Let's Get Out Her Vote in California!

There's so much at stake across the nation during the 2010 elections, but especially California. With important races and ballot initiatives to vote on this Fall, we must mobilize to get young people to the polls in the Golden State!

What's at stake you ask? Plenty!

• Abortion rights: Access to safe, legal abortions and affordable family planning services, including California’s Family PACT program which provides free reproductive health care to low-income women, are constantly under attack. Your vote will help determine whether reproductive health care and comprehensive sexual education are supported over failed abstinence-only programs.
  
  
• Education and loans: California is experiencing an education budget crisis, with a projected $18.9 billion deficit for the next fiscal year. Cuts across all levels of education make enrollment in classes increasingly difficult and limit access to quality public education.
  
  
• The Environment: Voters can limit the harmful environmental impacts of big business by voting for cleaner energy measures which contributes to the creation of jobs, development of renewable energy sources and the reduction of California’s dependency on foreign oil.
  
  
• LGBTQ Rights and Marriage Equality: In California and across the nation LGBTQ civil rights issues, including marriage equality and the right to serve openly in the military, will be in the hands of our state and federal law makers.
  
  
• Immigration: Some state law makers support harsh immigration legislation that encourages racial profiling. If such measures were adopted, many families could be torn apart and children of immigrants could lose their path to citizenship. Your vote can determine what kind of legislation our state adopts on immigration policies.
  

Be sure to get involved in our "Get Out Her Vote" Campaign. We have California specific organizing materials to make sure you register, educate, and mobilize students to the polls.

Don't be intimidated! We have a step by step guide on how to get started:

1. Register students to vote! Form broad coalitions with other campus groups, and work with the student government for a massive voter registration efforts. Table everyday, have visibility events, recruit volunteers, and get people to sign the voter pledge!

2. Educate! Make sure people know why they should vote! Young people are the least registered, least voting demographic. Our voice needs to be heard! Flyer with information about what's at stake, use social media to get the word out, and get press coverage about the issues!

3. Mobilize to the polls! It's one thing to register, but it's another thing to get people to the polls on election day! Make sure your volunteers phone bank, chalk, flyer, and have visibility action to remind people to vote and where their polling locations are.

Don't forget to check out our FAQs on student voting, that answers questions like, "Can I vote where I go to school?" (answer: YES!) and "Will my financial aid be affected if I register at a different address than my parents' address?" (answer: NO!)

Get out there California!

Be sure to contact your campus organizers with any questions by email, jsun@feminist.org or mduran@feminist.org, or by phone 866-471-FMLA.

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

California Supreme Court Could Go to a Female Majority

Last Wednesday, Governor Schwarzenegger nominated Tani Cantil-Sakauye to the position of Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court.

This is great news for women in politics. If Sakauye is confirmed, not only will it be another victory in the sense that there is another woman on the California Supreme Court, but her confirmation would also push the court to a female majority of four to three for the first time in history. (Sakauye would join the three current female associate justices: Joyce L. Kennard, Carol A. Corrigan, and Kathryn M. Werdeger.)

Furthermore, Sakauye, a Filipina-American, would also be the second female and the first person of color in the Chief Justice position.

Governor Schwarzenegger's nomination comes as a response to current Chief Justice Ronald George's announcement that he will not seek another term. George's departure will be a loss to the LGBTQ community, as George authored the legislation that legalized same-sex marriages in 2008 (although later reversed by Proposition 8).

Still, we hope that if appointed, Sakauye will support feminist issues, and help create a fantastic record of feminist rulings for the first-ever, California Supreme Court with a female majority.

The Commission on Judicial Appointments will review Sakauye's nomination on August 25th. If approved, she'll need to be voted into office by California voters on November 2nd.

(photo credit to courtinfo.ca.gov)

Proposed cuts to California's Family PACT Family Planning Program

Governor Schwarzenegger released a proposed budget last Friday that would drastically cut funding for California's family planning program, Family PACT. Family PACT helps fund comprehensive reproductive health clinics that serve primarily low-income or uninsured populations throughout the state. Family PACT funding enables people to obtain essential services like birth control, prenatal care, STD testing and treatment, pregnancy tests, pap smears, cancer screenings and more.

For every $1 the state spends on Family PACT, the federal government matches it with $9. For every $1 the state spends on family planning services, the state saves $9.25 in future medical and social service costs associated with unintended pregnancy. Cutting funding for Family PACT will not help the state budget crisis, it will actually make it worse.

Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California is leading the charge against the proposed cuts. You can take action from anywhere in the state by calling your legislators and following Planned Parenthood's sample script. You can contact your local affiliate group to find out how to take action in your area.

