Feminist Newswire, Author at Feminist Majority Foundation

LGBT Advocates Strengthen Push For Immigration Reform

Posted on August 29, 2013September 5, 2013 by Feminist Newswire

LGBT advocates have joined with business and faith leaders, organized labor, feminist and pro-choice groups, and many others to move immigration reform forward during Congress’ August recess.

via Shutterstock

LGBT advocates see immigration reform as an LGBT issue because 267,000 LGBT and undocumented adults live in the US. The Supreme Court’s recent decision to repeal Section three of the Defense of Marriage Act, which did not allow federal laws to recognize LGBT couples, provided some relief for LGBT binational couples, but others still need more. For example, in immigration detention facilities, LGBT immigrants are vulnerable to abuse. Transgender detainees are often denied access to hormone treatment, detained with people of a gender with which they do not identify, and subjected to abuse from guards and other detainees. LGBT detainees are often put in solitary confinement to protect them from abuse by other detainees, but isolation can be extremely dangerous to their physical and mental health. Advocates for immigration reform hope to change this.

Several organizations have taken steps over the summer to raise awareness about immigration reform and push legislation. The National Center for Transgender Equality brought over 100 people to Capitol Hill in June to advocate for reform and launched an online August Recess Action Center that provides tools for people to get in touch with members of Congress. The National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance organized its members to send 2,000 postcards to members of the House of Representatives to show their support, and it launched a campaign called “Uncovering Our Stories” to amplify LGBT Asian and Pacific Islander voices. Immigration Equality recently launched its LGBTforCIR national campaign to connect LGBT and immigration reform advocates in order to broaden the movement.

Media Resources: Center for American Progress 8/28/2013; ACLU 10/31/2011; New York Times 3/23/2013

Victim Blaming Judge Gives Rapist 30 Day Sentence

Posted on August 29, 2013June 11, 2020 by Feminist Newswire

Montana District judge G. Todd Baugh faces criticism for sentencing a 54-year-old former teacher, Stacey Rambold, to only 30 days in jail for repeatedly raping a 14-year-old girl. Rambold was first charged in 2008 when the victim, one of his students, told a church counselor she had been sexually assaulted. She committed suicide in 2010 as the case was proceeding in court.

via

The judge’s original remarks blamed the girl for the rape, saying she was just “as much in control of the situation” as her teacher and that she was a troubled youth “older than her chronological age.” The judge later apologized for his remarks, but he stands by the sentencing decision he made on August 26 of this year.

Almost 30,000 people have already signed a petition on MoveOn.org calling for Baugh to resign. “Something is not right with our system when a judge can make that kind of decision,” Marian Bradly of the Montana National Organization for Women said.

After his 30-day term, Rambold must register as a sex offender, and he will be on supervised probation for 15 years.

Media Resources: Los Angeles Times 8/28/2013; Washington Post 8/28/2013

US Commemorates 50th Anniversary of MLK Speech, March for Jobs and Freedom

Posted on August 28, 2013June 11, 2020 by Feminist Newswire

Today the US will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the 1963 March for Jobs and Freedom, during which Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. The event comes after a week of celebrations, including a march on Saturday where speakers commemorated King, discussed the history of the civil rights movement, and spoke about the changes that still need to occur to fulfill King’s dream of a more equal world.

via mikek on flickr

A nation-wide bell-ringing ceremony and an address from President Barack Obama at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC will take place today at three PM EDT, the exact time when King gave his speech on August 28, 1963. Former presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter will join President Obama during the ceremony.

Preceding President Obama’s address, bells will ring in over 100 churches, schools, organizations, and historical monuments across the US. International celebrations are also taking place in England, Japan, Switzerland, Nepal, and Liberia. The bells are in reference to King’s speech. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “When we allow freedom to ring–when we let it ring from every city and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, ‘Free at last, free at last, great God almighty, we are free at last.'”

