ACLU Supporter, devastating news from the Supreme Court.
This week, the Supreme Court allowed an Idaho law banning medical care for transgender youth to go into effect against all Idaho families except for our plaintiffs.
This will prevent trans youth and their families across the state from getting the care they need – harming countless children and families while the case proceeds at the lower court.
This harmful decision leaves us more determined than ever to defeat this law in the courts entirely and make Idaho a safer state to raise every family.
Every trans person deserves the chance to thrive, period. The freedom to seek the healthcare we need and make our own choices about our bodies, including gender-affirming care, is one we will always fight for.
As we continue the work to protect trans youth and their families, we’re glad to have you with us.
On April 25—just two weeks from now—the Supreme Court will hear a case that could determine whether Donald Trump can be held accountable for his crimes.1
As Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan said during recent oral arguments in another Trump case, it is a “fundamental precept of our constitutional order that a president isn’t above the law.”2
It is one of our nation’s long-held and most respected principles that no one is above the law. But given our highly partisan Supreme Court, this particular case could overturn this bedrock principle for Trump and all future presidents.
That’s because this Supreme Court’s rulings become important legal precedent. It means other courts will make decisions in cases with similar issues based on how the Supreme Court has ruled. And precedents can last decades—or even hundreds of years.
If the Supreme Court issues a decision declaring that Trump is immune from prosecution, it will put the American people at risk for future dictators, authoritarians, and strongman presidents.
The checks and balances that keep America strong include a president’s credible fear that they are not immune from prosecution for all acts, no matter how criminal, especially acts in their personal capacity, for their own benefit.
But now, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, who is directly connected to the Trump case, is poised to help determine how it is decided.
Thomas must recuse himself—according to longstanding judicial ethics and the Supreme Court’s new code of ethics, which demands recusal in cases where a justice’s impartiality might be reasonably questioned.3
MoveOn is planning to take over the front page of The Washington Post with hard-hitting ads calling on Thomas to recuse himself—if we can raise $75,000.
Will you start a $5 monthly donation to help MoveOn take over the front page of The Washington Post and then help us keep the pressure on until Thomas recuses himself from all cases involving Trump and the insurrection?
We can’t afford to cut back on our 2024 election work to pay for this hard-hitting homepage takeover, so it’s crucial that we raise the funds from MoveOn members.
With your help, we will make it loud and clear in these ads that Thomas must recuse himself.
We know that under the right circumstances, public pressure works. In October, Thomas stepped aside from a case involving his former clerk, John Eastman.4 Eastman had corresponded with Thomas’s wife, Ginni Thomas, about the “stop the steal” efforts to falsely claim that the 2020 election was stolen, and he had advocated a fringe legal theory that Vice President Mike Pence could block the certification of President Biden’s Electoral College win.5
Now, we face a situation with even higher stakes. And it’s imperative that Thomas step aside again. But with the Trump case being heard just two weeks from now, we can only up the pressure on Thomas with a hard-hitting front-page takeover in The Washington Post, calling on him to recuse himself, if we raise $75,000 in the next week.
Will you start a $5 monthly donation to power MoveOn’s urgent campaign to pressure Thomas to recuse himself from Trump’s Supreme Court criminal case and to keep the pressure on until Thomas recuses himself from all cases involving Trump and the insurrection?
It’s crucial that we take action in moments like this. It may seem like long odds that we can get Thomas to recuse himself from this case, but we have to try. He may, if we pressure him hard enough. After all, we saw him do it before.
And demanding his recusal in this powerful, public way has other benefits. It puts pressure on other justices, including Chief Justice John Roberts, to make decisions that protect America’s democratic institutions—not pave the way for dictators.
The truth is that Supreme Court justices are sensitive to public pressure, and high-profile efforts focused on a specific justice are noticed by other justices. This campaign is a critical part of the broader fight.
America’s guiding principles and the future of our democracy are at stake if Thomas doesn’t recuse himself. Will you start a $5 monthly donation so MoveOn can launch our time-sensitive Washington Post front-page takeover campaign and then keep up the work to hold Thomas accountable for his corruption?
Two years ago, MoveOn launched a historic and unprecedented campaign to impeach Thomas, which included a full-page ad in The Wall Street Journal. We gathered 1.3 million signatures to our petition demanding his impeachment. We were able to launch that campaign and run the ad because of grassroots MoveOn-member support.
And now, in this critical moment, we’re asking MoveOn members to pitch in again and fuel our campaign to hold Thomas accountable on the front page of The Washington Post and then keep up this critical, democracy-saving work.
We absolutely cannot afford to cut our election program to run these ads. But these ads are critically necessary. That’s why we need your help to meet our $75,000 goal this week and then power the campaign for as long as it takes.
Thanks for all you do.
