Arizona, Vote NO on 107! Colorado, Vote NO on 62!

As young women across the country are eager to cast their vote in this year's election, they may be surprised to find some shocking measures on the ballot in Colorado and Arizona that are serious threats to women's rights. Ballot initiatives are common ways states can petition a public vote or a referendum on proposed constitutional amendments or statues. These measures are allowed in 24 states, two of which--Arizona and Colorado--have a history of taking up discriminative and anti-choice measures.

You might remember during the 2008 general election, both Colorado's Amendment 46 (a ban on affirmative action in state and local agencies) and Amendment 48 (anti-abortion measure giving personhood to a fetus) was successfully defeated. With 73% of voters rejecting Amendment 48, you would think abortion rights in the state are successfully protected, right? WRONG!

Introducing another threat to a woman's choice--Amendment 62! Colorado voters will be met with, yet again, another anti-abortion measure that seeks to extend legal and constitutional rights to fertilized eggs on the November 2nd ballot. If this amendment is passed, it will have a detrimental affect on everything from property rights to inheritance laws. According to Andrew Toft of the Colorado Bar Association, "Almost every area of law would be impacted, including criminal law, family law, trusts and estates, real estate, elder law, tort law, juvenile law, health law and business law." To learn more about why you should vote NO! on 62, check out NO62 at www.protectfamiliesprotectchoices.org.

Colorado, you are not alone. After the passage of Arizona's controversial anti-immigration law, it's not surprising that an anti-affirmative action initiative, Proposition 107, will also appear on the November ballot. The 2008 election was not very favorable to LGBT communities with the state's enactment of a ban on same-sex marriage. It seems that the mounting support continues for discriminative policies as we are seeing now with Proposition 107. If Prop 107 is passed, it would put an end to equal opportunity programs for women and minorities. This will have a tremendous affect on university admissions for underrepresented students like women and minorities. Check out Protect Arizona's Freedom to learn more about why you should vote NO! on Prop 107.

If you are interested in mobilizing support against these inequitable, anti-choice initiatives, go to our Feminist Campus Get Out HER Vote campaign.

Learn how to organize feminists on your campus to vote for equality in November. Let's put an end to inequality in 2010!

This was post was featured in the September 2010 campus eZine. To join our mailing list, sign up here.

Thank You Thursday! 07/29/2010

We are excited to announce that we are adding a new weekly series of blog posts known as "Thank You Thursday!" Our "Thank You Thursday" posts will include a list of people who have done or said something pro-woman that we appreciate. We hope you enjoy seeing who is doing positive work!
This Thursday, we would like to thank:

• U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton for blocking several key passages of Arizona's new immigration law SB 1070
• Memphis City Council Member Janis Fullilove for supporting a proposed LGBT antidiscrimination policy even when faced with death threats
• ESPN Reporter Erin Andrews for advocating for the STALKERS Act
• Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid for their efforts to get the Dream Act passed

• and a special thanks to everyone who help with the Pro-Choice Clinic Defense in Charlotte, North Carolina, last week!!!

THANK YOU!!!!!

A Cautious Sigh of Relief for Arizona....

This morning, just hours before Arizona’s now infamous (and blatantly racist) immigration law, SB 1070, was set to go into effect, U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton blocked several of the key passages of the law.

· The ruling blocked the SB1070 provision that mandated police officers to check the immigration status of a person detained, stopped, or arrested so long as the police officer had a reasonable suspicion the detainee might be undocumented.

· It is no longer a crime in Arizona to fail to apply for or carry immigrant registration papers.

· In addition, the ruling also delayed parts of the law that would have made it illegal for undocumented workers "to solicit, apply for, or perform work.”

· Lastly, the ruling blocked the (BLATANTLY unconstitutional) passage that “authorized the warrantless arrest of a person” without any reasonable suspicion that the person might be subject to deportation.

Charges were filed against SB1070 by the U.S. Justice Department, the American Civil Liberties Union, the National Coalition of Latino Clergy, the Christian Leaders League of United Latin American Citizens, and several Arizona state police officers.

Judge Bolton heard a variety of arguments ranging from unconstitutional racial profiling, the inability to effectively enforce the law, and the preemption of federal supremacy on immigration. In front of a packed courthouse, ACLU attorney Karen Tumlin boldly stated: “[SB1070] treats people of color as suspectes first, rather than citizens.” Although many people in Arizona can rest easier tonight, the fight is by no means over. Many provisions of this law will go into effect at midnight tonight and SB1070 still remains the toughest immigration law on the books.

What’s Next for Arizona.

Celebrate Dia de los Muertos!

Today is Dia de los Muertos or Day of the Dead! Dia de los Muertos, which falls on November 2 every year, commemorates and celebrates the life of those who have died. This holiday is celebrated throughout many Latin American countries. Although this day has indigenous roots, it coincides with and is tied to All Saints Day, a Catholic holiday. Many families will visit gravesites, create home alters decorated with flowers, food, candles and pictures of their loved ones in honor of their deceased friend or family member.

