Cory Booker and others Introduce Bill to Repeal Trump Voter Suppression Executive Order

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Mazie Hirono (D-HI) along with Congressional Black Caucus Chairman Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-LA), Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chairwoman Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-NM), and Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus Chairwoman Judy Chu (D-CA) today introduced the Anti-Voter Suppression Act, a bicameral bill that would repeal President Trump’s Executive Order establishing an “election integrity” commission to investigate widespread voter fraud.  The bill is supported by more than 90 members of Congress, including every Democratic Senator of color.

The Anti-Voter Suppression Act would also prohibit any federal funds from being used to support the creation of a commission to investigate voter fraud, which is nothing more than a thinly veiled attempt at voter suppression that will disproportionately affect poor and minority communities. Facts show that a person is more likely to be struck by lightning than to commit in-person voter fraud. In a 2014 study, only 31 credible instances of in-person voter fraud were discovered out of more than one billion ballots cast between 2000 and 2014.

“The right to vote is among the most precious features of our American democracy,” said Senator Booker. “We will not go back to a time when millions of people – most of them poor and minorities – were silenced through disenfranchisement. Yet that is exactly what President Trump seems to want to do with this sham of a commission. And all to appease his enormous insecurity about the fact that he lost the popular vote by a sum of 2.9 million Americans. We will fight him every step of the way. Even one taxpayer dollar spent on this circus would be a waste of resources.”

“This commission is based on a lie, and is using taxpayer resources to perpetuate the falsehood of widespread voter fraud in the 2016 election,” said Senator Hirono. “In Hawaii, we have a word to describe this sham effort—shibai, or as it’s more widely known, B.S. 

“After the Supreme Court struck down Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act, many states rushed to strip American citizens—the poor and working class, people of color and students—of the right to vote, the most fundamental right in our democracy and one for which many of our parents and grandparents fought and died. Now, President Trump is requesting invasive and unwarranted personal information from voters," said Rep. Cedric L. Richmond, Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus.

“Attacks on voting rights by GOP legislatures and President Trump’s so-called voter fraud commission cannot go unchecked. The Anti-Voter Suppression Act would repeal President Trump’s executive order establishing the commission and prohibit any funds from being used to investigate the non-issue of voter fraud. Congress needs to pass this legislation as well as other legislation introduced by CBC Members that would restore the Voting Rights Act and expand access to the ballot box.”

“President Trump’s commission was founded on baseless claims of widespread voter fraud that continue to go uncorroborated,” said Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham, Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. “Despite this, the President continues to seek out reasons to make it more difficult for people to vote. These types of tactics have led to burdensome voter ID laws or the purging of voter registration rolls that disproportionately impact poor, elderly, disabled and Americans of color, and increase the amount of red tape and bureaucracy needed to exercise a fundamental Constitutional right. I call on Members to support this legislation and bring this commission to an end. “

“President Trump’s so-called ‘election integrity’ commission is nothing more than a thinly-veiled attempt to disenfranchise millions of American voters across the country,” said Rep. Judy Chu, Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus. “The right to vote is fundamental to the strength of our democracy, and the Trump Administration’s efforts to undermine this right is absolutely appalling and must be stopped. 

“This is why I am proud to join my Tri-Caucus colleagues in introducing the Anti-Voter Suppression Act. Rather than spread false claims of voter fraud and promote voter suppression efforts, the Trump Administration and Congressional Republicans should work with Democrats to restore the Voting Rights Act, and ensure that all Americans, including the growing Asian American and Pacific Islander electorate, can exercise their fundamental right to vote." 

“Free and fair elections make up the very foundation of our democracy, and we must do everything we can to protect voters’ personal information to ensure that it can never be used to interfere with one’s right to vote and participate in our democracy,” said Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ).  “Stopping voter discrimination laws that effectively disenfranchise poor and minority voters has become increasingly more difficult since the Supreme Court’s infamous decision in Shelby County v. Holder.  I will continue to stand up and fight to uphold our most basic democratic principles and everyone’s right to vote.”

“President Trump’s executive order to establish an ‘election integrity’ commission will ironically make it harder for Americans, particularly those from disadvantaged and minority communities, to exercise their right to vote,” said Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV). “This is nothing more than a desperate attempt to distract the public from real issues facing the nation." 

“Instead of focusing on the serious threat to our democracy posed by known foreign attacks on our election infrastructure, this commission appears to be attempting to manufacture false evidence of massive voter fraud to justify voter suppression,” said Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL). “I can’t help but think back to 2005 when I was laying in my hospital bed looking at pictures of Iraqis – including women, Christian minorities and marginalized groups – with green thumbs who were so proud they could vote freely for the first time thanks to the sacrifice of American troops. Now, we have a Commander-in-Chief who is spearheading an effort to take away the rights of people to vote through an illegal action.” 