Media Resources: USA Today 8/24/2013; BBC 8/28/2013; ABC 8/28/2013

Circuit Court Strikes Down Arizona Anti-Abortion Bill

Posted on August 26, 2013September 5, 2013 by Feminist Newswire

An Arizona bill intended to strip Medicaid funding from doctors and clinics that provide abortions was defeated in court last week.

via Shutterstock

House Bill 2800 was passed by the legislature and signed by Gov. Jan Brewer in 2012, but Planned Parenthoodchallenged it before it could be enforced. The bill would have prevented low-income Medicaid recipients from receiving coverage for family planning services, annual exams, and cancer screenings from clinics that also provide abortions.

The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Thursday that the bill violates a federal Medicaid Act requirement that gives patients the freedom to choose their healthcare providers. Anti-choice leaders can either appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court or reintroduce the legislation at the state level in 2014.

“This is a victory for the thousands of low-income women who rely on Planned Parenthood for breast and cervical- cancer screenings, birth control and other basic health care,” Planned Parenthood Arizona President and CEO Bryan Howard said in a statement.

In May, the same court overturned a 2012 state law that banned abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. This past legislative session was the first in more than a decade in which lawmakers failed to pass an abortion-related measure.

Media Resources: Los Angeles Times, 8/22/2013; AZ Central, 8/22/2013

Report Shows Over 50 Abortion Clinics Across US Have Closed Since 2010

Posted on August 26, 2013June 11, 2020 by Feminist Newswire

The Huffington Post published a report today detailing the decline of abortion access since 2010. States where lawmakers have enacted large cuts to family planning funding and laws regulating abortion clinics, such as Texas and Arizona, have seen the highest number of clinic closings.

via Shutterstock

When clinics close, women face tangible consequences. Women living in rural areas, for example, must travel long distances to obtain family planning or abortion services. Adding to that burden, 26 states require that women wait at least 24 hours after a consultation to have an abortion procedure, which means they may have tostay in the area overnight or travel there a second time. Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers (TRAP) laws have also resulted in widespread clinic losses; the provisions often force clinics to fulfill unnecessary requirements, such as making their halls a certain width, or face being closed by the state. In reality, abortion clinics are already heavily regulated and safe.

“These restrictions have an uneven impact,” state issues manager at the Guttmacher Institute, Elizabeth Nash, said in a statement. “Women who have resources, have a car, have some money in the bank, can access childcare and take time off work can obtain an abortion, and women who are less well-off and don’t have those kinds of resources are not able to access abortion services.”

Media Resources: The Huffington Post, 8/26/2013; The Daily Beast, 1/22/2013; Feminist Majority Foundation, 8/21/2013

Poll Finds Majority of Americans Oppose School Vouchers

Posted on August 21, 2013June 11, 2020 by Feminist Newswire

A new Gallup poll shows that a majority of Americans do not support school voucher programs.

via Shutterstock

The poll, conducted by PDK/Gallup and based on 1,001 phone interviews, shows that 70% of Americans do not support voucher programs [PDF] that allow state funds to be used for private or religiously-affiliated charter schools. It is the highest opposition the study has found to voucher programs to date, and reflects a sharp increase from opposition recorded last year (in 2012, 55% of respondents opposed voucher programs).

Despite public opposition, conservative lawmakers continue to propose voucher programs. Virginia gubernatorial candidate Ken Cuccinelli openly supports directing state funding to religiously-affiliated schools and creating a voucher program as part of his education platform.

“The American people want a well-funded public school system that benefits all, not a patchwork of unaccountable private schools that cater to a few,” said Maggie Garret, co-chair of the National Coalition for Public Education, in a recent press release [PDF.] “The taxpayer-funded school voucher experiment has been tried and failed. It’s time to put the emphasis back on public education.”

Media Resources: PDK/Gallup 8/21/2013; National Coalition for Public Education 8/21/2013; Feminist Newswire 8/15/2013

RH Reality Check Analysis Finds Abortion Heavily Regulated Across the Country

Posted on August 21, 2013June 11, 2020 by Feminist Newswire

The reproductive health blog RH Reality Check has released documents from over 30 states revealing that abortion is already heavily monitored and regulated following a congressional inquiry.

