DOCSLIB.ORG

Inside: Briggs in Heoidsburg # Photos Page4 Aliinnce (Confereism Rotoms

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Inside: Briggs in Heoidsburg # Photos Page4 Aliinnce (Confereism Rotoms f VO 'rtt'»»« Od '«••«O -«»MV V e t i '* ^ . W « 6 VO ••tnA»U»no ^ < n v (d »t«)«od *s*n « U o a d -n o H Inside: Briggs in Heoidsburg # Photos Page4 Aliinnce (ConfereisM Rotoms Door-to-Door Compaign Report W hy John Bnm s cam eTo by Sandy Lowe - FACT: The "little town" of Healdsbuig FACT: The ' majority of the parenu of preaeiited*si wide base of siqipoit for a school Healdsbuig were so outraged by an attempt on First: Briggs esune to Healdsbuig as a teacher knowi^to have an excellent record of the pan of a few fanatic people to railroad a / carpet-bagger of bigotry and deceit. He had read of achievement. dismissal, that they overwhelming^ threat­ the controversy surrounding Larry Berner in a Bay FACT: The teacher has lived a quiet ■«H ened to withdiaw mU their children horn the Area newspaper and, by his own admission, he private life as a resident of Healdsbuig for schooLif the school boaid dismissed the gay invited himself to Healdsburg in order to grab a few more than 5 years. He began to "campaign teacher. headlines and scare up some semblance of pubBcly" in defense of human l i g ^ only q/ker grass-roots support. Briggs annouDced hh intent to attack the A small but powerful group of mMant The fact is that, Briggs’ trip proves that in the -J riglus of an teacheri. ' ___ _____ homosexuals is determined to impose iu jffe-style on whole State of California he had not been able to the majotity of decent cUixent. Just who is really fmd any napm scandalqiiTn ease to exploit than t he School officiab tell pai euu their hand» aw tied; being harassed, the hompsexuat-advocffia or tlie~ existence of one excellent and popular openly Gay the existing law leaves them powerless to deal with public? teacher in Healdsburg. A year ago even this one case the prolilem. FACT: There b a lai;^ population of Lesbians did not exist s i n c e “came out” politically only —arid C ay men- who work, - live, ^ r i ^ thelr" in response to Briggs' bigoted campaign against Gay school offidab to deal with misconduct. In families, and h e ^ compose the majority of school workers- Hesddsbuig there has been no misconduct. decemcitiaeM, taxpayers, and home owners of The second and more insidious reason that There is no problem, which is why school Sonoma Couiuy. It b Briggs and hb few Briggs came to Healdsburg was his attempt to officiab have been "powerless" to act. siqqmiteiB who have come buo our county to authenticate his published lies. The fact is that impose their bigoted Ufe-styl^bn a "quiet Iktle Briggs' office had already issued a statement In desperation, twelve families have removed their town". concerning Larry and'the pdqp^ of Healdsburg children Grom-che schcml rathe^than expose them to which will appear as'^a rebuttal argument in the the example of an openly homosexual teacher. According to homosexual leaders many Voters Manual and Sample Ballot for the Noverhber Four of the Gve members of the Healdsburg homosexual teachers hâve hept silent unriZ now, but election. This statement, which is a loose weave of school board have voted to support Proposition 6 .' if Proposition 6 fails, they will “go public” and lies, win be mailed—at. taxpayers expeiue—to every They see it as the last hope o f restoring to parents the announce their life-style to the world, thus providing voter in the State of rialifnmia_All thU wa« freei^n^tocontToliheiLJchools. _ their students with a living example of the completed long before Briggs came to Healdsburg acceptability of the homosexual way of life. arid without consulting the people of Healdsbuig. We are reprinting b^ow a .copy of the Briggs Heoldsburg teacher FACT: Gay teachers remain silent about their “Healdsburg Argument” togetjjn with a point by * -a ■ intimate 1 ^ because they recognise, along,., point refutation. The refutation^ppear as indented with most good non-gay teachers, that the paragraphs in bold type. speaks September 18 classroom b not the proper place Coir such The homosexuals and the their supporters 'tell discussion. us the present law is jiBt fine. L any Bonier, Heaidsbury