The bill is also sponsored by the following members of Congress:

Senator Kamala Harris

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand

Senator Ed Markey

Senator Jack Reed

Senator Al Franken

Senator Dick Durbin

Senator Christopher Coons

Senator Sherrod Brown

Senator Tom Carper

Senator Patty Murray

Senator Bob Casey

Senator Maggie Hassan

Senator Jeanne Shaheen

Senator Chuck Schumer

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse

Senator Amy Klobuchar

Senator Chris Murphy

Senator Dianne Feinstein

Senator Ron Wyden

Senator Tom Udall

Senator Elizabeth Warren

Senator Richard Blumenthal

Senator Patrick Leahy

Senator Martin Heinrich

Senator Jeff Merkley

Senator Brian Schatz

Rep. John Conyers

Rep. John Lewis

Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton

Rep. Maxine Waters

Rep. Sanford Bishop, Jr.

Rep.  James Clyburn

Rep. Alcee Hastings

Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson

Rep. Bobby Rush

Rep. Bobby Scott

Rep. Bennie Thompson

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee

Rep. Elijah Cummings

Rep. Danny Davis

Rep. Gregory Meeks

Rep. Barbara Lee

Rep. William Lacy Clay, Jr.

Rep. David Scott

Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II

Rep. Al Green

Rep. Yvette Clarke

Rep. Keith Ellison

Rep. Hank Johnson

Rep. Andre Carson

Rep. Marcia Fudge

Rep. Karen Bass

Rep. Terri Sewell

Rep. Frederica Wilson

Rep. Donald Payne, Jr.

Rep. Joyce Beatty

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries

Rep. Marc Veasey

Rep. Robin Kelly

Rep. Brenda Lawrence

Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman

Rep. Dwight Evans

Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester

Rep. Anthony Brown

Rep. Val Butler Demings

Rep. Al Lawson

Rep. A. Donald McEachin

Rep. Ted Lieu

Rep. Steve Cohen

Rep. Marcy Kaptur

Rep. Grace Meng

Rep. Frank Pallone

Rep. Colleen Hanabusa

Rep. Raul Grijalva

Rep. Nanette Diaz Barragan

Rep. John Garamendi

Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney

Rep. Don Beyer

Rep. Tim Ryan

Rep. Pramila Jayapal

Rep. Nydia Velazquez

Rep. Paul Tonko

Rep. Carol Shea-Porter

Rep. Jared Polis

Rep. Rick Larsen

Rep. John Sarbanes

Rep. Darren Soto

Rep. Nydia Velazquez

Black gun owners ask: Does the Second Amendment apply to us?

There's evidence that black gun ownership has spiked since the 2016 campaign began. While white Americans have led the liberalization of gun laws in the past decade, black gun carry is becoming a test of constitutional agency.

Like many African-Americans of his generation, Phillip Smith, a Californian in his 50s, grew up without a gun in the house. To his parents, gun ownership was not just politically unacceptable, but morally wrong – a fount, if anything, of trouble and tragedy.

When he moved his own family to the South in 2002, he found a different tradition, where black families, many of them fresh from the farms, had hunting rifles for sport and, to an extent, self-defense. Mr. Smith was intrigued. As he bought his first guns and began practicing at a gun range, he had an epiphany: Perhaps the Second Amendment is the black man’s ultimate sign of full citizenship.

Smith’s crossover into the world of guns and ammo makes him part of a widening attempt to, as he says, “normalize” a black gun-carrying tradition fraught with historical pain and tragedy.

His advocacy for African-American gun rights has turned out to be a potent message. The National African-American Gun Association he founded has grown from 800 to 20,000 members since 2015. Unlike the primarily white and male National Rifle Association, NAAGA is diverse in both color and gender; 60 percent of its members are women.

“The main thing – and I’d be lying if I said something else – is that in the last 18 months the racial tone of the country has tilted in a direction that is alarming, at a minimum,” says Smith, who lives in an Atlanta suburb. “For African-Americans, we’re seeing the same old faces, the same type of conversations we saw in the ‘50s and ‘60s, and we thought they were dead and gone.”

Given that white Americans have led the liberalization of gun laws in the past decade, black gun carry is becoming a test of constitutional agency, injecting what University of Arizona gun culture expert Jennifer Carlson calls the specter of “legitimate violence” into an already tense political climate. Incidents like the June acquittal of the Minnesota police officer who shot Philando Castile, a legal gun owner, during a traffic stop have added to that tension, gun owners like Smith say – as did the National Rifle Association’s silence over both his shooting and the verdict.

For some black gun owners, the question is a stark one: Can African-Americans reasonably expect to be covered by the Second Amendment in a country still marbled by racist rhetoric, attitudes, and acts?

Read more: Black gun owners ask: Does the Second Amendment apply to us?