In Los Angeles, join in a lunchtime rally TOMORROW, Tuesday 5/18 from 12-1pm at the Governor's Office at 300 S. Spring Street, Los Angeles, 90013. Planned Parenthood will provide signs.

If you're in California, take action on your campus! Educate students about the benefits of Family PACT and the dire consequences cuts to the program will have. Encourage students to call their legislators and ask them to oppose the proposed cuts.

Fresno Fire Fighter WINS Gender Discrimination Case

A federal court jury ruled in favor of Michelle Maher, a former Fresno Fire Department recruit, who alleged she was forced out of the department's training due to her gender. Maher's sex discrimination claim rested on the premise that she was "told that she could not be successful in the fire department as a mother," according to Equal Rights Advocates. Among other claims, Maher alleged that she was asked either to resign or be expelled after scoring below an 80 percent on an exam. According to Mercury News, Maher's male counterparts were given opportunities to improve their scores.

Luz Mayberg, an attorney from Equal Rights Advocates, which supported Maher's case, said in a press release, "Up until now, Fresno Fire Department has refused to accept responsibility for its discriminatory actions. We hope that this award sends a message to fire departments across the nation that the days of excluding women from the fire service are over."

According to ABC, only 2.4 percent of Fresno firefighters are women. None of the women currently serving have been hired since Fire Chief Randy Bruegman was hired six years ago. Maher was awarded nearly $2.5 million in the settlement.

Source: Feminist News

Photo Credit: Seattle Municipal Archives on flickr.com

Photo Details: Fire Fighter, Barbara Moberg in training, circa 1980

Parental Notification Could be on the Ballot in CA

Noooooo!!! Not again!

Feminist Daily News reports today that, "A proposed ballot initiative seeking a California constitutional amendment requiring parental notification and a 48-hour waiting period before a minor can obtain an abortion was filed yesterday at the California Attorney General's Office."

This will be the fourth effort to pass a parental notification law in California in recent years. In 2005, voters struck down Parental Notification initiative, Prop 73; in 2006, Prop 85 was soundly defeated; and most recently, in 2008, voters showed their unwavering support for young women, by voting NO on Prop 4.

Yet somehow, anti-abortion forces haven't gotten the message. How much clearer can we make it? Californians do not want young women under age 18 to be forced to notify a parent and wait 48 hours before obtaining an abortion.

Parental notification and consent laws put the health and lives of young women in danger. In other states with parental notification laws, young women have put their lives at risk by seeking illegal, back-alley abortions.

Parental notification laws are often promoted as efforts to "protect teen safety" or "stop child predators", but these laws are nothing short of attacks on a woman's right to choose. The proponents of parental involvement laws are the same folks who are opposed to comprehensive sex ed - which reduces unintended pregnancy among young people, and thus, the need for abortion. Clearly, any attempts to act concerned about the health and lives of young women are just for show.

As someone who has been heavily involved in working to defeat the last two parental notification initiatives in California, I must say, I am not excited at the prospect of devoting our valuable time and resources to a 2010 ballot initiative, when we could be doing things to positively affect the health and lives of women.

On the bright side, the proposed amendment must undergo review by the Attorney General, and still must obtain 700,000 signatures before it can become an official ballot initiative in 2010.

Equality California Says 'Wait'

Equality California, California's largest LGBTQ advocacy organization, released a report yesterday urging gay rights activists to wait until 2012 to repeal Proposition 8, which bans same-sex marriage in the state. While other groups support pushing for a ballot measure in 2010, Equality California has stated that 2012 is a more realistic goal, according to the Associated Press.

Some claim that momentum to overturn Proposition 8 could be lost by 2012 and that it is important to push for a ballot initiative in 2010. The Equality California report (see PDF), however, concludes that, based on recent polling and the need for mass mobilization and fundraising, a 2012 initiative is more likely to be successful.

Marc Solomon, the marriage director of Equality California, said, "Emotionally, we all want to win marriage back as quickly as possible. We really think that we have a shot in the next three years. But we have one shot, we don't have two shots. We’re not waiting at all. We’re going hard. But we think the campaign is a three-year campaign."

Proposition 8 passed 52 percent to 48 percent in November 2008, and overturned a May 2008 ruling of the state Supreme Court legalizing same-sex marriage in the state.

Story courtesy of www.feminist.org/news.

California's Occupational Health and Safety Agency Sued

California's recent budget cuts have certainly been making the headlines from cutting funding on education and employment, to the shocking 100% cut of funding for domestic violence programs. However, it seems that California should be investing in employment, as United Farm Workers (co-founded by Dolores Huerta and Cezar Chevez) has recently sued California's occupational health and safety agency for employee health negligence with heat related illnesses.

