Denver, CO — On April 3, about 60 protesters gathered outside the Colorado State Capitol to oppose the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Colorado’s ban on conversion therapy in an 8-1 vote. The action was organized by the Denver Coalition Against Trump and Bread and Roses Legal Center.

Conversion therapy, widely regarded as a pseudoscience, is the practice of attempting to change a person’s gender or sexuality to cisgender or heterosexual norms. This often happens against the subject’s will and it has been shown to be highly ineffective, often causing psychological harm and effects such as significantly higher mental health disorder rates and higher suicide rates. Conversion therapy practices range from the seemingly innocuous, like talk therapy, to cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment, including treatment many experts would consider to be torture.

More than 20 U.S. states have banned conversion therapy for minors, and Colorado banned the practice as a whole in 2019.

Kacey Hicks of Denver Students for a Democratic Society, who emceed the action at the capitol, told the crowd, “This attack is just one of many carried out by the Trump administration and its allies on queer and trans people. It is one of many attacks used to try to make trans and queer people afraid while our rights keep getting stripped away.”

The crowd outside the capitol chanted “Donald Trump, let’s be clear, trans folks are welcome here!” and “Donald Trump, go away, trans folks are here to stay!”

After hearing speeches, the crowd took the streets of Denver. The protest leaders got on the back of a truck to continue chants throughout Capitol Hill, a neighborhood considered Denver’s main LGBTQ hub. Throughout the march, the crowd was cheered on by passersby in the local queer-owned businesses as they halted Friday night traffic.

After the protesters marched back to the capitol, Katherine Draken, a member of Teamsters for a Democratic Union gave a speech. Draken said, “It deserves to be repeated that conversion therapy has been thoroughly discredited! Doing conversion therapy on transgender children is child abuse!”

The protest closed out with more speeches, closing remarks, and chants calling for trans liberation.

#DenverCO #CO #LGBTQ #SupremeCourt #SCOTUS

Colorado Springs, CO – On April 1, the Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) was joined by Colorado Springs faith leaders and community organizations outside of anti-LGBTQ counselor Kaley Chiles’ office to condemn her litigation against Colorado’s “conversion therapy” ban and the 8-1 Supreme Court ruling.

Faith leaders included Reverend Josh Rumple of First Congregational and Pastor Amanda Udis-Kessler of Vista Grande United Church of Christ, both progressive churches in Colorado Springs respectively.

The Supreme Court ruling overturning Colorado’s ban on “conversion therapy” came on Trans Day of Visibility and is a continued escalation from the Trump administration against LGBTQ rights and protections. The case's primary litigant, Kaley Chiles, is a known bigot who works at Deeper Stories Counseling in Colorado Springs and worked with conservative law firm Alliance Defending Freedom”

Several community members shared speeches to a crowd of about 50 that condemned the Supreme Court's decision. “Claiming that conversion therapy is free speech is like calling a noose neckwear,” said Genevieve Richard of the FRSO. Lenny Lorenz, a college student and organizer with New Era Colorado College said, “The Supreme Court’s decision sets an alarming precedent that leaves queer youth open to dangerous and discredited practices.”

The crowd stayed strong despite rain and light hail. Chants rang loud through Cascade Avenue, “We won’t go back! These queers bash back!” and “We’re here! We’re queer! We won’t disappear.” Anger and a determination to fight back filled the air and everyone’s faces.

#ColoradoSpringsCO #CO #LGBTQ #SupremeCourt

This has been a long-time demand of right-wing anti-immigrant individuals and organizations, such as Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, former Arizona State Senator Russell Pearce (best known as the sponsor of Arizona’s anti-immigrant SB1070 law) and anti-immigrant organizations such as the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR).

In 1898, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the case of United States v. Wong Kim Ark that American-born Chinese were U.S. citizens under the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The 14th Amendment states: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.” This amendment was passed in 1868 to overrule the infamous Dred Scott Decision of 1857, where the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that African slaves and their descendants could never be citizens of the United States and were not subject to the protections of the constitution.