Black woman makes polo history in top-tier event

Nineteen year old Shariah Harris has become the first black woman to play in top tier U.S. Polo event.

Shariah Harris says the stares, the inappropriate comments and the whispering that comes with being a Black woman playing polo can be discouraging at times, but it won’t stop her from riding.

The 19-year-old from southwest Philadelphia, who plays collegiately at Cornell, mounted up Friday for the Postage Stamp Farm polo team in the Silver Cup tournament at the tony Greenwich Polo Club.

Brenda Lynn, a spokeswoman for the Museum of Polo and Hall of Fame, said Harris became the first African-American woman to ever play in the top tier of U.S. polo, known as high-goal polo. High-goal doesn’t refer to scoring, but rather the handicap (like in golf) of the players.

“If me playing will mean opportunities to play for other kids like me, then I’m perfectly happy to be breaking down doors,” Harris said. “I just keep quiet, put on my boots and go out and play.”

Read more: Black woman makes polo history in top-tier event

Elijah Cummings statement on Donald Trump Jr. Russia emails

Congressman Elijah Cummings, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform issued the following statement on Donald Trump's email chain as it pertains to the setting up of a meeting with a Russian lawyer. A person that Trump Jr. believed had damaging information on Hillary Clinton. Cummings comments in his statement that this is a sad day for our country.

Elijah Cummings: "This is a sad day for our country...We must investigate. And we must act on our findings." pic.twitter.com/9N3xxj1Zqx

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) July 11, 2017

Michelle Obama to appear at Pennsylvania Conference for Women

The Pennsylvania Conference for Women announced 
today that Michelle Obama, former First Lady of the 
United States, will participate in a conversation at the 
14th annual Conference on Thursday, October 3rd, 2017.  More than 10,000 are expected to attend the event at the Pennsylvania Convention Center.

Michelle Robinson Obama served as First Lady of the United States, from 2009-2017. During that time, Mrs. Obama launched and led four key initiatives: Let's Move!, to address the challenge of childhood obesity; Joining Forces, to support veterans, service members and their families; Reach Higher, to inspire young people to seek higher education; and Let Girls Learn, to help adolescent girls around the world go to school.

Before becoming First Lady, Michelle Obama attended Princeton University and Harvard Law School. She started her career as an attorney at the Chicago law firm, Sidley & Austin, where she met her future husband, Barack Obama. She later worked in the Chicago mayor's office, the University of Chicago, and the University of Chicago Medical Center. Mrs. Obama also founded the Chicago chapter of Public Allies, an organization that prepares young people for careers in public service.

"We are honored and thrilled to have Michelle Obama, one of the most respected women in the world, join us at this year's conference," said Leslie Stiles, Board President of the Pennsylvania Conference for Women. "With her career-long devotion to improving the lives of children, increasing nutrition awareness, and advocating for equal access to education, Michelle Obama's impact clearly extends beyond her White House years."

The nonpartisan, nonprofit Pennsylvania Conference for Women offers a full day of networking, inspiration, professional development and personal growth. In addition to a standout lineup of keynote speakers, the Conference will feature breakout sessions led by experts in the fields of business, philanthropy, leadership, finance, media and professional development.

Previously announced keynote speakers include Dr. Brené Brown, courage and vulnerability researcher, #1 New York Times best-selling author and one of the top five most viewed TED speakers in the world; Shawn Achor, New York Timesbestselling author of The Happiness Advantage; and Carla Harris, Wall Street executive and author.

The Pennsylvania Conference for Women is presented by Beneficial Bank and Beneficial Foundation and generously sponsored by Bristol-Myers Squibb; Cisco; Drexel University LeBow College of Business; GlaxoSmithKline; Johnson & Johnson; PECO; Prudential; QVC Inc.; State Farm; Chase; DuPont; Macquarie Investment Management; Mastercard; Penn Mutual; Poo-Pourri; State Street Corporation; Villanova School of Business; ACME Markets; Amtrak; Dow Chemical Company; Erin Condren; Fine Wine & Good Spirits; Merck; PNC; Shriners Hospitals for Children; The Philadelphia Foundation; United Airlines and media sponsors WPVI-TV 6abc; Philadelphia Magazine; Philadelphia Media Network; and iHeartMedia.

"We are proud to welcome one of the most inspirational women of our time," said Joanne Ryder, Chief Administration Officer for Beneficial Bank. "Michelle Obama continues to be a force for good and for progress in advancing the interests of women and girls around the world."

To apply for media credentials, please click here. Please note this session will be a covered by press pool only. Due to high demand, not all requests can be approved.

Registration is now open for the Conference. To register or learn more about the event, visit www.paconferenceforwomen.org.

Media Contact:
Karen Breslau
media@conferenceforwomen.org
650-906-3132

SOURCE Pennsylvania Conference for Women

Related Links

http://www.paconferenceforwomen.org