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A Court Just Declared Alabama’s Transgender ID Law Unconstitutional

New Civil Rights Movement | February 2, 2021

Topics: 14th Amendment, Alabama, American Civil Liberties Union, birth certificates, driver's license, Equal Protection Clause, Gender markers, transgender rights, US District Court

This court decision pushes Alabama one step closer to the modern age, whether they like it or not. (Sure enough, the state’s attorney general plans to appeal.)

Alabama is one of the eight remaining U.S. states that require transgender people to undergo gender-affirmation surgery before they can get a state-issued identification that lists their correct gender identity. But a federal court just ruled that requirement as unconstitutional.

The court ruling stems from a 2018 case involving three transgender state residents who were denied drivers’ licenses reflecting their gender identities because they hadn’t had “complete surgery,” a chest augmentation and a genital surgery, both of which can be time-consuming, expensive, and undesirable for some trans people.

“This policy makes it impossible for most transgender people in Alabama to obtain a license that they can use without sacrificing their privacy, safety, health, [and] autonomy,” the American Civil Liberties Union wrote. The policy also puts trans people between a rock and a hard place because either they can undergo a costly and invasive set of surgeries, go without an ID altogether, or get a license showing an incorrect gender, putting them at high risk of harassment and violence.

On January 15, the U.S. District Court for Middle Alabama ruled that the state’s driver’s license policy for trans people violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment because it discriminates based on sex, according to NBC News.

“By making the content of people’s driver licenses depend on the nature of their genitalia, the policy classifies by sex; under Equal Protection Clause doctrine, it is subject to an intermediate form of heightened scrutiny,” Senior Judge Myron Thompson wrote in his decision.

While the state tried to assert that its policy furthers a compelling government interest by helping provide “information related to physical identification” to police and ensuring that state IDs remain consistent with birth certificates, the court ruled that the policy places an unnecessary burden on trans individuals.

While the court’s decision requires to the state to give the three plaintiffs in the case IDs reflecting their chosen gender identities, the state attorney general has pledged to appeal the decision.

Written by Daniel Villareal, The New Civil Rights Movement. Image via NCRM.

Roy Moore’s Back, and He Wants a Return To 60s Morality

New Civil Rights Movement | December 4, 2019

Topics: Alabama, drag queens, marriage equality, Obamacare, Pledge Of Allegiance, prayer in schools, Roy Moore, socialism, US Senate

The former judge and candidate for Senate, who’s last campaign was derailed by charges of sexual assault, finds Obamacare and drag queen storytimes very upsetting.

Alabama Republican U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore went on a lengthy, far right wing tirade, telling supporters last week he wants to take the country back to the morality America had in the 1960’s and 1970’s. Moore, who was credibly accused by multiple women of sexual misconduct, including child sexual assault, delivered a long list of changes the nation has seen in the past 60 or so years. He lamented that back then the nation had the Pledge of Allegiance (as it still does), but now the country has drag queens teaching kindergarten children – as if that were bad.

““We have got to go back to what we did back in the sixties and seventies back to a moral basis,” Moore told members of the Huntsville Republican Men’s Breakfast group, as the Alabama Political Reporter noted (video below). “We did not have a national healthcare system. You know when Obama passed this thing, rising all our costs, and business started going down the tube, everybody said it was going to be repealed. You never hear anybody in Congress talk about it now.”

“Our indebtedness was $22 trillion. Back in the sixties and seventies it was much lower. It was a sixth of that. Abortion was not legal when I went to Vietnam. It was passed later. It was ok-ed later. We had abortion laws in our country and our state. We did not have same sex marriage. We did not have transgender rights. Sodomy was illegal. These things were just not around when my classmates and I went to West Point and Vietnam,” the 72-year old Moore said, implying somehow that civil rights are to blame for out of control Republican spending over the years.

“Back then there was no mention of socialism,” Moore said. “Today we find socialism on the table in Congress. We have Democrats, the Squad, arguing that we should be a socialist nation. They don’t even understand what happened in Argentina. They don’t understand that we are a great nation because we are based on capitalism and growth,” Moore added, not understanding there are different types of socialism.

