Terrified that an amendment giving women — not Gilead Republicans — control over their reproductive health would pass in November, Ohio’s right-wingers figured they’d change the rules in the middle of the game. But on Aug. 8, voters in this allegedly red state rejected a Republican-backed measure to make it harder for citizens to amend their constitution.
Rights & Liberties
Florida Felons Want Their Guns Back. Supreme Court May Hear Them Out.
After a major U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year on Second Amendment rights, the Florida Supreme Court could decide whether to uphold a state law barring possession of guns by convicted felons.
Forced-Birth Reactionaries Fail to Rig the Game in Ohio
In a red Ohio referendum this week, forced-birth reactionaries got blown out by a whopping margin of 430,000 votes. No word yet on whether Roe v. Wade killer Donald Trump has aspirationally asked Republican election officials to find 430,001 votes.
DeSantis Ousts State Attorney Monique Worrell, a Black Democrat Elected with 67 Percent of Vote
Gov. Ron DeSantis has suspended another elected prosecutor. This time it’s Monique Worrell of the Ninth Judicial Circuit Court, in Orange and Osceola counties, a Democrat who was elected in November 2020 and is the second African American to hold the position.
Palm Coast Council Chickens Out of Modest Pilot Program for Backyard Hens, But May Survey Residents
The Palm Coast City Council today shot down a two-year pilot program that would have permitted up to 25 properties to have backyard chickens in answer to a growing movement across the country toward more self-sufficiency and more natural foods. The most the city will do for now is possibly survey residents on their opinions about backyard chickens.
Education Officials Want Lawsuit Over Gay Penguins Book Tossed Out, Claiming It’s Moot. Litigants Disagree.
“And Tango makes Three” had been banned for students up to third grade by Lake County schools, then allowed in libraries. It tells the story of two male penguins who raised a penguin chick at New York’s Central Park Zoo. In a filing last month seeking a preliminary injunction, attorneys for the plaintiffs disputed that the case is moot. They argued, in part, that the district could reverse course again and restrict access to the book in libraries.
Such, Such Were the Joys of Plantations in DeSantis’s History of Florida
Gov. DeSantis and his crack education team are all about facts. In his Florida history version of plantation life, enslaved persons were treated like family, they learned invaluable skills, like cooking, and learned to make quality footwear. When you think about it, plantations should really be called “agricultural opportunity centers.”
4 Suicide Attempts, 6 Baker Acts, No Disputes About Mental Health Needs, Yet He’s Sentenced to Prison on Minor Violation
L’Darius Smith is a a troubled man prone to confrontations, delusions, depression, and self-harm who twice avoided prison in high-profile trials in Flagler in the last five years, but minor probation violation resulted in a prison sentence Thursday even though the court acknowledged that he suffers from deep mental health problems and needs treatment.
Florida Prisoners Broil in 115-Degree Heat in Buildings Without AC, and No Plans for Structural Relief
Many prisons are decades old. Installing air conditioning would be expensive and take years. Some facilities can’t be retrofitted for AC. Temperatures inside buildings without air conditioning can soar 15 degrees higher than the temperature outside. That means temperatures over 100 degrees last month put the thermometer above 115 inside prisons in some regions.
Unsupportive Families and Conversion Therapy Drive Trans Youth to Suicide
Supportive family environments and hormone replacement therapy that affirms a transgender child’s gender identity decrease their risk of suicide or running away from home, whereas unsupportive family environments and conversion therapy that denies their gender identity increase these risks.