Civil & Human Rights

One Courageous Kid

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Posted by Bob Lord

There's a post over at Salon about a 15 year-old Boy Scout who is ready to quit if the Scouts don't change their anti-gay policies. Although the post does not say so expressly, by all appearances this kid is not gay himself. He's a devout Mormon. He joined the Scouts through his LDS Church.

And he's inches away from becoming an Eagle Scout.

Arrests, deportations, protests: Is Tucson an immigrant-friendly city or not?

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On Sunday, Tucson Police and the Border Patrol arrested Rene Meza Huertha, in front of his wife and children, and arrested activist Raúl Alcaráz Ochoa, who was trying to prevent the arrest of Huertha. This action by TPD is in direct violation of the City Council's vote in August 2012– making Tucson an "immigrant friendly" city. From the Arizona Daily Star…

"We don't want people to feel fear when traveling to work, to school, to the store," [City Councilwoman Regina] Romero said before the meeting. "We also don't want people to be afraid to call the police to report a crime."

She said a conversation now will begin among the city, immigrant communities, businesses, the Tucson Police Department and others about how to make the city more welcoming.

Activists are calling for a protest and press conference today, Monday, February 18 at 4 p.m., outside of TPD. 

On a related note, the American Friends Service Committee, Border Links, Derechos Humanos, and other immigrant supporters, including the Unitarian Universalist Church of Tucson, will hold a press conference and protest of Operation Streamline on Tuesday, February 19, at 12:30 at the Federal Courthouse. The Operation Streamline action leads up to a Congressional hearing on this policy on February 22 in DC. Details and background on both of these actions after the jump.

Conservative Myopia

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Posted by Bob Lord

I recently put up a short post regarding the Boy Scouts anti-gay policy. The post generated quite a few comments, although I admittedly fueled that by continuing to reply to comments, especially those from the right. 

This is obviously anecdotal, and anecdotal evidence always has the risk of being misleading, but the eye opener for me was how differently the vision of commenters on the left was from those on the right. I've noticed this in casual conversations with progressve and conservative friends, But the difference seemed starker when reading the written comments. Those on the left could see clearly that homophobia in America is receding at a rapid pace. Consequently, they saw the Boy Scouts' policy as increasingly out of touch. The commenter on the right, by contrast, was riveted on the present. He seemed to look at the world only through the lens of where we are now. He believed, in his mind of minds, or so it seemed, that because the Boy Scouts' anti-gay policy was upheld in a court decision a decade or so ago, the policy was validated forever, and was very unlikely to change. The idea that as society's attitudes evolved a future court might reconsider and overturn that decision seemed not even to be a possibility.

Tucsonans Voice Opinions on Background Checks at Gun Shows (video)

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6a00d8341bf80c53ef017c36c58ae2970b-800wiby Pamela Powers Hannley

Last week, in an historic move, the Tucson City Council advanced a resolution to require universal background checks on all sales at gun shows on city owned or city managed property.

This action was taken during the afternoon study session. Council chambers were filled to capacity later that day for the regular meeting. By far, proponents of gun control outnumbered the people against it. This was obvious because they were wearing “Common Sense Gun Laws” buttons. During the call to the audience, 20 people volunteered to speak in favor of the gun show resolution; three volunteered to speak against it– two Tea Party representatives and one gun show promoter, whose family has profited from shows at the Tucson Convention Center for 20 years. After the jump, watch the video from the call to the audience.

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NNU: Where There is Struggle, Nurses Will be There (video)

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Power339-sm72by Pamela Powers Hannley

National Nurses United (NNU) is one of the most creative and most activist unions in the US.

Long before anyone was talking about the financial transaction tax (AKA the Robin Hood Tax), NNU and its members were in the halls of Congress– pushing for this innovative revenue-generating tax on Wall Street– and in the streets bringing attention to it.  

When Wisconsin rose up against anti-union "austerity" measures proposed by Governor Scott Walker, the nurses were there.

When the Occupy Movement needed support, the nurses were there in solidarity.

After the jump, watch a short Loneprotestor video featuring Karen Higgins, head of NNU.