“Our education system, that is something that really gets me, because back when I was in school in 1965, we had prayer in school,” Moore lamented. “We had prayer before our football games. The Ten Commandments could be displayed in school up until 1980. In 1980 when the Supreme Court outlawed it, they said if posted copies of the Ten Commandment have any affect at all, it would cause children to read them. Meditate on that — perhaps to venerate and obey them. And this is impermissible under the Establishment Clause? I am going to tell you that it’s not impermissible to view the law upon which our nation is founded.”

Moore was removed twice from his elected position as the State’s Supreme Court chief justice. The first time it was over his refusal to remove from public property a monument of the Ten Commandments he had installed.

“We had the Pledge of Allegiance,” Moore continued. “We said the Pledge of Allegiance. We had morning devotionals. I know most of you in here over the age of sixty probably remember days like that. We are continually under attack from atheists and secular humanists who want to take those laws from us.”

“We have drag queens teaching kindergarten children in this state and this community,” Moore decried, adding that “in Huntsville, in Mobile, they taught kids and they dress them up in drag.”

“Where does this come from? Gender identity is being taught in California to young kids, and parents have no choice but to let their kids be taught that.”

“The U.N. You don’t hear any talk about the U.N.,” Moore said. “In our backyard, we have an organization in our backyard, that intends to take away our rights. They hire kids to go out and protest our economic conditions. We have got to wake up. They don’t stand for us, and we are maintaining them.”

It is unclear why Moore thinks the United Nations “intends” to take away Americans’ civil rights, or how they even could.

“When I went to school, the Constitution was highly regarded,” Moore said, despite having lost his job over refusing to respect the Constitution. “Now we have kids who undermine our Constitution and impeach our President simply because they do not like his politics. That is not constitutional, and we should know that.”

Written by David Badash, The New Civil Rights Movement. Image via NCRM. Hat tip: Joe.My.God.

Conservative Republican’s Dream of Eliminating Marriage Licenses in Alabama Gets Unanimous Support in Senate

New Civil Rights Movement | March 25, 2019

Topics: Alabama, Greg Albritton, marriage equality, marriage licenses, same-sex marriage

The Alabama State Senate is more willing to completely eliminate marriage licenses in their state than they are to accept marriage equality.

Ever since the U.S. Supreme Court recognized that same-sex couples have the same constitutional rights and responsibilities of marriage as different-sex couples do, Alabama Republican state Senator Greg Albritton has worked to eliminate marriage licenses altogether.

On Thursday, the Alabama Senate took a big step toward recognizing Senator Albritton’s dream.

In a unanimous 26-0 vote, as Rocket City Now reports, lawmakers passed a bill that would eliminate marriage licenses altogether – and, to the Republican Senator’s point – eliminate the need for probate judges to issue the licenses to same-sex couples.

Even four years after same-sex couples have been legally marrying across the country, some probate judges in Alabama are still refusing to issue licenses. Albritton’s bill, should it become law, would take away any possible discomfort for these anti-gay judges.

As of last June at least eight Alabama counties were not issuing marriage licenses at all, according to AL.com.

Couples instead would merely fill out a form at their local courthouse, but it would not be a “license.”

It is possible the bill, should it become law, could be ruled unconstitutional, as the intent behind it clearly is discriminatory.

“As a believing Christian, Greg Albritton is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints,” Senator Albritton’s campaign website states. “Being a life-long conservative, Greg strongly supports the clear Constitutional rights as originally  written. These include the right of every citizen to keep and bear arms, to worship God without  government interference, and the right to private property ownership.”

But his campaign website also points to a bill he refused to support that would require “mandatory reporting of known or suspected child abuse or neglect.” Albritton says “I voted against this bill because it threatened the freedom of the clergy.”

In 2018 Sen. Albritton ran unopposed. No Democrat challenged him.

Written by David Badash, The New Civil Rights Movement. Image via Facebook

RVA Mag Exclusive: Deep in Trump Country, a Former Miss America is Running For Congress

Maggie Campbell | July 9, 2018

Topics: Alabama, Democratic candidate, Donald Trump, House of Represntatives, Miss America, Roy Moore

America is in need of some leadership–at least according to Mallory Hagan.

Hagan is the Democratic candidate for Alabama’s 3rd district in their upcoming House elections, but most people know her as the former Miss America. Hagan was crowned Miss America in 2013 as Miss New York 2012, but says the title burdened her with certain stereotypes that affected her political life.