The documents include current policies, laws, and regulations of abortion providers and what complaints against providers, if any, the state received and what action was taken. The documents were requested in May by members of the House Judiciary Committee and House Energy and Commerce Committee including Congressmen Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), Trent Franks (R-AZ), and Fred Upton (R-MI) among others. The committees contact the Attorney General and Board of Health of each state to see if “state and local governments are being stymied in their efforts to protect the civil rights of newborns and their mothers by legal or financial obstacles that are within the federal government’s power to address.”

RH Reality Check submitted their own request to those contacted asking for whatever documents were sent to Congress. 38 state attorney generals and 31 health departments submitted their responses, and the result is thousands of pages of legislation and regulations that could in some way relate to abortion services – from regulations of ambulatory surgical centers to inspection results to criminal prosecution of women who sought abortion services. RH Reality Check has made all the documents available online in a new database called the State of Abortion.

In an article on the State of Abortion results, the blog writes, “An analysis of these documents shows that congressional Republicans will find no support for their arguments in favor of new restrictions on abortion care in the evidence presented by the states. In particular, to the extent that anti-choice advocates claim that women are being put at risk by abortion services, these documents-from the very state entities charged with overseeing and regulating abortion-show the contrary. They show that abortion in the United States is highly regulated and overwhelmingly safe.”

via Shutterstock

Kathy Spillar, Executive Vice President of Feminist Majority Foundation, said “We’re waiting for the Republicans in Congress and in Governor’s mansions and state legislatures to admit that they’re wasting tax payer money and time dealing with a problem that doesn’t exist. In addition to showing there’s no need for federal regulation, the report also demonstrates that all the new TRAP laws imposing restrictions that will close many clinics are unnecessary. In July alone, North Carolina, Texas, and Ohio enacted strict regulations that jeopardize most abortion providers in these states and endanger women’s lives. Ambulatory surgical centers, unnecessary. Admitting privileges, unnecessary. Additional reporting procedures, absolutely unnecessary.”

“The anti-choice movement, aided by their legislative allies at the state and federal level, have pushed through medically unnecessary and draconian restrictions on access to safe abortion care,” said Jodi Jacobson, Editor-in-Chief of RH Reality Check. “To justify their efforts, they’ve shamelessly exploited the tragic case of illegal provider Kermit Gosnell and claimed there is a pattern of unsafe, under-regulated providers causing harm to women. But the results of a state-by-state witch hunt conducted by Congressional Republicans actually reveals quite the opposite: State documents reveal that abortion care across the country is not only highly regulated, but overwhelmingly safe. Neither Congress nor state legislatures can provide a shred of evidence to back up their push for further restricting access to safe abortion care.”

Media Resources: RH Reality Check 8/21/2013; State of Abortion 8/19/2013; Feminist Newswire 7/30/2013, 7/18/2013, 7/1/2013

PA Voter ID Law Blocked By Federal Judge

Posted on August 20, 2013June 11, 2020 by Feminist Newswire

A 2012 Pennsylvania law that requires voters to show photo ID in order to vote has once again been blocked from being enforced during an upcoming election by a state judge on Friday.

via Shutterstock

Commonwealth Court Judge Bernard McGinley has barred the law from going into effect until a trial determines a final decision regarding the law’s validity. According to McGinley’s injunction, poll workers may ask to see a voter’s photo ID if they have it available and distribute information about the law. However, McGinley ruled that poll workers cannot tell voters that they may be required to show IDs in the future. “There is no value in inaccurate information, and the court does not deem inaccurate information ‘educational,'” McGinley wrote in his decision. “It is not a matter of confusion – it is a matter of accuracy.” The injunction will be in effect for the state’s special November 5 State House election.

This is the third time Pennsylvania’s voter ID law has been blocked. In October 2012, a Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court determined the state could not adequately provide free voter IDs as required by the law and therefore it could not go into effect before the November 2 presidential election after the state Supreme Court referred the case back to the lower court to determine its ability to comply.

Despite repeated judicial scrutiny, many other states have passed their own voter ID requirements. Most recently, North Carolina passed a law that requires voters to show photo id at the polls before being allowed to vote.