Today, anti-immigrant forces try to argue that undocumented immigrants are not subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. This is the same argument that the anti-Chinese movement used to try to strip Wong Kim Ark of his birthright citizenship, saying that Chinese immigrants, who were banned from naturalizing by the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, were not subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. But the 1898 U.S. Supreme Court rejected this argument, pointing out that the only exceptions to birthright citizenship are the children of diplomats (who are immune from U.S. law) and the children of a hostile occupation force in the United States.

Many of the anti-immigrant forces today claim that the undocumented are an “invasion.” But we have all seen photos of undocumented families searching out the Border Control and turning themselves in. This is not the behavior of an occupying army.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruling in United States v. Wong Kim Ark extended the fundamental civil rights won by African Americans to Asian Americans. Later, this case was cited in the 1982 Plyler v. Doe U.S. Supreme Court ruling, which struck down a Texas state law that tried to exclude unauthorized Mexican immigrant children from public schools.

This move by anti-immigrant forces to target native born Americans shows that this movement is not about the legality of immigrants. The anti-immigrant movement is a right-wing movement that is all about stripping away the right to go to public schools and to be citizens. These rights were won by African Americans because of the Civil War, and later extended to Asian Americans and Latinos.

Asian Americans, African Americans, and Chicanos and Latinos who have historically faced discrimination need to support the immigrant rights movement. Not only are many or most of our communities immigrants, but even those of us who are native-born citizens could have our rights stripped away. When right-wingers say that they want to take America back, we need to be clear that they are talking about taking us back to before the Civil War. When the president of FAIR said, “We should not allow language from 1868 [referring to the 14th Amendment] enslave our thinking ... in the 21st Century,” we have to say that we are not going to be enslaved again. Ever.

Masao Suzuki is the grandson of an unauthorized immigrant from Japan and is a long-time activist in the San José Japanese American community. He recently retired from teaching economics at Skyline College and has written articles on the economic history of immigration such as “Important or Impotent: Taking Another Look at California Anti-Alien Land Law.”

#ImmigrantRights #Trump #SupremeCourt #Feature

Minneapolis, MN – On Tuesday, October 16, a group of students and community members rallied on the steps of Northrop Hall at University of Minnesota. They were there to protest U.S. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett at the annual donor-funded Law School public lecture.

The rally was covered by over a dozen local and national news outlets. Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) at UMN and the Minnesota Abortion Action Committee (MNAAC) jointly organized the rally, where at least 250 people mobilized in support of abortion access, affirmative action, and the rights of marginalized peoples.

Justice Barrett is a key figure in the Supreme Court’s conservative supermajority and played an instrumental role in striking down Roe v. Wade (1973) in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (2022). Roe v. Wade was a longstanding precedent for the Supreme Court which protected the constitutional right to an abortion. Since the Dobbs decision, 13 states have banned abortions, and many others imposed client and/or provider restrictions on abortions, according to the Center for Reproductive Rights.

Abortion rights movements in the Twin Cities, especially MNAAC, are currently in the struggle to expand legitimate abortion clinics and shut down the nearly 90 illegitimate “crisis pregnancy centers” across Minnesota.

Barrett also voted with conservative justices to strike down affirmative action in SFFA v. Harvard (2023) and SFFA v. UNC (2023). Student movements in the 1960s and ‘70s called for affirmative action in efforts to increase Black and brown enrollment in U.S. universities. Though legal decisions have debated what affirmative action can look like, affirmative action remains an important tool to increase diversity in higher education. Alongside attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion in states like Florida, Texas and Louisiana, where SDS chapters are currently engaging in struggles against university administrations, the SFFA decisions are certain to make higher education for Black and brown students even less accessible.

Florida members of SDS, the Tampa 5, were arrested on felony charges and are being put on trial for protesting similar attacks on education by Governor Ron DeSantis.

Rally speaker Maggie Moynihan of MNAAC spoke about the contradictions the UMN presents when they invite a Supreme Court justice with a track record of harming women and students of color. “As a white-majority school, the University of Minnesota has an especially important duty to provide its marginalized students with a diverse and inclusive educational experience,” said Moynihan. “Amy Coney Barrett is a threat to all working-class and marginalized people in the United States and the university administrators have invited this threat to spread her hateful ideology to students on this campus. The message this decision sends is clear. The university does not value the safety of the women, people of color, immigrants, or queer people on this campus.”

