Civil Rights Roundup: 08/01/08
Aug 1st, 2008 | 2 responses
Your daily dose of civil rights and related news
The House of Representatives just passed a gender pay equity law, responding (I presume) to the widely derided Ledbetter decision of last year.
The Montgomery County police union is blocking the placement of audio recording devices in squad cars — a key step in enacted accountability for cops (not to mention protecting them against bogus charges of abuse).
Gay couples are thrilled that Massachusetts has lifted the last barrier to gay marriages in its state.
Colorado prosecutors are treating the recent murder of a transgender woman as a hate crime.
The Boston Globe editorializes against inhumane practices foisted upon illegal immigrant woman who are pregnant or just recently gave birth.
UT-Brownsville has staved off an attempt by the border patrol to erect a fence slicing through the middle of their campus.
Election law experts are very nervous about voter suppression tactics being directed at Black voters.
Texas is number one when it comes to sexual abuse in its juvenile justice system.
The ICE self-deportation plan continues to shine: now they say they want to use ankle bracelets to track the volunteers.
Rep. Carolyn Maloney: “Let’s Call ‘Sex Tourism’ What It Really Is: Slavery.”
California unlawfully and involuntarily transfers some of its prisoners to out-of-state facilities.
New Mexico district court rules against the retaliation claim of two people who Wal-Mart refused to hire, allegedly because their parent had previously filed a discrimination charge against the company. The case is EEOC v. Wal-Mart.
Grand Junction, Colorado residents can file civil rights claims again. The satellite office of the state’s civil rights division, previously closed due to budget cuts, has been reopened.
Gov. Charlie Crist (R-FL) continues to show leadership on voter reenfranchisement, but more work remains to be done in the Sunshine State.
A police officer pulled over a legal immigrant, accused him of operating a commercial vehicle without a license because it had a ladder on top of it (he was painting his house with some friends), and then “unleashed a torrent of profanity-laced, anti-immigrant abuse.” Unsurprisingly, the man is suing.
The “race card” flap between McCain and Obama has unintentionally put McCain’s new support for the Arizona anti-affirmative action initiative back in the public eye.
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2 Responses to “Civil Rights Roundup: 08/01/08”
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Ominous developments in regards to video and audio recording of police activity. I have seen many videos of police misconduct (brutality?) that were captured by their own patrol car a/v systems.
In regards to Mass. considering more involvement of their state police in enforcing immigration law, there are lots of caveats and lessons to be learned from looking at how Arizona's state immigration laws are being used.
http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/page/reasonabl…
It is a big issue of state versus federal laws. In the series linked above, there are many examples of how Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, AZ has patently abused the law and stomped on the rights of everyone, citizen, legal residents and undocumented immigrants. One of the most horrifying abuses is detailed in the first installment, where a deputy makes a traffic stop without probable cause and jokes how they can “make it up later”. So far there has not been a challenge to the legality of Arizona's law but it will be coming.