“Every day, when I go and speak to community members and I present myself on national media, I make sure I combat that stereotype from every angle,” Hagan said. “I’m very conscious of the things I say and how I say them and what I potentially am playing into.”

The year after the crowning, Hagen spent time lobbying congress for the prevention and awareness of child sexual abuse. She was part of a team that helped restore funding to child advocacy centers and was a lobbyist for Erin’s Law, which would require public schools to implement a prevention-oriented child sexual abuse program.

“People on both sides of the aisle are excited to have someone they can believe in to really do what it is that they say they’re going to do, to actually represent them and listen to them and be a fresh face in Washington,” Hagan said.

When initially approached by people in her community and district, Hagen was reluctant to run for any office; however, that soon changed after being an anchor for WLTZ-TV in Georgia and Alabama and experienced daily news first hand.

“We are in dire need of people in our country whom our children can look up to,” Hagan said. “I just don’t think we have that right now.”

She said the small number of young women serving in congress, coupled with this need for leadership, made her decide that now was the time to run.

The district Hagan is hoping to represent has historically voted Republican. In the 2016 election, the district elected Trump by 33 points, 5.3 points over the statewide 27.7 point margin. During the special election for senator in 2017, only five of the 13 counties in her district voted for Democratic candidate Doug Jones, who narrowly defeated Roy Moore by a margin of 1.5 points. Her opponent is Mike Rogers, the incumbent Republican representative who has represented the third district since 2003.

“I have a pretty solid plan of action and I am excited and I’m energized, and so is the Democratic Party, which is something we haven’t seen in this state in several decades,” Hagan said. “People are ready to see change happen and people are excited about the candidates we have on the democratic party and so I’m not concerned, I’m thrilled.”

Hagan’s platform is focused on leadership in order to reach the supporters of two politicians known for their misogynistic remarks, Moore and Trump. She says she knows women who voted for  Trump and support his policy views, but don’t support his crass comments or his leadership style. She often contextualizes his statements by associating his speech with things parents wouldn’t allow their children to say.

“How would you feel about that, and if it’s not something that you would allow your son or daughter to say to you, why are we not holding our president to that same standard?” Hagan said. “Why are we not holding our representatives to those same standards?”

As a former Miss America winner and a woman, Hagen experiences misogyny and patriarchy on a consistent basis. The most notable examples during the campaign have been questions posed to her about her marital status and why she does not have children.

“To me, that is an entirely irrelevant question to the concept of my being qualified to run for office,” Hagan said.

Her office has also received criticism about the outfits and shoes she wears.

“People call my campaign manager and say, ‘Those shoes won’t fly in blank county,’ or, ‘That dress was too tight for that event.’ Just stuff like that where I sort of play into these expectations of what a women should be and how she should dress,” Hagan said. “Just things that men definitely don’t have to deal with on the campaign trail.”

Hagan made national headlines in 2017 after being part of the movement to suspend the CEO of Miss America, Sam Haskell, after discovering emails from Haskell that included derogatory comments about her body and other former Miss Americas.

Beyond this criticism, Hagan is preparing for her potential new job on Capitol Hill. Health care and campaign reform are the main issues she wants to address if elected. Hagan believes the current healthcare system is failing many people. US News and World Report reported Alabama had the highest infant mortality rate since 2008 in 2017. Hagan wants to address this alarming statistic, as well as maternal mortality rates in Alabama.

“Many people are very worried about the future of our healthcare system, so that’s what’s important to me,” Hagan said.

Hagan was recently endorsed by End Citizens United, a Political Action Committee funded by grassroots donors. She hopes to see campaign finance reform so candidates use their energy to gain votes instead of simply raising a large amount of money for advertising. After the victory of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in New York, Hagan is hoping this signifies a shift in how people run for office.

“What we need from our representatives are people who are willing to get out and work,” Hagan said. “Alexandria did that work and that’s what I’ve been doing, too.”

Hagan is also focused on bringing industries to Alabama, because she believes there’s a lot of opportunity in the state.

“I think that’s a huge, huge way for us to improve our quality of life and our education system and also, of course, bring in jobs,” Hagan said.

Regardless of whether Hagan wins in November, she is planning to involve herself with IGNITE. IGNITE is an organization that aims to include high school seniors and college-aged women engaged political process. The organization is currently headquartered in Huntsville, AL.