area, teacher who So the next time someone telb you “It can't WeU, let them'teU that to the citizens of has come out to tight John Briggs and iVopo- happen here” tell him to talk to the parents of Healdsburg. Those parents know we need Healdsburg, California. They know better. atioa 6, will qieaJt before local Healdsburg This quiet little toum in the Sonoma wine parents and lesfdonts S ^ tm b e r lB at 7 PM '■'“''liC B ifi.iw s , Sinclair Leiris used the phrase country has been Gg^ting unsuccessfuly to remove a ^ the IWa Chmtkieerj N: Fitch Mouo- T t canit happar here" to warn a|idast~tlie second grade teacher who has-openly admhtedTus oin Road, Healdabutgi threat of fadsm in America. Here Briggs homosexuality and has campaign pubUcly to keep perverts the phrase, failing to lesiember that homosexual teachers in our public schools. ~Tbe event, sponsored by SCRAP 6, is' open to the public. Krse childcare will be- om oOfitle^ first acts of rrprrssinn was the FACT: The quart of Healdsbuig was disnqwed dismissal of'all gay teacheia faom the Mari provided. For Airtfaer iniormation call byafewmiqpiidedbfgocs—not by a gay school schoolsystem. r r CAN HAPPEN HEREl Vote teacher. ' " SCRAP 6 headquarters at 526-1240. NO on 6 . oor-to-Door against Prop 6 '<p by KarenRycc. “That house doesn't look veiyfriendly," Joanna the No. on IS bumper^sticker b,” I suggested. ~ ' said. We divied up the tasks; she would start by doing m rilo, ette you famUmr with Pmpoeition 6f “Well, how about the one where the VW with voter regbtradon, then I would calmly ask if the Not WM, neither are we, gpodbye." voterwas familiar with Proposidon 6. We walked up "StOo, I bet yossW wotsdering tuhy rurVv The Dor to Door Conomittee of Sonoma Cqunty and knocked. No ansvrer. loMvbsg brossm paper hags a ver our beads Residents Agaiiut Proposidon 6 (SCRAP 6) will be “Well, that was easy; I hope they’re all like "HsUe, sae^ yeter heat lesbiam ..." doing a workshop Saturd|lf( September 16, from that,” I said, more than half-serious. 10:45 a.m. until S p.m. at the SCRAP 6 office, We found out quickly that we had a knack for There were no two %vays about it, going Califomia Teachers Associadon Bldg., 2490 picking the houses where no one was home, so we canvassing against the Briggs Initiative was scary. Guerrteville Road. finally found a house where the front dom was wide The first day we went we spent ejose to one half-hour Thb workshop b designed to assist and support open. We ventured down the path and up the stairs. being nervous, laughing hysterically, wondering why anyone who wishes to do door to door canvassing. Joanna knocked on the screen door, “Thb b it, a month ago we had thought b was such a good idea The first hour of the workshop b devoted to a folks,” I said-to myself. Joanna's opening line was C n to go door to door in Sonoma County to educate detailed explanadon of Proposition 6.. Later on in p^ect, “Are you registered to vote?” T ^ woman people about the Briggs Initiative. P e o ^ I had told ,the day small group discussioiu and role playing are who answered said yes, she was . Silence . about it reacted ominously. "Good luck,” they said, used as preparation for various types reactions Joanna was staring at me; the woman was staring at “you have lots of guts." I pictured eggs and tomatoes likely to be encountered when canvassing against me. I had forgotten the possibility that the woman thrown, doors slamiqed as wril as hostile sneers and Proposition 6. mig^t My yes and had been andcipadng a space of bodily threats. 1 wondered if wecould have the nerve The workshop also pipvides very good time to re lu while Joanna registered her. Quid: to to come out, (“There áre 25,000 gays in Sonoma guidelines for door to door canvassing and also recover, however, I blurted out something about an County, that's 24,998 besides us," . or the button teaches pardcipanu how to register voters.' issue oB the November ballot, and started laughing. from the Eugene, Oregon, campaign, “What do ‘ Information packets will be fundshed for '--In true comrade spirit, Joarma started laughing too. Gays want? Ask me.”) canvassers. Canvassing has been going on for over The woman was looking at us curiously and I So there we were, the day of the trial canvassing, two