Speaker Bryce Riesner of SDS reminded the UMN administration that when they invited Barrett to campus, they had invited “a representative of bigotry.” Speaking against the fallacy of “free speech,’”Riesner pointed out that the university has the power to draw the line at hate and intolerance. “I have so many conservative family and friends who have no hatred in their heart for anyone. [Barrett] does not represent them,” said Riesner. “Her fundamentalist beliefs are not conservative. What she practices in her home is her business, but when she takes a seat as a Supreme Court justice, her beliefs affect all of us!”

During the rally, a handful of experienced UMN SDS members disrupted Barrett’s lecture inside Northrop Hall, where over 1500 attendees sat. Video of the interaction posted to the chapter’s @umnsds Instagram account shows protesters chanting “Not the court! Not the state! The people must decide their fate!” and “When affirmative action is under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back!”

In their rally speech, Sasmit Rahman recounted the experience of being removed from the lecture, stating that the removal was a cowardly act by Barrett, who apparently refused to acknowledge the protesters. “You’re so comfortable stripping us of our rights,” Rahman said of Barrett, “but too scared to face the consequences of your bigoted decisions! Shame on you Amy, you fucking coward!”

Over a dozen rally speakers represented progressive grassroots organizations across the Twin Cities. These organizations include the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee, Young Democratic Socialists of America, Twin Cities Coalition for Justice for Jamar, Students for Climate Justice, Anti-War Committee, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, and local trade unions.

Progressive organizations agree that giving Barrett a platform is a disgrace to the UMN and that we must fight back.

Abortion is a human right!

Defend affirmative action and queer rights!

No to Amy Coney Barrett!

#MinneapolisMN #Minneapolis #AmyConeyBarrett #SDS #MNAAC #UMN #ReproductiveJustice #Abortion #SupremeCourt #AffirmativeAction #RoevWade

Carlos Montes, a member of the Central Committee of Freedom Road Socialist Organization, condemned the Supreme Court for their June 29 ruling that bans affirmative action at colleges and universities.

“The successful struggle for affirmative action in the late sixties opened the doors to higher education for thousands of African Americans, Chicanos and other underrepresented oppressed nationalities,” said Montes.

He continued, “This opened the doors to thousands of African Americans and Chicanos to become educators, lawyers, doctors and other professionals. This led to improvements in the quality of life for oppressed nationality communities!”

The Supreme Court ruling came on the heels of the one-year anniversary of the Dodd decision that overturned Roe v. Wade. The right-wing majority of the court is part of the growing attacks by the right on women, LGBTQ people and oppressed nationalities. There are bills in states around the country aiming to limit so-called “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” or DEI programs designed to admit and graduate more oppressed nationality students, and this ruling will just add fuel to the fire.

Those who are fighting back are being repressed by the government. The latest example is the Tampa 5, who the University of South Florida and the DeSantis administration is trying to jail. The campus activists were demanding more Black students and defending DEI programs.

#UnitedStates #SupremeCourt

Milwaukee, WI – In the calm before the storms hitting Milwaukee on July 4, over 1000 protested around the following six demands: True separation of church and state; repeal of Wisconsin State Statute 940.04; law enforcement shall not enforce abortion bans; the state of Wisconsin shall require law enforcement officials to read off Miranda Rights to those being detained; the city of Milwaukee and Milwaukee County shall not prosecute abortion cases – dismiss them all; and community control of the police now.

The protest was led by Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO), the Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, the Party for Socialism and Liberation, and Reproductive Justice Action Milwaukee.

“Oppressed people have never been free! Workers have never been free! And we can’t expect politicians or Supreme Court justices to hand us freedom,” said Rory Donovan of FRSO.

