming 40th anniversary of the historic Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision on February 5, 2013. To get involved, individuals can pledge their support by signing the Bill of Reproductive Rights, sharing the campaign on social media, and finally supporting the fight by donating online.

Almost a month after three members of the Russian feminist punk band Pussy Riot were found guilty of “hooliganism” and sentenced to two years in prison, Prime Minister Dmitri A. Medvedev said Wednesday that they should be released. Although Medvedev said he finds them ‘nauseating,’ he also said further imprisonment would be “unproductive.” Musicians, activists and human rights groups worldwide have been standing in solidarity with the Pussy Riot members both online and in the streets. In light of the proximity of Medvedev’s comments and the band members’ appeal date, October 1, the international community rallying around the slogan “Free Pussy Riot” may finally win. In a case that has shed international light on the Russian government’s intolerance of dissent, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, Yekaterina Samutsevich, 30, and Marina Alyokhina, 24, have been in jail since March, when they were arrested after performing (video) a “punk prayer” on the altar of Moscow’s Christ the Savior Cathedral in dissent of Vladimir Putin. The members entered the church wearing bright colors and balaclavas, singing “Mother of God, Blessed Virgin, drive out Putin!” The band members said their intent was to challenge the Church’s political support for Putin and to show their dissatisfaction with Putin’s 12-year political dominance. Today news also broke that the European Parliament has nominated Tolokonnikova, Samutsevich, and Alyokhina for the “freedom of thought” award, or the Sakharov Prize, for special contribution to the protection of human rights. The prestigious award is named after Soviet human rights activist Andrei Sakharov, and comes with a 50,000 euro award. The winner of the prize will be announced in December. Its first recipients were Nelson Mandela and Soviet dissident Anatoly Marchenko in 1988.

Today the Democratic National Convention Committee announced an additional slate of speakers with a focus on women leaders. The committee noted that these speakers will join Michele Obama, Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren, and California Attorney General Kamala Harris in taking the stage at the DNC. The newly announced speakers include: – Seven-term Congresswoman and now Senate Candidate Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin. – Former Former Assistant Secretary, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Tammy Duckworth, who is also running to represent the 8th Congressional District of Illinois. – Sandra Fluke, Georgetown University Law student who spoke before Congress on health insurance coverage for contraceptives – Denise Juneau, state superintendent of public instruction, Montana – Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America – Caroline Kennedy, author, attorney, and daughter of former President John F. Kennedy – Women’s equality advocate Lilly Ledbetter. The Lily Ledbetter Act — the first piece of legislation President Obama signed — ensures that workers discriminated on the basis of gender have a fair chance to sue their employer. – Eva Longoria, Obama Campaign Co-Chair and actress – U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski of Maryland, together with the women of the U.S. Senate – Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Action Fund In addition to these women, previously announced DNC speakers include: San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro, former President Bill Clinton, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris, Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, Former Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, and former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland.

Tea party favorite Rep. Sandy Adams was defeated by 10-term Congressman Jon Mica in yesterday’s Florida primary. A 19-year incumbent and chairman of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Mica led freshman Adams 61% to 39% with 96% of precincts reporting. Mica and Adams faced each other in a primary election after a Republican-drafted redistricting plan put the two in the same district. Adams was well-known for authoring the House version of the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, labeled by many as the “fake VAWA” due to its elimination of protections for LGBT, Native American, immigrant, and student victims of violence. Adams is the 11th House member to fall in a primary this year. Sarah Palin, who endorsed Adams, was given her second primary pick loss in two weeks.

On Monday the Colorado Personhood Coalition submitted 112,121 signatures to the secretary of state, surpassing the 86,105 signatures required to get its anti-abortion initiative on the ballot in November. The signatures must be verified by state officials by September 5th. This will be the third consecutive time Colorado will have a personhood initiative on the ballot in the general election. In 2008, it got 27 percent of the vote, and in 2010 it got 30 percent of the vote. According to the Daily Beast, Planned Parenthood said on Monday on the local Colorado news: “For the third time in the past consecutive general elections, Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains today vowed to defeat the so-called personhood initiative. ‘Personhood’ amendments ban all abortion, specifically for victims of rape and incest. Personal, private medical decisions would be taken out of a woman’s hands, and controlled by politicians and the government — These decisions are best left to a woman, her family, and her faith.” Abortion-rights supporters argue that personhood amendments would not only strip women of their constitutional right to safe and legal abortion, but would also outlaw forms of birth control and threaten in-vitro fertilization. No state has passed a personhood measure thus far. According to NARAL Pro-Choice America (PDF), 14 state legislatures introduced 26 personhood measures in 2011. Last week Personhood USA, a national personhood organization, filed a petition with the US Supreme Court to appeal the Oklahoma Supreme Court’s unanimous decision to block a personhood ballot initiative in April. The Oklahoma court said the amendment is “clearly unconstitutional.”

On Tuesday, first-time political candidate Ted Cruz defeated Lt. Governor David Dewhurst in the Senate Republican runoff by more than 150,000 votes. Although he started his campaign relatively unknown nationally, his campaign eventually received endorsements from Tea Party favorites like Sarah Palin, Rick Santorum, and Rand Paul. Cruz is expected to win in November. This is the third Tea Party Republican to defeat an endorsed Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in a primary this year. Ted Cruz’s victory has since received a great deal of media attention due to his extreme views on the death penalty, gay marriage, immigration, and Islam. Achy Obejas of WBEZ 91.1 called Cruz, who is Cuban-American, “the new conservative Latino cowboy in town,” saying that “he’s so extreme, he makes [Marco] Rubio look downright bipartisan.” After hearing about Cruz’s victory, Democratic Senator Patty Murray explained, “I think the bigger issue there is that Mitch McConnell is now going to have a potentially much more Tea Party-oriented caucus and we have all seen the damage that has done to our ability to govern, to find compromise, to move this country forward in a positive direction.” Cruz received a significantly large amount of money, about $7.7 million, from outside groups. This Texas Senate race received more outside funding than any other Senate race so far this year. The Club for Growth Political Action Committee alone supported Cruz to the tune of $5.5 million. Some 17 outside organizations were involved in the campaign. The candidates also spent about $32 million of their own money; Dewhurst alone spent over $24 million.

The court case against a new Pennsylvania voter ID law began last week. Elderly women, members of minority populations, college students, Pennsylvanians with disabilities, and transgender individuals have testified in the case against the new law, claiming it would disenfranchise them. This law would require anyone voting in Pennsylvania to show specific government issued photo IDs. Pennsylvania’s Secretary of State estimates that 758,000 registered voters lack the proper ID. Bea Bookler, a 94 year-old Pennsylvanian who has voted in every election since the 1940s, testified in court that she, and many women like her, will be disenfranchised by this law. Over time, she has lost her social security card, birth certificate, and marriage license, and is also unable to make the long trip to her nearest PennDOT office. When asked why she bothers to go to the polls to vote if her mobility is so limited, she insisted, “I would never not vote. How proud I am to live in a country is a real democracy. And anything that prevents people from voting is taking away our democracy. Democracy is only real if we all participate.” Earlier this year, Republican Pennsylvania House Majority Leader Mike Turazi claimed that the new law would “allow Governor Romney to win the state of Pennsylvania” in the November election. Opponents of the law have cried foul. The state does not have any evidence to suggest that voter fraud has occurred or will occur in Pennsylvania elections. The US Department of Justice is looking into the law due to evidence suggesting the law discriminates against minority groups. Commonwealth Court Judge Robert Simpson will issue a ruling in August. His ruling will most likely be appealed to the state’s Supreme Court.