months and the public reaction has generally managed to get out, "I’m sorry but we’re really the time we’d planned to get so m solid “experience” been a good one. There have been'no' major nervotb.” The woman said she ctwdn't think about behind us, laughing likq,we were in grade school. I problems or hassles and the public b wilUng to listen. anytbing except her husband’s illness. We left, still couldn't rememher a sing^ logical argum t^ against Participants should bring a lunch or plan on buying laughing, with Joarma tripping in the wonum’s the Initiative. All the preparation, talking and lunch nearby. garden. role-playing fell by the wayside in the face of my Childcare will be provided and the CTA ('Truly’' a grass-uproots organization,” I nervousness.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • “Destroy Every Closet Door” -Harvey Milk
    “Destroy Every Closet Door” -Harvey Milk Riya Kalra Junior Division Individual Exhibit Student-composed words: 499 Process paper: 500 Annotated Bibliography Primary Sources: Black, Jason E., and Charles E. Morris, compilers. An Archive of Hope: Harvey Milk's Speeches and Writings. University of California Press, 2013. This book is a compilation of Harvey Milk's speeches and interviews throughout his time in California. These interviews describe his views on the community and provide an idea as to what type of person he was. This book helped me because it gave me direct quotes from him and allowed me to clearly understand exactly what his perspective was on major issues. Board of Supervisors in January 8, 1978. City and County of San Francisco, sfbos.org/inauguration. Accessed 2 Jan. 2019. This image is of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors from the time Harvey Milk was a supervisor. This image shows the people who were on the board with him. This helped my project because it gave a visual of many of the key people in the story of Harvey Milk. Braley, Colin E. Sharice Davids at a Victory Party. NBC, 6 Nov. 2018, www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/sharice-davids-lesbian-native-american-makes- political-history-kansas-n933211. Accessed 2 May 2019. This is an image of Sharcie Davids at a victory party after she was elected to congress in Kansas. This image helped me because ti provided a face to go with he quote that I used on my impact section of board. California State, Legislature, Senate. Proposition 6.
    [Show full text]
  • UC Santa Cruz UC Santa Cruz Electronic Theses and Dissertations
    UC Santa Cruz UC Santa Cruz Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title Organizing for Social Justice: Rank-and-File Teachers' Activism and Social Unionism in California, 1948-1978 Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6b92b944 Author Smith, Sara R. Publication Date 2014 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SANTA CRUZ ORGANIZING FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE: RANK-AND-FILE TEACHERS’ ACTIVISM AND SOCIAL UNIONISM IN CALIFORNIA, 1948-1978 A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements of the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in HISTORY with an emphasis in FEMINIST STUDIES by Sara R. Smith June 2014 The Dissertation of Sara R. Smith is approved: ______________________ Professor Dana Frank, Chair ______________________ Professor Barbara Epstein ______________________ Professor Deborah Gould ______________________ Tyrus Miller Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies Copyright © by Sara R. Smith 2014 Table of Contents Abstract iv Acknowledgements vi Introduction 1 Chapter 1: 57 The Red School Teacher: Anti-Communism in the AFT and the Blacklistling of Teachers in Los Angeles, 1946-1960 Chapter 2: 151 “On Strike, Shut it Down!”: Faculty and the Black and Third World Student Strike at San Francisco State College, 1968-1969 Chapter 3: 260 Bringing Feminism into the Union: Feminism in the California Federation of Teachers in the 1970s Chapter 4: 363 “Gay Teachers Fight Back!”: Rank-and-File Gay and Lesbian Teachers’ Organizing against the Briggs Initiative, 1977-1978 Conclusion 453 Bibliography 463 iii Abstract Organizing for Social Justice: Rank-and-File Teachers’ Activism and Social Unionism in California, 1948-1978 Sara R.