This sentiment was echoed by Lauryn Cross, co-chair of the Milwaukee Alliance, who told an attentive audience about the importance of recognizing “that when the Democrats, Republicans and people that are supposed to be ‘about us’ fucking fail, we check them with militant, organized, grassroots resistance.”

“Only we, the working people, set ourselves free.” This message resonated with the passionate Milwaukee crowd, and every speaker made sure to emphasize the importance of channeling the people’s energy and emotions towards organizing.

The action was primarily driven by the response to the recent Supreme Court Rulings overturning Roe v. Wade, preventing people from suing the police when they fail to read off Miranda Rights, and limiting the EPA’s ability to regulate greenhouse gas emissions.

The U.S. is removing its mask of “freedom and democracy” and is blatantly showing its ugly face of repression. In countries like Iraq, Afghanistan, Venezuela and Cuba, to name a few, the people know that this is what the U.S. has been and continues to be, the imperialist enemy.  More people in the U.S. realize what the rest of the world knows – that the U.S. only cares for the “freedom” of its capitalist class to exploit the world.

Milwaukee showed on this Fourth of July, the time is now to organize.

#MilwaukeeWI #InJusticeSystem #SupremeCourt #RoeVWade #AbortionRights

The Supreme Court is poised to overturn federal constitutional protections of abortion rights. A ruling on a case which would overturn Roe v. Wade is expected this month. The court usually releases announcements and decisions on Mondays and Wednesdays.

We call on all progressive people to make serious preparations now for mass protests in response to the ruling once it is announced.

The right to determine if and when one becomes pregnant, and to terminate that pregnancy, is a question of basic bodily autonomy. Women and other people with the ability to become pregnant cannot be free if this basic right is curtailed. Working class and poor women make up the majority of people getting abortions. They will bear the heaviest burden, facing a new reason for criminalization, lack of resources to travel for an abortion, and the risk of injury or death from back-alley abortions. Almost two thirds of abortions are obtained by African American, Chicano, and other oppressed nationality women. Removing the right to abortion would worsen national oppression in the United States.

Many of the so-called constitutional rights we take for granted today date only to the 1960’s, a time when the Civil Rights movement, the Women’s movement, the LGBTQ movement and many other important movements were at a very high level. The right to abortion access, like all the other rights working people in the U.S. have, was won through mass struggle. Only mass struggle will save it.

We must organize and mobilize thousands to take to the streets and show the ruling class that if they try to take our reproductive rights away, we will take them back, by any means necessary.

We will not go back! Prepare to fight!

#UnitedStates #SupremeCourt #RoeVWade #reproductiveRights #AbortionRights

New Orleans, LA – On May 7, over 100 people gathered on the steps across from Jackson Square in the French Quarter to fight for reproductive rights. The event was organized in response to a leaked draft decision from the Supreme Court that would overturn Roe v. Wade. Protesters carried signs and banners and raised their fists to chants of “Abortion is healthcare!” “We won’t go back!” and “Not the church, not the state! People must decide their fate!”

Organizers pushed three main demands: That the mayor and the district attorney must refuse to enforce any laws criminalizing abortion; that major hospital networks must enact a “No Snitching Policy” and refuse to report patients seeking care for self-managed abortions, and that the Louisiana State Police must leave New Orleans. Even if the city refuses to prosecute residents, they may still be subject to enforcement by state police.

Quest Riggs, a member of Freedom Road Socialist Organization of New Orleans, explained how anti-abortion laws would open the door to attacks on other reproductive rights, including the use of contraceptives. Riggs highlighted how these attacks would hit oppressed nationality women first and hardest. They called for everyone to unite in solidarity to beat back these legislative attacks, chanting, “An attack on one is an attack on all!”

J Martel, an organizer with New Orleans for Community Oversight of Police, highlighted how laws criminalizing abortion would put people at risk of experiencing increased police violence. They uplifted the demand for Louisiana State Police to leave New Orleans immediately. Martel connected the fight for reproductive rights to the fight against police crimes, including local struggles to establish community oversight of police.