“I look forward to being a part of working with them on that so that we have more young women in Alabama engaged and politically active,” Hagan said.

Photos by Valenci Adair

Virginia and Alabama Voters Rejected Fear and Hate, Stand for Real American Principles

Brandon Jarvis | December 13, 2017

Topics: Alabama, Alabama Senate race, Doug Jones, Ed Gillespie, Roy Moore, virginia

Virginia voters stood up to Donald Trump and the Republican Party in November with the Democrats taking a clean sweep of the statewide elections. Alabama, on the other hand, was not looking to follow the same path yesterday.  Doug Jones (D) was facing Roy Moore (R) for the United States Senators’ seat left open by now Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Roy Moore was the clear favorite over Jones in the Republican stranglehold of Alabama. The last time they elected a Democratic Senator was 1992, and then-candidate Trump obliterated Clinton in 2016 with a spread of +28.

It appeared that this wouldn’t even be a race to watch, that is until we learned that Roy Moore repeatedly tried to seduce underage girls when he was in his 30s – one of those girls being 14 years old. Republican leaders eventually pulled their support, subsequently asking Moore to step down. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R) discussed not seating Moore if he won and the Ethics Committee investigation Moore would face.  But Moore never budged and eventually, Trump endorsed Moore. Trump himself is facing accusations of sexual misconduct from 19 women – so is anyone surprised that he would still support a predator like Moore?

Failed Senate Candidate, Roy Moore

After Trump’s public support, Republicans began to reverse their position and threw support back behind Moore. The Republican National Committee decided to send hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Alabama GOP after initially refusing to give him any additional contributions or support.  The return of major Republican players made Moore the contender that Democrats feared. Republicans decided that having a Republican vote in the Senate was more important than denouncing a pedophile and refusing him a seat.

Trump endorsed Moore for the final time on the morning of the election, when he tweeted:

The people of Alabama will do the right thing. Doug Jones is Pro-Abortion, weak on Crime, Military and Illegal Immigration, Bad for Gun Owners and Veterans and against the WALL. Jones is a Pelosi/Schumer Puppet. Roy Moore will always vote with us. VOTE ROY MOORE!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 12, 2017

“The people of Alabama” did the “right things” and voted for Jones.

The Associated Press eventually called the race at 10:23 pm for the Democrat, Doug Jones. Why – when the leaders of his party repeatedly asked Moore to step down –would Trump stump for the embattled candidate?  Trump has been accused by at least 19 women of sexual harassment. He faced that criticism heavily in the months leading up to the 2016 election.

But that was before Harvey Weinstein, Louis C.K., Al Franken, Roy Moore, Glenn Thrush, Charlie Rose, Matt Lauer, Mario Batali, Ryan Lizza, along with name after name began to drop like flies – and the carnage still hasn’t stopped.

The tidal wave of firings and resignation letters soon followed. Hosts of morning shows had to address the nation just hours after finding out their coworker and friend lost their job due to sexual improprieties.  The wave began in the entertainment industry and private sector, but the waters started to shift towards D.C.

Multiple members of Congress have resigned, or are facing an Ethics Committee. Al Franken (D) resigned his seat in the Senate – John Conyers (D) and Trent Franks (R) have surrendered their seats in the House. Multiple other House members are facing accusations on their own and more accusations are expected. But Roy Moore was still fighting – his campaign was still alive – and he had an actual shot at winning.

That is until Alabama voted to send a Democrat to the Senate for the first time in 25 years. Enough people in Alabama believed that party affiliations don’t matter – being a moral and respectable human does. While the president can overlook all of the accusations made against Moore, the American people won’t allow it. Virginian’s displayed the same notion – just in more drastic contrast this November – when they refused to support the fear-mongering and race-baiting of Ed Gillespie’s campaign – one that was taken right out of Trump’s playbook.

Doug Jones, Senator from Alabama

The saving grace for the Democrats in this election was that if Moore would have won – they would have stuck him to every single Republican in the 2018 midterms. That, along with the rhetoric coming out of D.C. being so divisive and disruptive, would have given the Democrats something of a consolation prize.  But in 2017, good people continue to prosper – and gain a voice in a world that is full of voices from every part of the spectrum – while questionable characters sputter and fail to see any real success.

Thank You, Alabama from Virginias everywhere.

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