    [Show full text]
  • Memo (Professional Design)
    6XSUHPH&RXUWRI&DOLIRUQLD 6XSUHPH&RXUWRI&DOLIRUQLD -RUJH(1DYDUUHWH&OHUNDQG([HFXWLYH2IILFHURIWKH&RXUW -RUJH(1DYDUUHWH&OHUNDQG([HFXWLYH2IILFHURIWKH&RXUW (OHFWURQLFDOO\5(&(,9('RQDW30 (OHFWURQLFDOO\),/('RQE\$SULO%RHON'HSXW\&OHUN IN THE SUPREME COURT FOR THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA, Capital Case No. S171393 Plaintiff and Respondent, v. (Los Angeles County Superior Court No. TA074274) DON’TE LAMONT McDANIEL, Defendant and Appellant. APPELLANT’S THIRD SUPPLEMENTAL REPLY BRIEF Appeal from the Judgment of the Superior Court of the State of California for the County of Los Angeles HONORABLE ROBERT J. PERRY MARY K. McCOMB State Public Defender ELIAS BATCHELDER Supervising Deputy State Public Defender State Bar No. 253386 1111 Broadway, 10th Floor Oakland, California 94607 Telephone (510) 267-3300 [email protected] Attorneys for Appellant TABLE OF CONTENTS Page APPELLANT’S THIRD SUPPLEMENTAL REPLY BRIEF ............. 12 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................... 12 I. STARE DECISIS SHOULD NOT STAND AS A BARRIER TO RECONSIDERATION OF THIS COURT’S PAST DECISIONS ON THE APPLICATION OF THE STATE JURY RIGHT TO THE PENALTY PHASE ................ 19 II. EXISTING PROCEDURAL PROTECTIONS DO NOT SUPPLANT THE NECESSITY FOR REASONABLE DOUBT OR UNANIMITY AT THE PENALTY PHASE ........ 22 III. HISTORY SUPPORTS APPLICATION OF CALIFORNIA’S JURY RIGHT PROTECTIONS TO THE PENALTY PHASE ............................................................................. 29 A. California and Common Law History Support the Application of the Jury Right and the Reasonable Doubt Burden to the Ultimate Penalty Determination .......................................................................... 29 B. The Attorney General’s Remaining Critiques of Reasonable Doubt at Penalty Are Flawed ....................... 37 C. History Strongly Supports the Principle that the Protection of Unanimity Should Apply to the Existence of Disputed Aggravating Crimes ...................
    [Show full text]
  • California Death Penalty Laws and the California Supreme Court: a Ten Year Perspective Gerald F
    Santa Clara Law Santa Clara Law Digital Commons Faculty Publications Faculty Scholarship 4-22-1986 California Death Penalty Laws and the California Supreme Court: A Ten Year Perspective Gerald F. Uelmen Santa Clara University School of Law, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.law.scu.edu/facpubs Part of the Law Commons Automated Citation Gerald F. Uelmen, California Death Penalty Laws and the California Supreme Court: A Ten Year Perspective (1986), Available at: http://digitalcommons.law.scu.edu/facpubs/799 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Faculty Scholarship at Santa Clara Law Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of Santa Clara Law Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ---------i-'.,---~,,~··-·"---·· -~~;;_; rlI;i\.Ii'=_~1{ ZJi~-~;1 ]..)~ .. ~_£_~:. ;'" .... '.y ~"' SANTA CLAnA, CALHt" 95Ui)~, CALIFORNIA DEATH fENALTY ~ AHQ ~ CALIFORNIA SUPREME COURT: A ~ ~ PERSPECTIVE By Gerald ,F. Uelmen Professor of Law, Loyola Law School PREPARED FOR THE SENATE COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY OF THE CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE, SENATOR BILL LOCKYER, CHAIRMAN, UNDER THE AUSPICES , OF THE INSTITUTE OF POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT, UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, DR. LARRY L. BERG, DIRECTOR. NOT FOR RELEASE PRIOR TO APRIL 22, 1986 kpc. {toe c~ A:<5' I~ Q-~ -\' CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION •.••..••.•••..••.••.•••• . .. - . .1 II. HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL OVERVIEW. • .6 III. THE CONVICTION OF GUILT .••••..•••••• . .17 IV. THE FINDING OF SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES •. .26 A. The 1977 Law .............. · . 28 B. The 1978 Briggs Initiative. · . .32 V. THE DETERMINATION OF PENALTy •••• · . .47 A. The 1977 Law ..............