UFW has suggested that California's laws regarding worker health in 2005 were too minimalistic. These laws required that employers provide water and rest time for farm workers, particularly those who work in temperatures upwards of 100 degrees. UFW argues that at least 11 farm workers have died in California since 2005 due to heat illness, and many more have been hospitalized. Dean Fryer, a spokesman for the Department of Industrial Relations, claims that "We have done more enforcement this year than we have over all in past years" (NYT article).

It has been said that more is being done to help workers, although many are hesitant to take water breaks as they are un-paid during this time. The legal status of many of the workers might also prevent workers from standing up to their bosses for fear of being fired, or deported. For more information on this topic, visit the United Farm Workers website.

Photo courtesy of rippo on flickr

FMF Interns at Equality CA: Working to win marriage back

As a part of our summer experience at FMF, the West Coast interns are taking on challenges on the marriage equality front. FMF is a leading feminist voice in LGBTQ issues and is partnering with many organizations fighting for equal rights to win marriage equality back in California. To kick off our involvement, the interns of the Los Angeles office headed across town to work with our partners Equality California and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.

We arrived bright and early on Thursday at the Silver Lake headquarters of Equality California. Once inside we encountered a hardworking group of activists preparing to canvas the Los Angeles PRIDE festival, a Los Angeles celebration of LGBTQ identity, and raise support for the upcoming battle to repeal Proposition 8 in California.

As many of you know, California continues to be a battle ground for marriage equality.Devastated by the most recent upholding of Proposition 8, we were all incredibly excited to be involved in the efforts to get an initiative guaranteeing marriage equality on the 2010 or 2012 California ballot and mobilize voters to support marriage equality.

Amy Mello and Moof Mayeda, of Equality CA and the Gay and Lesbian Task Force respectively, explained that in preparation for the fight to win marriage for all, organizers planned to approach PRIDE as a rich recruiting point for potential supporters and volunteers to the newest campaign. The recruits will be a part of the newest initiative of the campaign to “Win Marriage Back” by going into areas of California that voted against same sex marriage and starting a dialogue about what drove the voter’s decision.

This effort and the information collected will be an integral part of the new campaign. This effort to personally connect with voters that may have been deemed “unreachable” in the previous election has huge potential for bringing awareness and raising the consciousness of the Californian constituency.

In addition to volunteering for canvassing efforts, Equality California is encouraging people to volunteer with the campaign, donate money to fund organizers, and pledge to have conversations with their family and friends about the right of all people to marry in the California.

We were immediately put to work in the center conference room and began stuffing bright red bags with the inscription “‘I DO’ Support the Freedom to Marry” for dispersal at PRIDE that weekend. Each bag held information on how supporters can get involved with the Campaign to Win Marriage Back along with an invitation to the Anniversary of Marriages event that will bring together faith leaders, same sex couple and their allies and honor the one year anniversary of the same sex couples who married last year when marriage was legal in California.

Some of us were assigned to the phones and after a quick orientation we increased the number of volunteers for the PRIDE canvassing by 10% in only a few hours!

We were awed by the enthusiasm and hardworking team of a fellow equal rights organization! Our new friend and Equality California staff member, Milton, was so impressed with our skills that he promised to be an honorary FMF intern and join us at our office for the day.

We look forward to working with Equality California in the future and encourage all our feminist counterparts to get involved in local fights for marriage equality!!

-Sierra Dwyer and Julia DeLuca, FMF Choices Campus Leadership Interns

Newsday Tuesday: May 26 Edition

Another week of feminist news has gone by, so here's a quick week-in-review!

National:
The US Supreme Court ruled that maternity leave taken prior to the 1979 Pregnancy Discrimination Act does not have to be credited to pensions on a pregnancy discrimination case.

President Obama announced his nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court of the United States, replacing retiring Justice David Souter.

International:
The Nepalese Supreme Court ordered an expansion of access to abortion, particularly for poor women.

State by State:
A proposed anti-choice constitutional amendment in the state of Tennessee passed the state house of representatives, specifically stating that "nothing in this Constitution secures or protects a right to abortion or requires the funding of an abortion."

The State Assembly of California passed a broader state-level version of the federal Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, expanding the statute of limitations on pay discrimination claims runs from the receipt of each discriminatory payment.

The Louisiana state House passed a health care "conscience" bill, allowing providers to withhold abortion, emergency contraception, and other services and medications on the basis of religious or moral objections.

In response to legislation earlier this month by the DC City Council enabling the District to recognize same sex marriages performed in other states, a bill was introduced to the US House of Representatives that would institute a Defense of Marriage Act for the District of Columbia defining marriage as between a man and a woman.

And the big news from California - the state's Supreme Court upheld the results of Proposition 8, an anti gay marriage ballot initiative which passed in November 2008.