David Eden Abraham of Real Name Campaign NOLA, an organization fighting for accessible name and gender marker changes, drew connections between women’s and reproductive rights movements and LGBT+ movements. He explained how trans masculine and non-binary people struggle to access both reproductive healthcare and gender-affirming healthcare. “The right to an abortion is inherently a part of women’s rights. But I also want people in this movement to pledge to include trans masculine, non-binary, and intersex people in this work”, he told the crowd. The Louisiana legislature is considering a bill that would classify abortion as homicide and effectively ban assistive reproduction and various methods of contraception (HB 813). The people of New Orleans are showing that they will not stand down in the face of these state and national attacks. Republicans will not back down and Democrats will not put up a fight unless the people continue to wage mass struggle.

Organizations leading the event included Women With a Vision, New Orleans Democratic Socialists of America, the Louisiana Communist Party, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, New Orleans for Community Oversight of Police, and Real Name Campaign.

#NewOrleansLA #LGBTQ #PeoplesStruggles #SupremeCourt #abortion #RoeVWade

Los Angeles, CA – On May 3, several hundred people gathered for an emergency action at the U.S. Federal Courthouse in downtown LA to voice outrage at the draft majority opinion overturning the historic Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade.

On the steps of the courthouse, gynecologists, reproductive rights activists, and women gave personal testimonies about the importance to fight for abortion rights and highlighted continued attacks on voting rights, gay marriage and migrant women locked in ICE detention centers. Demonstrators called on politicians to take action and protect women’s right to an abortion. As a crowd grew, they then marched down Broadway headed for Pershing Square. There they gathered again to hear speeches.

After almost an hour in at the plaza, as participants were leaving, a Federal Protective Service unit from the Department of Homeland Security attempted to drive through the intersection at a dangerous speed while they were crossing the street. Some protesters began to occupy the intersection and demanded that they leave.

As the confrontations began, a second squad car came through the intersection with two FPS agents come out with a nightclub and an FN 303 semi-automatic anti-riot gun. Unprovoked, they started shoving, tackling and using threats of violence. The FPS agents began pointing the anti-riot gun at protesters – ready to shoot at point blank range.

Multiple LAPD officers came to the scene after a call for help from FPS and immediately began shoving and ordered the crowd to disperse. A unit of rookie and intimidated officers attempted to arrest a protester but failed after others helped to de-arrest them and escaped. After a scooter was launched at the two officers, one of them reached his hand onto his firearm, scaring the crowd, then returned to their squad car.

An unlawful assembly was ordered on 4th Street and Hill Street after the crowd dispersed and returned back to the courthouse and continued the protest at City Hall. The FPS gave no answers as to why they were five blocks away from the courthouse, taunting and trying to intimidate pro-choice protesters.

#LosAngelesCA #LGBTQ #PeoplesStruggles #SupremeCourt #abortion #RoeVWade

Milwaukee, WI – On May 7, the Milwaukee International Women’s Day Coalition hosted an action to support reproductive rights and defend Roe v. Wade from the attack by the Supreme Court.

Over 1000 people turned out for the rally and march. The action started at Planned Parenthood and ended at the Milwaukee Federal Court building where Ron Johnson’s office is located. Johnson is an anti-choice U.S. Senator from Wisconsin.

Decorah Gordon, a member of the executive board of the Milwaukee Area Labor Council and the A. Philip Randolph Institute, spoke at the start of the rally. “Our human rights are no longer up for debate,” Gordon said, “therefore, keep your bans off of our bodies!”

A speaker from Freedom Road Socialist Organization, Piper Hogan, stated, “Capitalists have a vested interest in taking away reproductive freedom, because they rely on us to provide them with new workers- especially after they just allowed a million of us to die from COVID. The truth is that only socialism can pave the way for the liberation of women and all people who can give birth.”

The initial rally transitioned into a march that filled the streets with supporters and their banners and signs. Chants of “Keep abortion safe and legal!” and “Abortion rights are here to stay!” sounded off the high-rise buildings of downtown Milwaukee. Many people hurried to join the march as it passed. Once the more than 1000 people reached the Milwaukee Federal Court building, those in attendance were treated to several more speakers.