    [Show full text]
  • Jerry's Judges and the Politics of the Death Penalty
    California Supreme Court Historical Society 2010 Student Writing Competition Second Place Entry “Jerry’s Judges and the Politics of the Death Penalty: 1977-1982” Joseph Makhluf Graduate Student in History California State University, Northridge Jerry’s Judges and the Politics of the Death Penalty: 1977-1982 On February 12, 1977, California Governor Jerry Brown nominated Rose Elizabeth Bird as Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court, making her the first female member of the Court.1 Along with Bird, Brown appointed Wiley W. Manuel as the first African American to serve on the Court.2 The Los Angeles Times wrote, “They are outstanding persons. They deserve confirmation. They bring the promise of new dimensions, new vitality, new qualities to a court already recognized as among the best.”3 Robert Pack wrote for the Los Angeles Times that with their nominations, “A genuine social revolution is taking place in Sacramento—bloodless, quiet and little discussed.”4 He further claimed, “Governor Edmund Brown Jr., not quite a thousand days in office, is slowly transferring power from the white, male elite groups where it has traditionally resided to the broader citizenry in California.”5 As of August 1, 1977, of 1,862 appointments by Governor Brown, 575 appointments went to women, 182 to Chicanos, 141 to blacks, 53 to Asians, 28 to American Indians, and nine to Filipinos, and he also appointed 65 consumer representatives to various boards and commissions. Jerry Brown‟s appointment of Rose Bird as the first female chief justice was immediately controversial, and she became the target of attacks from conservative groups who criticized her for being soft on crime.
    [Show full text]
  • Capital Punishment in California
    COMMITTEE ON REVISION OF THE PENAL CODE STAFF M EMORANDUM March 12, 2021 Memorandum 2021-04 Capital Punishment in California I. Introduction Consistent with its mandate to “simplify and rationalize the substance of criminal law,” the Committee on the Revision of the Penal Code undertakes this analysis of the state’s death penalty system to determine if there is a rational path forward that will ensure justice and fairness for all Californians. It is the first examination of the death penalty in California by a state agency or organization since 2008. California has the largest death row in the country, currently numbering 707 people, and has sentenced more than 1,000 people to death since 1977. Yet, no executions have occurred in the last 15 years and only 13 total executions have taken place since reinstatement of the death penalty. Currently, 363 people on death row – more than half – are still awaiting appointment of post-conviction counsel and it now averages more than 30 years for people convicted of capital offenses to exhaust their appeals. Indeed, most people die of natural causes before their appeals are resolved. It is estimated that the state has spent more than $5 billion tax dollars on the death penalty since it was reinstated in 1977. At the same time, a majority of death cases to be fully litigated in California have been reversed on appeal or in other post-conviction proceedings.1 Meanwhile, over the past decade, California voters have (narrowly) signaled support for the death penalty in three separate ballot measures.2 No area of criminal law in California is more deeply confounding politically, legally, and morally.
    [Show full text]
  • California Proposition 6 Briggs Initiative Collection, 1977-1980 Coll2011.018
    http://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c8hh6p6k No online items Finding Aid to the California Proposition 6 Briggs Initiative Collection, 1977-1980 Coll2011.018 Marc LaRocque and Loni Shibuyama Processing this collection has been funded by a generous grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries, University of Southern California 909 West Adams Boulevard Los Angeles, California 90007 (213) 821-2771 [email protected] Coll2011.018 1 Language of Material: English Contributing Institution: ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries, University of Southern California Title: California Proposition 6 Briggs Initiative collection creator: Bay Area Committee Against the Briggs Initiative (Organization) creator: Kight, Morris creator: No on the Briggs Initiative Committee (Organization) Identifier/Call Number: Coll2011.018 Physical Description: 5.5 Linear Feet3 boxes, 2 cartons, and 1 flat box. Date (inclusive): 1977-1980 Abstract: Correspondence, clippings, legislative and legal documents, pamphlets, flyers, photographs, financial records, meeting minutes, event posters, petition forms, memoranda, speakers' manuals, volunteer forms, and other material documenting the campaign to defeat California Proposition 6, introduced by State Senator John Briggs in 1978. The initiative's intent was to require the dismissal of public school teachers and schoolworkers who "engaged in advocating, soliciting, imposing, encouraging or promoting of private or public homosexual acts."