–Mohammad, Erik, Alexis, Kelsey, and the rest of the team
Want to support MoveOn’s work? The MAGA movement’s book bans have forced teachers and librarians across the country to remove books from their shelves and censor what young people can learn. MoveOn is fighting back, including by filling a “Banned Bookmobile” with books that the far right has banned and driving it to key cities and towns to raise the visibility of book bans, hand out banned books for free, and bring people together to stop censorship. To keep up the fight against book bans and the MAGA politicians who support them, we need your help.
Will you start a monthly gift to power and sustain MoveOn’s critical work?
MOVEON POLITICAL ACTION, https://pol.moveon.org/. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee. MoveOn Political Action – PO Box 96142, Washington, D.C. 20090-6142.
A critical year is already underway in the fight for our rights. Protecting those rights starts with keeping you informed. The loud noise of an election cycle can be confusing, so let the ACLU be your go-to source to make sense of it all – particularly when it comes to knowing your voting rights this year.
And we won’t stop there. Join our community now by texting VOTER to 82623 – not just to prepare for Election Day, but also to get our up-to-the-minute action alerts and stay updated on our fight to protect ALL civil liberties this year.
Because when it comes to 2024, we’ve got you covered.
Sign up to our text alerts by texting VOTER to 82623 and from there, we’ll equip you with the tools you need all year as you prepare to cast your ballot and more.
Remember, this country was built on the right to vote, and the ACLU is always here to defend that right.
Thanks for being with us,
The ACLU Team
P.S. Not in a place you can text right now? We got you. Visit our text alert sign up page and you’ll be all set for 2024 updates with us.
15. January 2023 · Comments Off on League of Women Voters – Legislative Newsletter 01-15-2023 · Categories: Administrative
Action Alerts
Click on the links below to learn more about bills currently being reviewed in the state legislature. You can “take action” on these most pressing bills by sending a suggested, editable email to legislators, encouraging them to vote to promote the League issue in question.
Improve waste reduction and recycling in Washington
The Washington Recycling and Packaging (WRAP) Act will be heard in two committees on Tuesday, January 17, 2023. The same bill is being heard in:
SB 5154 – Environment, Energy & Technology Committee – 1:30 p.m. (must sign in by 12:30 p.m.)
HB 1131 – Environment & Energy Committee – 4:00 p.m. (must sign in by 3 p.m.)
The WRAP Act addresses the recycling crisis and the increasing amount of plastic pollution in Washington. The WRAP Act establishes product stewardship for packaging and printed paper, including recycling and reuse targets, accurate labeling provisions and requirements for post-consumer recycled content in plastic tubs, thermoform containers (e.g., clamshells), and single-use cups. Importantly, the WRAP Act includes a “bottle bill” section. Check this Fact Sheet.
Register now for Democracy Lobby Week, February 6-10. The virtual program will be deep and wide, and will include a number of our Issue Chairs. Take advantage of this opportunity to meet with your legislators to discuss our priority legislation. You’ll be with other members of your Legislative District. It’s a great way to participate in our state government, and to develop a relationship with your representatives and senators. We’ll have a panel of legislators on Monday, Feb. 6th, opening evening. The detailed schedule will be on our website this week.
Week One Was a RUSH!
Last week was the first week of this session, and committee chairs and membership have been established. There have been numerous committee meetings and public hearings. Committee hearings have a virtual option, so folks who cannot come to Olympia are able to testify, as was the case last year. This year, the process is handled individually by committee chairs. So far this is working well, and folks from across the state have been able to testify from their homes. You can also watch a great deal of the action via TVW, and keep track of what is happening on the legislature’s website.
Thanks to everyone who responded to our Action Alert last week! Several of our Issue Chairs testified on the question of Advisory Votes, and in other areas as well. Your help by signing in on bills is significant! Please read on to find out what’s happening this week, and see where your support would be helpful.
The 2023 Legislative Issues
LWVWA Legislative Issues From the 2023 Washington State Legislative Session
Click on an issue to learn more about session results on bills the League supported and
“This Week’s Updates” to read the issue chair’s report on this past week.
Democracy Lobby Week, Co-sponsored with Fix Democracy First, February 6th-9th, register here.
WRAP Act Grassroots Demonstration, Tuesday, January 17 at 12-1 pm in Olympia at the Capitol – South side of the legislative building. There will be games and educational displays about how packaging design can negatively affect recycling, and how the WRAP Act can improve recycling outcomes in Washington. Please wear GREEN and arrive for a group photo at noon. RSVP here.
The location for the Young Democrats Elections meeting on Wednesday. February 22, has been changed to the Community Unitarian Universalist Church at 2819 W. Sylvester Street in Pasco. The meeting time is the same, 5:30 PM.
The minutes for the January Reorganization meeting are available. It would be good for PCO’s and potential PCO’s to review them before Wednesday’s meeting.