“If this were simply a matter of voting for this to happen, it would've happened already, and we would've had the legislation,” said Aurelia Ceja, representing Milwaukee’s International Women’s Day Coalition, “so we're not thinking that the fight isn't something we're going to win by asking politicians, it's something we're going to win by showing up.”

Organizations such as the Milwaukee Area Labor Council, Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, Coalition to Normalize Relations with Cuba, Planned Parenthood Wisconsin, Students for a Democratic Society – UWM, and many more joined in the action to show that Milwaukee is willing to stand up and fight against those who want to take away a person’s right to choose.

This was not the first rally that the Milwaukee International Women’s Day Coalition helped to host since the Supreme Court’s leaked majority opinion report, having been involved with an action on May 4. It won’t be the last either as another rally is being planned for May 14 in alignment with a national day of action called for by the political arm of Planned Parenthood.

#MilwaukeeWI #LGBTQ #PeoplesStruggles #SupremeCourt #abortion #RoeVWade

Dallas, TX – On Saturday, May 7, around 200 people gathered at Civic Garden park in downtown Dallas to protest the leaked Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade, thus allowing over half of U.S. states to ban abortion completely. Chants present at the rally included “When abortion is under attack, what do we do? Stand up fight back!” and “Healthcare is a human right!”

Jo Hargis of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, criticized the Supreme Court's decision and the Democratic Party's inaction despite campaign promises, stating, “We have Democrats such as Obama and Biden claiming in their campaigns that they are going to enshrine Roe v. Wade into law. It's no surprise they haven't because the powerful here or anywhere else in the world have never taken action for the people, because power comes from the people.

A speaker with the Texas Equal Access Fund also spoke about the importance of legal low cost abortion and shared a story about how important being able to have an abortion was to her.

Kawana Scott of the Dallas Alliance Against Racism and Political Repression spoke out against the Supreme Court Decision and shared a story about how access to abortion was fundamental for her. “You shouldn't have to go out of the country, You shouldn't have to hide. You shouldn't have to do any of the things they are making us do to get a normal procedure.”

Ashley Winkler of Communist Party USA criticized the priority of the GOP and the Supreme Court to suppress abortion, whilst supporting the death penalty, anti-homeless legislation, and opposition to universal healthcare, stating “We protect the wallets of our ruling class while we allow our families who are alive currently in America to rot.”

Michelle Anderson, of the Afiya Center stated “Ever after the decision has been made, we still fight because Black women's fight is not over. It is not over for us, because now our families will be affected by not having abortion access.”

Local activist Olinka Green gave a speech discussing the long history of the white supremacist U.S. government taking away Black women's reproductive autonomy including human experimentation upon enslaved Black women by J. Marion Sims, known as the father of gynecology in the United States. “For 500 years they've had their hands in our vaginas, and in 2022 they want to do it again. We must understand, we've never owned our own bodies, so today we say my body, my choice,” stated Green.

After the speeches, the protesters marched around downtown Dallas demanding for abortion and reproductive healthcare to remain legal as well as be affordable.

The march was organized by the Freedom Road Socialist Organization Dallas, The Afiya Center, Texas Equal Access Fund – TEA Fund, Dallas Alliance Against Racism and Political Repression, and Communist Party USA.

#DallasTX #LGBTQ #PeoplesStruggles #SupremeCourt #abortion #RoeVWade

Tampa, FL – On October 7 and 8, Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) rallied against the lack of federal job protections for LGBT workers. On October 8, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) began discussions on three cases that relate to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which protects against job discrimination on the basis of “race, color, religion, sex, or national origin,” in order to decide whether sexual orientation and gender identity are also protected under Title VII. Tampa Bay SDS held two rallies in response to this, as a part of a National SDS call to action. SDS demanded that the Supreme Court rule in favor of federal job protections for LGBT workers.

The first event was held in front of the Sam M. Gibbons Federal Courthouse where, just days earlier, a city-wide ban on conversion therapy was lifted. Conversion therapy is a pseudoscientific practice that purports to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. But it is a torturous practice that mainly targets LGBTQ youth and increases the chance of suicide for those who endure it. Several members of Tampa Bay’s police department tried to quiet the pro-LGBTQ chants. This is the same police department that has ignored attacks on Tampa’s LGBT community and even misgendered murder victim India Clarke in 2015.