    [Show full text]
  • CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, NORTHRIDGE Jerry's Judges And
    CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, NORTHRIDGE Jerry's Judges and the Politics of the Death Penalty: The Judicial Election of 1986 A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements For the degree of Master of Arts In History By Joseph Makhluf May 2011 The thesis of Joseph Makhlufis approved: Thomas Maddux, PhD. Date Andrea Henderson, PhD. Date Josh Sides, PhD., Chair Date California State University, Northridge 11 Table of Contents Signature Page 11 Abstract IV Introduction 1 Chapter 1: The California Supreme Court, 1978-1982 5 Chapter 2: The 1978 Gubernatorial Election 10 Chapter 3: TheNew Right Attack on the Courts 14 Chapter 4: The Death Penalty in the United States 20 Chapter 5 The 1982 Gubernatorial Election 22 Chapter 6: The Death Penalty Cases 34 Chapter 7: The Rose Bird Court and the Death Penalty 36 Chapter 8: The Judicial Election of 1986 40 Chapter 9: The Business Cases 58 Chapter 10: ANew California 63 Chapter 11 : The Verdict 71 Bibliography 73 lll Abstract Jerry's Judges and the Politics of the Death Penalty: The Judicial Election of 1986 By Joseph Makhluf Master of Arts in History On February 12, 1977, California Governor Jerry Brown nominated Rose Elizabeth Bird as chief justice ofthe California Supreme Court, making her the first female member of the court. Throughout her tenure on the Court, Bird faced criticism over her stance on important economic and social issues facing the state such as Proposition 13 and the death penalty. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s numerous California politicians campaigned on law-and-order and anti-tax issues, and accusations of pro-defendant and anti-Proposition 13 rulings became the latest and most popular criticism of the Court by those such as Howard Jarvis and Attorney General George Deukmejian who would work hard to remove her and her liberal colleagues from the California Supreme Court.
    [Show full text]
  • California Voters Guide 2012
    Reason Foundation California Voters’ Guide: November 2012 Ballot Propositions By Adrian T. Moore, Ph.D 15 October 2012 Table of Contents Proposition 30: Governor Brown's Temporary Sales and Income Tax Increase Proposition 31: State Budget and Funding Reforms Proposition 32: Restrictions on Union and Corporate Campaign Contributions and Payroll Deductions for Political Funding Proposition 33: Auto Insurance Based on Driver's History of Insurance Coverage Proposition 34: Replace Death Penalty with Life in Prison Proposition 35: Increased Punishment for Human Trafficking Proposition 36: Reform of Three Strikes Law Proposition 37: Labeling of Genetically Engineered Foods Proposition 38: Tax Increase for School Funding Proposition 39: Tax Increase on Multistate Businesses and Funding Clean Energy Proposition 40: Redistricting State Senate Districts Executive Summary It is election season and that means Californians once again face a daunting package of ballot questions on difficult public policy issues. This year’s initiatives cover a wide range of topics including taxes, campaign contributions, criminal justice, budget reform, food labeling and much more. As has been the case in years past, the ballot measures are not always as straightforward as they first appear. Some are grounded on questionable assumptions and value judgments. Others, despite admirable motivations, would nevertheless lead to unintended or unforeseeable adverse consequences. Some of these initiatives would empower the government to restrict individual freedom and choice in the name of uncertain benefits. And several would further burden California taxpayers by dramatically expanding the size and scope of state government. California’s unemployment rate is at 10.7 percent (as of July data), and the current state budget is already billions in the red due to shortfalls in tax collections.