Media Resources: Associated Press 8/16/2013; New York Times 8/16/2013; Feminist Newswire 8/13/2013, 10/2/2012, 9/19/2012

Judges Blocks Law Restricting OTC Emergency Contraception

Posted on August 20, 2013June 11, 2020 by Feminist Newswire

On Monday, a state court temporarily blocked an Oklahoma law that would require persons 17 years or younger to have a prescription to access emergency contraception and require proof of age before purchasing the medication.

via Shutterstock

Judge Lisa T. Davis Rights awarded the New York-based Center for Reproductive a temporary injunctionagainst a law approved by Governor Mary Fallin (R) in May that requires minors under the age of 17 to have a prescription to access emergency contraception. For those over 17, the law requires that they present ID to a pharmacist in order to access the medication. The Center argued that the law places an unnecessary barrier to emergency contraception. Because the restrictions were the second topic of the law, it also violates Oklahoma’s constitutional “single subject” rule.

In June, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the FDA had to make emergency contraception available over the counter without age or ID restrictions. David Brown, a staff attorney for the Center, argued that if the law were to take effect it “would have essentially reimposed” the federal restrictions that the court overturned.

“Oklahoma women may rest assured that they will not be denied access to this important means of preventing unintended pregnancy,” said Brown in a statement after the ruling. “And perhaps this latest in a long and growing list of federal and state court decisions vindicating women’s fundamental right to the full range of essential reproductive health care will at last put an end to the assaults of politicians bent on stripping away rights that all women must be guaranteed.”

Media Resources: Bloomberg 8/19/2013; Huffington Post 8/19/2013; New York Times 8/19/2013; Feminist Newswire 6/11/2013, 6/5/2013

Trial Set for Mississippi Anti-Abortion Law

Posted on August 19, 2013June 11, 2020 by Feminist Newswire

A date has been set for the case against an anti-abortion law that could shut down the last abortion clinic in Mississippi. In an order released on Friday, U.S. District Judge Daniel P. Jordan III scheduled jury selection in the case to begin March 3, 2014.

via Shutterstock

In April, U.S. Judge Jordan extended a temporary injunction that prevented the state from closing the clinic as it tried to come into compliance with a 2012 law requiring all doctors who perform abortions at the clinic to have admitting privileges at local hospitals. The injunction was extended until the constitutionality of the law can be determined in a current pending lawsuit against the state.

So far, no hospital within 30 miles of the clinic has granted admitting privileges to any of the doctors. One rejection letter stated that the clinic “is inconsistent with this hospital’s policies and practices as concerns abortion and, in particular, elective abortions… The nature of your proposed medical practice would lead to both an internal and external disruption of the hospital’s function and business within this community.”

Media Resources: Associated Press 8/16/2013; Feminist Newswire 4/16/2013, 11/29/2012

Ohio “Heartbeat” Bill Reintroduced

Posted on August 19, 2013June 11, 2020 by Feminist Newswire

Conservative lawmakers in Ohio reintroduced a bill to ban abortion once a fetal heartbeat is detected, which can be as early as six weeks into a pregnancy by a transvaginal ultrasound, last week.

via Shutterstock

The bill, dubbed the “heartbeat bill,” passed the Ohio state House in 2011, but was not brought before the state Senate for a vote in 2012. Senate President Tom Niehaus (R-New Richmond) told reporters that he wanted to focus on jobs and the economy instead of abortion. Niehaus has retired this year due to term limits, and conservative lawmakers believe that this a prime opportunity to resurrect the bill. State Representative Lynn Wachtmann (R) told reporters, “I wouldn’t introduce a bill if I didn’t think it could be done.”

Similar bills in North Dakota and Arkansas have been blocked by federal judges pending legal challenges. In March, the Arkansas state legislature overrode the governor’s veto of a bill that bans abortion once a heartbeat can be detected using an abdominal ultrasound, typically at 12 weeks gestation. That same month, the North Dakota governor signed a bill into law that outlaws abortion once a fetal heartbeat can be detected, typically at six weeks gestation if a transvaginal ultrasound is used.

Kellie Copeland, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio, told reporters, “Here we go again. A month after Gov. Kasich signed one of the worst anti-choice bills in the nation that is already closing abortion facilities, you’ve got this group coming back and saying, ‘No, no, no, that’s not good enough. You have to outlaw abortion before women even know they’re pregnant.'”