The second event was held at the University of South Florida campus, which discriminated against LGBTQ workers and students during the Lavender Scare and the tenure of the Florida Legislative Investigation Committee, also known as the “John’s Committee.” There is even a building on campus named after notorious homophobe C. W. Bill Young, who worked on the John’s Committee to target and persecute LGBTQ teachers and students – causing numerous people to be ostracized, fired and one to attempt suicide. The administration at the university has ignored students’ calls to change the name of the building since 2015.

These rallies revealed that the fight for LGBTQ rights is not over. The mayor of the city of Tampa is a member of the LGBT community and on campus at the University of South Florida there are many references to diversity and inclusion. Yet, despite these superficialities, the LGBTQ community on campus, in the city, and across the country continues to be attacked. Tampa Bay SDS galvanized members of the community and students to take to the streets to defend the LGBTQ community from these attacks.

“It’s not identities or morality that make progressive political change, it’s the power of the people fighting back, in unity, for better conditions. And it is only through continuous struggle that we can maintain what we win,” said Tampa Bay SDS member, Elizabeth Kramer.

#TampaFL #PeoplesStruggles #LGBTQRights #SupremeCourt

The DAPA and expanded DACA programs were a result of DREAMers and immigrant rights activists hitting the streets demanding a halt to deportations. President Obama, who earlier had said that he did not have the power to more widely defer deportations, gave ground in 2014 to the protests, given the continued stonewalling by the Republican controlled House and Senate to block any legalization bills. Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott and 25 other Republican state governments immediately filed suit in federal court to block the programs, and were able to persuade the lower court to do so.

The DAPA program would have expanded the DACA program to the undocumented parents of U.S.-born citizen children, granting them temporary relief from deportation and the legal right to work. DAPA, along with the expansion of the DACA, would have covered about 5 million people, or less than half the more than 10 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S.

The vast majority of the undocumented population is Mexican and Central American. Fleeing gang violence and government repression in their home countries, they enter the U.S. only to be met with further violence, government repression, exploitation and racist discrimination. Minutemen (a paramilitary group) and right-wingers like Donald Trump fuel the anti-immigrant fire, and call for increased attacks against the undocumented – including building another wall at the U.S./Mexico border.

“This decision confirms the need for the mass movements to unite with the demand for legalization for all 11 million undocumented people. The courts, the right wing which is the political voice of the corporations that exploit the undocumented, and an unwilling President Obama all fail to deliver. This government is in the hands of the ruling class and that means denials, delays, deaths and deportations for the undocumented workers and their families,” says Santiago Molina who is an activist in Tucson, Arizona.

The Legalization for All Network (L4A) supports protests of the Supreme Court ruling that continues to block DAPA. L4A is a network comprised of individuals and organizations around the country who support legalization for all; a stop to all deportations; no Bracero programs (Blue Visas); and a stop to border militarization. Encouraging all to rise up in a time of bad news, L4A condemns the ruling and will continue to fight back against deportations and for legalization!

#WashingtonDC #SupremeCourt #DACA #DAPA

The court will determine whether public sector unions can continue to collect ‘fair share’ or ‘agency fees’ from non-members who benefit from the collective bargaining agreement negotiated by unions, and could overturn the landmark case Abood v. Detroit Board of Education.

Cherrene Horazuk, president of AFSCME 3800 – the clerical workers union at the University of Minnesota, said, “The laws and courts cannot be counted on to defend the rights of working people and our unions. The right to unionize and the right to act together in our collective interest is a fundamental human right. Nobody can take that away.”

Horazuk continued, “Public sector unions throughout the U.S. gained legal recognition by organizing, going on strike and by breaking unjust laws. Working people want organizations that will fight for them. We must remember our history and once again build a labor movement that is willing to stand up and fight back against the bosses.”

#MinneapolisMN #SupremeCourt #PublicSectorUnions #FriedrichsVCalifornia