    [Show full text]
  • The Extra-Legal Consequences of Anti-Gay Ballot Measures
    37526 chp_19-1 Sheet No. 116 Side A 03/15/2016 15:53:04 Do Not Delete 2/21/2016 2:31 PM Rethinking the Tyranny of the Majority: The Extra-Legal Consequences of Anti-gay Ballot Measures Amy L. Stone* INTRODUCTION On June 26, 2015, the United States Supreme Court held in Obergefell v. Hodges that state bans on same-sex marriage are unconstitutional, legalizing same-sex marriage across the country.1 This case directly overturned the Ohio Definition of Marriage Amendment, a 2004 initiated constitutional amendment that 61% of voters passed.2 This initiative was one of thirty ballot measures since 1998 that explicitly restricted marriage to a “union of one male and female.” In addition, ballot measures in states like Hawaii, Maine, Washington, and Maryland permitted voters to veto existing same-sex marriage laws or permit the legislature to make new laws against same-sex marriage.3 These same-sex marriage bans fit into a history of ballot measures on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights that began in the mid-1970s.4 Although Obergefell overturned same-sex marriage bans across the country, other anti-gay and anti-transgender ballot measures persist in the United States. Since 1974, there have been over 175 ballot measures on 5 LGBT rights at the town, municipal, county, and state levels. 37526 chp_19-1 Sheet No. 116 Side A 03/15/2016 15:53:04 These ballot measures are typically referendums on municipal or * Associate Professor, Trinity University Department of Sociology and Anthropology. Ph.D. 2006, University of Michigan. B.A.
    [Show full text]
  • The California Supreme Court and the Popular Will
    37526 chp_19-1 Sheet No. 82 Side A 03/15/2016 15:53:04 Do Not Delete 2/14/2016 10:50 AM The California Supreme Court and the Popular Will Kenneth P. Miller* INTRODUCTION Over the past half century, California has been a battleground for conflicts over the nature, scope, and limits of rights. While Americans have always clashed over rights, the modern rights revolution has expanded the conflict throughout the country, and nowhere more than in California. These struggles have been hard fought, because rights have power. Once an interest is converted into a right, it can trump competing interests that lack the status of right. The ability to recognize, create, or limit rights is consequential, indeed.1 California’s prominence in these conflicts can be traced to several factors. First, the state has deep ideological divides. California is home to progressive social movements that have sought to establish new rights in areas including abortion, capital punishment, criminal procedure, school funding, gay rights, aid-in-dying, and more—and home, as well, to highly motivated conservative groups that have resisted many of these changes. Second, California exists within a federal system that allows states to innovate in the area of rights. State constitutional rights operate semi-independently of the U.S. Constitution—that is, states may define state constitutional 37526 chp_19-1 Sheet No. 82 Side A 03/15/2016 15:53:04 rights more expansively than the Federal Constitution requires. An assertive state supreme court, through state constitutional interpretation, can establish new rights. The California Supreme Court, more than any other state court, has expanded state constitutional rights beyond federal minimums.2 Third, citizens of California have extraordinary power to counter their state supreme court, through state constitutional amendment or * Associate Professor of Government, Claremont McKenna College.
    [Show full text]
  • Pdfannual Report 2013
    WELCOME The national ACLU turned ninety-four this year — five hundred thousand Americans united in one cause. Since 1920, the political currents have repeatedly threatened to take — and sometimes have taken — America off course. But the ACLU’s compass has always been true, the vision always clear: to THE AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION IS FOUNDED make our union — these United States — more perfect by upholding constitutional rights for everyone. In 1920, the United States is awash in fear, sparking a series of raids There’s much to celebrate. This report highlights key successes from by the U.S. Department of Justice this year, while recalling some of the historic milestones that helped that target anyone suspected of THE AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION OF bring us here. being a communist and immigrants SOUTHERN CaLIFORNIA whose activism is at odds with the The ACLU struck down the federal Defense of Marriage Act last year government. Thousands of individuals Three years after the national ACLU was formed, and look at how the freedom to marry has spread — for the first time, are imprisoned or deported. Their journalist Upton Sinclair helps form the ACLU of most Americans live in states where same-sex marriage is legal! civil rights and liberties trampled. Southern California (ACLU SoCal) in Los Angeles. In response, Roger Baldwin, Crystal Angered by the Los Angeles Police Department’s But even as we celebrate this advance, we must recognize the rising Eastman, Albert DeSilver, and others brutal treatment of striking dock workers in San tide against basic rights. Some states have taken the election and re- form the American Civil Liberties Pedro, Sinclair and others protest by attempting to election of a black president as a call to arms and want to prevent Union.
    [Show full text]