Media Resources: CityBeat 8/15/2013; Huffington Post 8/15/2013; Feminist Newswire 7/23/2013, 5/21/2013, 11/29/2012, 3/26/2012, 3/7/2013

North Carolina Passes Sweeping Voter Suppression Laws

Posted on August 16, 2013 by Feminist Newswire

On the heels of North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory (R) signing a bill to massively limit voting rights, two localities changed their polling places & university residency rules.

vote buttons via Shutterstock

On Monday, McCrory signed into law a new bill that includes a strict voter ID law, ending same-day voter registration, cutting down the length of early voting and eliminated a program that encourages high school students to register to vote before they turn 18. The law, deemed the “worst voter suppression bill in the nation,” specifically targets low-income, minority and college-aged voters – all of which traditionally vote democrat.

Just after McCrory signed the bill, the Republican majority in the Watauga County Board of Elections voted to eliminate the early voting site and election-day polling place at Appalachian State University, one of the largest universities in North Carolina. The board voted to combine three local precincts into one, which will force about 9,300 residents to vote in a building with only 35 parking spots.

The Republican majority in the Pasquotank County Board of Elections also changed their voting residency regulations. They ruled that students who live on college campuses have not established permanent residency, and therefore cannot run for local office. The county’s Republican chairman has promised to challenge the residency of other students in Pasquotank County and across the state.

Media Resources: ThinkProgress, 8/13/2013; The News & Observer 8/14/2013; ThinkProgress 8/15/2013

Federal Judge Rules In Favor of Anti-Abortion Extremist Angel Dillard

Posted on August 16, 2013 by Feminist Newswire

A federal judge ruled Thursday that an anti-abortion extremist’s threatening letter to a Wichita, KS Doctor is protected under the First Amendment and does not constitute as “true threat.”

via Sylvia McFadden on flickr

In 2011, the Department of Justice filed a civil lawsuit against Angel Dillard for writing to Mila Means, a doctor who planned to start offering abortion services, telling her that she would have to start checking under her car every day for explosives. The Justice Department accused Dillard of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE), a law protecting abortion clinics.

Although Dr. Means testified in court that she felt threated by the letter and had undertaken several security measures in response, U.S. District Judge J. Thomas Marten ruled that the government failed to prove that actual violence against Dr. Means was likely or imminent.

Dillard has been associated with anti-abortion groups in Kansas. In July 2009, Dillard confirmed she had corresponded with Scott Roeder, then in a Wichita jail awaiting trial for the murder of Wichita abortion provider Dr. George Tiller. Dillard told the Associated Press, “With one move, (Roeder) was able…to accomplish what we had not been able to do…So he followed his convictions and I admire that.”

In her letter to Dr. Means, Dillard wrote among other things: “You will be checking under your car everyday – because maybe today is the day someone places an explosive under it.” She also added: “We will not let this abomination continue without doing everything we can to stop it.”

Media Resources: Feminist Majority Foundation 4/19/2011; Feminist Majority Foundation 4/21/2011; Feminist Majority Foundation 8/8/2012; Kansas City Star 8/15/2013

Afghan Youth Celebrated in Bamyan

Posted on August 16, 2013August 16, 2013 by Feminist Newswire

Afghanistan celebrated International Youth Day on Thursday with a large, free outdoor concert in Bamyan. Over 7,000 people of all ages came together to listen to over a dozen acts by Afghan musicians from around the globe and speeches from provincial leaders. The event was organized by UNAMA, the United Nations Assistance Missions in Afghanistan, and last about four hours.

via Internews Network on flickr

Bamyan’s Deputy Governor, Asif Mubaligh, focused on education in his speech to the crowd. “Focus more on education to garner medals and other accomplishments,” he said. Habiba Sarabi, provincial Governor, spoke about the importance of youth engagement, emphasizing that “young people today belong to the largest generation of youtrh the world has known.” In Afghanistan, two-thirds of the estimated population of 27 million are young people.

“I call on the government, the private sector, civil society, and academia,” said UNAMA’s head for western Afghanistan, Andrew McGregor, “to keep the doors wide open for young people.” He expressed hopes that young people would grow to be democratic leaders and productive Afghan citizens.

