The authoritarianism really has gotten to be spectacular. Don't even hide the fact that you're killing the #1stAmendment, so that later you can kill other rights and no one will know. And then don't even hide the fact that you're maliciously prosecuting your political enemies, as if the GOP is now really the #BananaRepublicanParty. And city by city, turn the US into a #PoliceState.
Nixon is spinning in his grave in evil genius jealousy. Truly spectacular!
In a victory for the right to vote, on June 8, the United States Supreme Court held in Allen v. Milligan that Alabama’s Congressional voting district map violates the Voting Rights Act of 1964. The decision rejected the map as an abusive attempt to dilute Black political power through racially discriminatory gerrymandering.
The Human Rights Campaign has declared a state of emergency for LGBTQ+ people in the United States over a wave of discriminatory laws passed in states across the country. There have been more than 70 anti-LGBTQ+ bills signed into law so far in 2023 — more than double last year’s number, which was previously the worst year for discriminatory legislation. These laws have primarily targeted the transgender community, with many states banning gender-affirming medical care and participation in sports by trans youth. The Human Rights Campaign, which is the largest organization devoted to the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people in the U.S., made its declaration on Tuesday, just a few days into Pride Month. “There is an imminent health and safety crisis facing our community,” says the group’s president, Kelley Robinson.
With Ron DeSantis expected to formally announce his run for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination this week, we look at his controversial record as governor of Florida, which has been marked by attacks on LGBTQ rights, immigrants, public education, antiracism initiatives and more. The NAACP recently issued a travel advisory for Florida, deeming the state to be “openly hostile” to Black Americans and other minority groups. Meanwhile, PEN America, the book publishing company Penguin Random House and several authors and parents are suing the Pensacola, Florida, school board for banning books on race and LGBTQ issues from school libraries for violating the First Amendment. The censorship “runs counter to the very role and purpose of public schools in a democracy,” says Suzanne Nossel, CEO of PEN America. We also speak with Kellie Carter Jackson, an associate professor of Africana studies at Wellesley College, who recently participated in a Florida teach-in to push back against DeSantis’s censorship. “We can’t discuss major events, major turning points, without talking about Black people, without talking about women, without talking about LGBTQ people,” she says.
Art Smart
Killer Rabbit 90