Photo Credit: Official WhiteHouse Flickr Stream and Val protesting Prop 8 in DC last fall.

Sign our Love and Equality Pledge!

Help us gather thousands of feminist voices who will work to help overturn Proposition 8 in California. Act now by signing this Feminist Pledge for Love and Equality and forwarding it to friends and family. We don't have a moment to lose.

The California Supreme Court today refused to strike down the mean-spirited and discriminatory Proposition 8 that will hurt loving couples. That means it is up to us.

Plans are already being formulated to overturn Prop 8 and bring the question of same-sex marriage back to the ballot in California. Feminists must be a key partner in this battle. To make sure we do all we can, FMF board member Dolores Huerta and I have joined the board of Equality California, a leader in the fight for marriage equality.

All people should be able to marry who they love. We will keep you informed of how you can help as plans move forward to go back to the ballot box and win this fight for full equality.

We will not stop fighting until Prop 8 is overturned.

For equality,

Kathy Spillar
Executive Vice President
Feminist Majority Foundation

Protesting CA Prop 8 Supreme Court Ruling

People throughout the country are protesting California's Prop 8 Supreme Court Ruling.   To find information on protests near you, simply text:

 "Protest + [zip code]" to 273-36.

Provocative Response to Prop 8 Decision

The California-based Courage Campaign has responded to today's devestating Prop 8 Decision with a provocative video and petition campaign.

Check it out:

For more information on the Courage Campaign, go to www.couragecampaign.org.

The fight for marriage equality IS NOT OVER!

Patiently Waiting for Civil Rights?

After today's little false alarm which had many of us (literally) jumping for joy around here, we discovered that in fact, the CA Supreme Court has not yet issued its decision on Prop 8. The decision will be announced on one of these dates: 5/21, 5/26, 5/28, or 6/1.

So, the decision may be a little out of our hands at this point, but I hope you're not one to sit around and wait for change to miraculously happen! Instead of tapping your foot, (no doubt wondering when California will catch up with Maine, Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Iowa) you can join up with like-minded equal-ists at Day of Decision rallies all over California.

And just in case, groups like Equality California and The Courage Campaign are gearing up for a 2010 ballot intiative battle with new campaigns, TV ads, and outreach and organizing efforts.

Feminists Fighting California Props. 1D and 1E

Former FMF National Campus Organizer, Mayra Gomez, has focused much of her feminist activism these days on the state of California--particularly, fighting against propositions 1D and 1E on California's upcoming May 19th ballot.

Basically, in the name of budget cuts, 1D would slash $268 million a year for child abuse prevention, infant health care, immunization and early child development programs, while E would cut $460 million for mental health care for California’s children and adults.

According to Mayra, who now works on the No on Prop. 1D & 1E campaign, teachers, medical professionals, children's service advocates, mental health care providers, child abuse prevention experts, and families throughout California are fighting what they see as "the wrong time to cut services to some of our most vulnerable...citizens."

As Mayra put it best, "inequality somewhere is inequality everywhere!"

Californians, what are your thoughts?  Are you voting May 19th? (This is where you say, "OF COURSE!")  Have you heard about 1D/1E?  What do you plan to do?

More information on the No on Prop. 1D & 1E campaign can be found at http://noprop1d1e.com/ .

CA Commission on the Status of Women: Exposing Crisis Pregnancy Centers is a Top Priority on 2009-2010 Legislative Agenda!

The California Commission on the Status of Women (CA-CSW) has recently submitted a public policy agenda for the 2009-2010 session, which proposes legislative action to expose fake clinics! And it was with the diligent research and informed testimony of the Feminist Majority Foundation's summer 2008 intern class this past July that the CA-CSW was presented with the dangers that "crisis pregnancy centers" (CPCs) pose to young women's health.


Over the course of the summer, interns visited several crisis pregnancy centers, many located within miles of their own campuses, in order to learn more about the services offered by CPCs. Many crisis pregnancy centers had no medical personnel on staff and counselors identified themselves as trained volunteers. While in counseling sessions, many of the young women were warned about a false link between abortion and increased negative mental health problems. A study released by the American Pyschological Association in August 2008, found that there is no credible evidence that a single elective abortion of an unwanted pregnancy in and of itself causes mental health problems for adult women. Additional false information presented by CPCs includes false links between abortion and breast cancer and abortion and infertility.


The California Commission on the Status of Women is dedicated to helping "eliminate the distribution of false medical information about abortion and improve young women's access to comprehensive reproductive health care services." And as feminist student activists, who are the mouth peice for what is happening on our campuses and in our communities, we must continue to speak out against the threat that crisis pregnancy centers pose to our health and our choice!


Again, many thanks to our summer intern class for their amazing work in ensuring our voices continue to be heard!