The UN General Assembly declared August 12 International “Youth Day in 1999. It was first observed in 2002.

Media Resources: UNAMA News, 8/15/2013

Virginia Gubernatorial Candidate Announces Plan to State-Fund Religious Schools

Posted on August 15, 2013June 11, 2020 by Feminist Newswire

Virginia Republican gubernatorial candidate Ken Cuccinelli unveiled a 12 step plan to reform the commonwealth’s educational system that includes changing the Virginia constitution to allow state funding to go to religious schools.

Crucified Jesus Christ In The Hand Of Holy Women via Shutterstock

As part of his campaign platform, Cuccinelli released his plan on Tuesday at a school in Richmond. A key part of the plan is an amendment to the Virginia constitution to allow the state to fund “sectarian” schools, such as Christian, Jewish, or other religiously affiliated charter schools.

Currently, Virginia is prohibited from providing state funds to sectarian schools, and any charter school must first get permission from the school district in which it plans to operate. Cuccinelli argues that this current ban on funding for religious schools is the result of “anti-Catholic bigotry in American politics in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.”

Progress VA notes that a majority of Cuccinelli’s education plan reflects legislation drafted by the conservative think tank ALEC. ALEC has developed model legislation which aids corporations and has often promoted extreme right-wing legislation, such as voter suppression and “Stand Your Ground” laws. ALEC claims to have about 1,000 of its bills introduced by legislative members every year, with one in every five of them enacted into law.

The Virginia Gubernatorial election will be held on November 5, 2013.

Media Resources: Progress VA 8/14/2013; ThinkProgress 8/14/2013; Associated Press 8/13/2013; Ken Cuccinelli’s K-12 Education Plan; Feminist Newswire 8/29/2013

Missouri Lawmaker Files Lawsuit Against Obamacare

Posted on August 15, 2013June 11, 2020 by Feminist Newswire

The Thomas More Society has filed a lawsuit challenging Obamacare on behalf of Missouri state Representative Paul Joseph Wieland (R-Imperial) and his wife on Tuesday.

The lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, and the U.S. Department of Labor alleges that the government is violating the Wielands’ religious liberty and free speech by requiring that their insurance plan includes coverage for birth control and abortion inducing drugs, which they find morally objectionable.

“Birth Control Pill in Handbag” via Shutterstock

Many companies have filed lawsuits challenging the Affordable Care Act, but far fewer individuals have filed suits. In April, Eden Foods joined a long list of companies suing the administration over the mandate. Companies that have sued include Dominoes, Hobby Lobby, among others. Other companies, such as Universal Orlando, have said they will drop insurance coverage for their part-time employees so they do not have to comply with Obamacare.

Media Resources: Missouri Times 8/14/2013; Thomas More Society 8/14/2013; Feminist Newswire 4/24/2013

DOE Investigating USC Classification of Rape

Posted on August 14, 2013June 11, 2020 by Feminist Newswire

The University of Southern California (USC) currently classifies sexual assaults on campus as “injury response,” preventing the Los Angeles Police Department from being notified of the attack.

via Steve White on flickr

Previously anonymous USC senior Ariella Mostov filed a sexual assault report with the campus police in March 2013, yet after a month with no word about her case she tried to follow up with authorities. She was told by campus police that because her attacker did not orgasm, she had not been raped and therefore did not refer the case to the Los Angeles police department. She was told “Because he stopped, it was not rape. Even though his penis penetrated your vagina, because he stopped, it was not a crime.”

Mostov told reporters “I feel like I was denied justice. These people who are assigned to protect us and guarantee our safety, who are supposed to help us through these especially hard times, are people who are incredibly incompetent.”

A copy of Mostov’s report released to the Huffington Post revealed that her attack had been labeled as an “injury response.” As a result, neither the campus Department of Public Safety nor the Los Angeles Police Department were notified of the attack which is standard in case labeled sexual assault. In addition, the attack was not reported as a sexual assault as required by the Clery Act.

Mostov joined 13 other students in filing a complaint with the Department of Education against USC for violating Title IX and the Clery Act. In July, the DOE announced that it was launching an investigation into the university’s mishandling of sexual assault cases.