For me, Dia de Los Muertos is filled with great memories of attending community events that not only celebrate my ancestors but also my culture. Decorating sugar skulls, making paper masks, and having my face painted like the kind pictured here are only some of the many ways that I celebrated this holiday as a child.

This holiday is all about celebrating the life that someone led. Throughout the country there are yearly events going on today, including ones taking place in San Francisco, Arizona, and Los Angeles, that commemorate this day, so if you're in the area I invite you to attend. And if not, feel free to learn more about my cultural heritage and take a moment to reflect on the lives of those who are important to you and those who have passed away.

New Restrictions In Arizona

Despite the fact that abortion is legal in the U.S., there are still significant legislative actions being taken at the state level. Take Arizona, for example.

Arizona's Gov. Jan Brewer, according to the Associated Press, recently signed a measure that increased the restrictions on abortions. Not coincidentally, this act limits the availability of abortions and reduces the chances that women will be able to recieve them.

The bill does a number of things. It requires that women visiting abortion providers wait 24 hours before getting the abortion. During the visit, the doctor has to inform the patient about "the procedure, risks and alternatives, and the fetus' probably characteristics." That last part seems a little odd to me. Maria just looked and the sonograms are supposed to protect the health of women, with the side effect of sometimes convincing women to decide against abortions. A similar thing is taking place in Texas.

The bill also requires parental consent, allows pharmacists and health care providers to refuse to give out EC, and it outlaws a type of late-term abortion unless to save the life of the mother.

Photo Courtesy of http://www.flickr/

Arizona Increases Obstacles to Abortion

According to the Associated Press, the Arizona State Senate recently passed legislation that will restrict women's access to abortions. The bill requires a mandatory 24 waiting period after the first visit to the abortion provider and a requirement state-scripted disclosures by doctors. The pre-existing law that requires parental consent is also going to be strengthened.

The bill almost didn't get the amount of votes needed to pass it. This legislation will hurt women, and it is ridiculous that something that was barely passed will have such a big effect on the lives of women. One side edged out the other side by a narrow margin, but the results will be much larger. The little decisions made and the small victories change the lives of people.

Newsday Tuesday: June 16 Edition

Greetings from one of the lovely FMF interns! Another week of exciting feminist news has come and gone. Here are your top stories from the US and around the globe.


The big news story of the week was the shooting death of Stephan Tyrone Johns, a security guard at the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC. The suspect in the shooting, James Von Brunn, is a Holocaust denier and white supremacist. This is the third politically-driven shooting death in the recent weeks following the cases of Army private William Andrew Long and Dr. George Tiller.

National:

• Last week, the International Protecting Girls by Preventing Child Marriage Act of 2009 passed in the House of Representatives by a 235 to187 vote as a part of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act. This act would help to end child marriage in developing countries. This issue is a very dire matter as the number of child brides is expected to be at a staggering height in the next ten years.

• The Healthy Families Act was discussed at a congressional hearing in the House Workforce Protections Subcommittee last Thursday. This bill would require business that had 15 or more employees to give workers 7 sick days per year to be used to recover from illness or to help a family member who was ill.

States:

• The Florida High School Athletic Association is in danger of being handed a Title IX lawsuit in response to its plan to save school districts money by reducing the number of scheduled games. The Florida Parents for Athletic Equity is upset by this because female athletes would be disproportionately affected: 36,000 boys to 4,600 girls.

• Virginia’s largest women's correctional facility allegedly segregated inmates on the basis of actual or assumed sexual orientation over the past year.

• Virginia's Democratic primary election last Tuesday ended in the nomination of two pro-choice candidates, Creigh Deeds for governor and Jody Wagner for lieutenant governor.

• In Arizona, the Senate Public Safety and Human Services Committee suggested that the Arizona Senate pass two-anti choice bills last Wednesday. Currently, there are five anti-choice bills under consideration in the Arizona legislature.

• The Tiller family, of Dr. George Tiller, announced last Tuesday that the Women's Health Care Services clinic in Wichita, Kansas will be permanently closed following the shooting death of Dr. Tiller on May 31.

Global:

• Women's rights has been a hot topic in Iran's presidential race. Since women make up more than half of the electorate, their votes, views, and opinions matter more than ever to candidates in this election. Iranian women are increasingly involved in voting and campaigning, and their political activity has been really interesting to follow.
  

And just for fun...Arts and Media!:

• Disney is finally adding some diversity to its classic princess fairy tales. It has been announced that Disney will be releasing a new animated movie called The Princess and the Frog, which will feature their first African American princess, named Tiana, in the history of the media company. The release date has been announced for the 2009 Holiday Season. However, women in general, as well as racial diversity still have a long way to come to creating equality in its representations in TV and movies.