#SouthCarolina to use #CongressionalMap deemed #unconstitutional #SCOTUS heard arguments on the redistricting case in Oct but has yet to rule🤬, essentially running out the clock for the #2024election. A #federal#court ruled Thurs that time had run out to draw a new congressional district in #SC & said the state could use its existing map even though it had earlier determined that map was unconstitutional.
The panel of 3 judges last year concluded that #SouthCarolina’s #Republican-led #legislature “exiled” 30k #BlackVoters from the district to make it safer for a #White#GOP incumbent, Rep #NancyMace. #SC appealed, & both sides asked #SCOTUS to expedite the case to ensure a final ruling was in place well ahead of #election season. The justices heard arguments in October but have yet to rule.
#MarilynLands, a Dem who made #ReproductiveRights a centerpiece of her campaign in deeply #conservative#Alabama, won a special election to the Alabama Legislature.
Lands’ victory in the suburban district in the #DeepSouth state was celebrated by #Democrats who have attempted to portray the state #GOP as too extreme on #abortion & reproductive rights.
“Today, #Alabama women & families sent a clear message that will be heard in Montgomery & across the nation. Our legislature must repeal AL’s no-exceptions #AbortionBan, fully restore #access to #IVF, & protect the #right to #contraception,” #MarilynLands said.
The AL #legislature voted Thurs to #protect#doctors doing IVF from #criminal or #civil#liability if #embryos they help to create are subsequently damaged or destroyed.
The fast action by both the House & Senate on bills to shield IVF came >2 wks after the state’s Supreme Court ruled that #FrozenEmbryos are people & that individuals could be liable for destroying them.
It has come to my attention that a major anti-trans bill is being discussed in my home-state of #Indiana . I want anyone who can protest this bill to do so.
The very fact that this bill is being talked about is having me consider moving to #Illinois at some point in the future. The only reason I am not doing so this instant is that I'm waiting for a degree of financial stability. Because if this passes, I'm likely going to have to go back to #DIYHRT until I'm able to move one state west (I'm not moving further as I wish to stay close to my supportive family).
Agreed. The madness here lies with the Judge who has already used it, rather than the guidance, which sounds fairly sensible.
I look forward to bringing my computer to court.
I refer back to JFK's speech at Rice University Field, speaking on technology and the risks that lie in our ignorance about it, and the benefits that lie in our all (that Lord Chief Justice who clearly suffered at least momentary stupidity included) truly understanding how it all works.
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) has hit another snag in his quest to become Speaker of the House. In a closed-door meeting, Jordan tried to convince fellow GOP members to empower interim speaker, Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.), which would buy the nominee time to shore up support for his election. While some Democrats were open to the idea, a majority of Republicans reportedly shot it down, with Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) calling it “a cop-out.”
Justin Jones, a state representative who was among the “Tennessee Three” removed from the legislature over his gun violence protests, is suing the state and several other state politicians. He claims his removal was unconstitutional and that he has been blocked from expressing his views and re-joining committees since returning to his seat. These actions are “an anathema to a free, democratic society,” the lawsuit says.
When the #FultonCounty, GA, DA, #FaniWillis, filed #criminal#charges against #Trump & over a dozen of his allies for their attempt to overturn GA’s 2020 presidential election results, she did something ingenious.
#Georgia has one of the most capacious #RICO statutes in the country. The state’s #legislature enacted it specifically to “apply to an interrelated pattern of #criminal activity” & mandated courts to “liberally construe” it to protect the state & its citizens from harm. Under the #law, prosecutors can charge a sprawling #CriminalEnterprise & even include individuals who may not have known “of the others’ existence,” as one court put it.
A few weeks ago I wrote about a trans man who was beaten by a sheriff's deputy, then criminally charged for resisting arrest. The whole thing was caught on 711 surveillance camera.
Yesterday, prosecutors agreed to drop the charges.
#Abortion Drives #Ohio Election on Amending the State Constitution
For more than a century, Ohio voters have been able to amend the State Constitution w/a simple majority vote.
That could end on Tues, bc the state’s #RepublicanControlled#Legislature has called for a special election that would raise the bar for amendments from a simple majority to 60%….
The mayor of Ivins and members of the City Council say their hands have been tied by the Utah Legislature as far as being able to regulate how homes look in their community.
Legislative leaders are at odds with Republican Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson over the controversy surrounding Utah’s 2nd Congressional District special election. Henderson, who oversees elections for the state, has brushed off any suggestion that Celeste Maloy, who won the vote of GOP delegates last month, was ineligible when she...
"Republicans in the Texas legislature recently passed two bills that will affect how elections will be run in the state’s largest county, Harris County — a Houston-centered Democratic stronghold. The first bill gets rid of Harris County’s elections administrator entirely, and the second allows the state’s Republican secretary of state to directly oversee elections in the county. These moves have been referred to as a Republican 'power grab' by Democrats in the state."
My personal take on all this is that the current supermajority in the Montana legislature doesn't represent the Montana I thought I knew and know—a place where people can be free to be themselves without proscribing others' rights to do so as well.
Ivins mayor, officials say local cities are getting 'hands tied' by Utah Legislature on home design (www.ksl.com)
The mayor of Ivins and members of the City Council say their hands have been tied by the Utah Legislature as far as being able to regulate how homes look in their community.
Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson erred by allowing Celeste Maloy on the congressional ballot, lawmakers say (www.sltrib.com)
Legislative leaders are at odds with Republican Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson over the controversy surrounding Utah’s 2nd Congressional District special election. Henderson, who oversees elections for the state, has brushed off any suggestion that Celeste Maloy, who won the vote of GOP delegates last month, was ineligible when she...