Media Resources: ThinkProgress 8/13/2013; Huffington Post 8/12/2013, 7/22/2013; Feminist Newswire 7/23/2013

First Woman Takes Helm of Air Force Academy

Posted on August 14, 2013June 11, 2020 by Feminist Newswire

On Monday, Lieutenant General Michelle Johnson took control of the Air Force Academy. She is the first woman to assume the role of superintendent to any of the three best-known academies (Army, Navy, Air Force). Johnson was previously at NATO as the deputy chief of staff of operations and intelligence of the Supreme Headquarters of Allied Powers.

via Konstantin Yolshin on Shutterstock

Johnson will be leading an academy that has been in the spotlight over sexual assault scandals in recent years, during a time when the armed services as a whole are under intense scrutiny regarding military sexual assault. Though not explicitly, the Lt. General alluded to the issue during her speech at the Change of Command ceremony, saying “We can find meaning in adversity, and there are lessons from overcoming negative experiences and to grow stronger through them.”

Media Resources: Reuters 8/13/20123; Associated Press 8/12/2013; Colorado Springs Business Journal 8/12/2013

NC Governor Signs Restrictive Voter ID Bill into Law

Posted on August 13, 2013June 11, 2020 by Feminist Newswire

Yesterday, North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory signed an restrictive voter ID bill into law.

Young woman in a voting booth via Shutterstock

The law cuts the number of early voting days from 14 to eight, prohibits same day voter registration, and prevents 16 and 17 year olds from pre-registering. Also under the new law, voters will be required to show voter id at the polls before being allowed to vote. College and university IDs will not be accepted.

Many state officials and civil rights advocates have criticized McCrory’s decision. North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper (D) said in a statement “This bill was much more than just voter ID. There were dozens of reasons to veto this bad elections bill with its restrictions on voting, more corporate campaign money and reduced public disclosure being just a few.” Reverend William Barber, president of the state NAACP chapter told reporters “It is a trampling on the blood, sweat and tears of the martyrs – black and white – who fought for voting rights in this country. It puts McCrory on the wrong side of history.”

The law has also gained regional and national attention. Allison Riggs, a lawyer with the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, told reporters, “This is a naked attempt to predetermine election outcomes by making it harder for certain people to vote: poor people, people of color, elderly people and young people.”

At the American Bar Association’s national conference yesterday, Hillary Clinton highlighted the North Carolina bill, which she claimed “reads like the greatest hits of voter suppression.” She criticized the Supreme Court decision to gut the Voting Rights Act, saying “In the weeks since the ruling, we’ve seen an unseemly rush by previously covered jurisdictions to enact or enforce laws that will make it harder for millions of our fellow Americans to vote.”

Hours after being signed into law, the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of North Carolina Legal Foundation, and the Southern Coalition for Civil Rights announced that they will be filing a lawsuit challenging the early voting cuts and same-day registration ban, though not the photo ID requirement.

Media Resources: Reuters 8/13/2013; Associated Press 8/12/2013; Huffington Post 8/12/2013; Feminist Newswire 7/24/2013, 6/25/2013

California Approves Law Protecting Transgender Students

Posted on August 13, 2013June 11, 2020 by Feminist Newswire

On Monday, California Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill into law that allows transgender students to use the bathroom or choose sports teams that align with their gender identity, not biological sex.

Group of Students via Shutterstock

Los Angeles and San Francisco county school districts already allow students to choose bathrooms and sports with the gender they identify as, but with the new law all school districts in California must allow its students to do the same.

Ilona Turner of the Transgender Law Center hailed the decision, saying “[This law is] going to send [students] a message that they are a part of the school community and that they are valued and that we want to see them participate fully and want to see them succeed. That’s a powerful message that, frankly, they have not been getting up to this point.”

State Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco) told reporters, “While many California schoolchildren are already protected by policies in some of our biggest school districts other districts don’t seem to understand that transgender students should have equal access to all programs and facilities.”

While Connecticut and Massachusetts have statewide protection policies, California is the first state to put statewide protections for transgender students into law.

Media Resources: Associated Press 8/12/2013; Los Angeles Times 8/12/2013; Reuters 8/12/2013