April, 07 2021, 12:00am EDT
Coalition Urges DOJ to Instruct the National Archivist to Publish the Equal Rights Amendment in the Constitution
In a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland, organizations call for reversing Trump-era DOJ opinion which had blocked the recording of the ERA, the Constitutional amendment banning sex and gender discrimination
WASHINGTON
Free Speech For People, Generation Ratify, and six other organizations today issued a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland, urging him to instruct the Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) to rescind its January 6, 2020 advisory opinion regarding the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). The Archivist of the United States is responsible for publishing and certifying the Equal Rights Amendment as the 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, but has declined to do so in deference to the OLC opinion. Rescinding this erroneous opinion will clear the way for the Archivist to publish and certify the ERA.
Under the direction of former Attorney General Bill Barr, the OLC argued that the ERA has not and cannot be properly ratified because only 35 states ratified the ERA prior to the expiration of an extra-constitutional seven-year ratification deadline imposed in 1972. This deadline, however, was not included in the text of the amendment passed by Congress and ratified by the states and, as such, lacks any constitutional authority. Nevada, Illinois, and Virginia have since ratified the amendment, satisfying the constitutional requirement that a proposed amendment be ratified by three-fourths of the states. As the letter explains, the omission of this deadline in the text of the amendment means the ERA remained eligible for ratification and inclusion in the Constitution.
The letter further explains that the advisory opinion was not merely wrongly decided. It should be rescinded because the OLC lacked the authority to block the Archivist from carrying out his duties related to the constitutional amendment.
"The Department of Justice is not, and should not be considered, a gatekeeper on the legal validity of an amendment," the letter, authored by Free Speech For People, argues. "Article V [of the U.S. Constitution] expressly assigns the constitutional amendment process to Congress and the states, and the executive branch plays no role in the process of either proposing or ratifying amendments."
"Nowhere in Article V nor in any other provision does the Constitution provide Congress with authority to impose a deadline on ratification or to otherwise alter the Article V's unqualified command that an amendment proposed by Congress shall be a valid part of the Constitution 'when ratified' by three-fourths of the states."
The United States currently lacks explicit federal constitutional protection against discrimination on the basis of sex. The ERA would correct this, by ensuring that "[e]quality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex." Originally drafted by suffragists Alice Paul and Crystal Eastman in 1923 and passed by Congress in 1972, the Equal Rights Amendment was deterred by a national conservative campaign against it, led most notably by Phyllis Schlafly.
"The certification of the Equal Rights Amendment will have wide-reaching, material impacts on the lives of all Americans," Generation Ratify told its followers in a statement on the letter. "It is intersectional with economic justice, racial justice, queer liberation, climate justice, and so much more."
In addition to Free Speech For People and Generation Ratify, other organizational signatories to the letter include: Engendered Collective, End Rape on Campus, Gen Z Girl Gang, DC Teens Action, The Greater Good Initiative, and Not My Generation.
Read the letter here.
Free Speech For People is a national non-partisan non-profit organization founded on the day of the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Citizens United v. FEC that works to defend our democracy and our Constitution.
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Spain Widens Push for EU Countries to Recognize Palestinian State
A majority of U.N. member states recognize Palestinian statehood, but the U.S. and most E.U. countries lag behind.
Apr 17, 2024
In his latest stop on a tour of several European countries aimed at gathering support for recognizing a Palestinian state, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez joined his Slovenian counterpart on Tuesday in calling to make the diplomatic move to help secure an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Palestine is already recognized as a state by the vast majority of United Nations members—139 out of 193 countries—and by a handful of European nations, but the European Union as a whole, the United States, and the United Kingdom are among those that have long refused to recognize statehood.
At a joint press conference with Sánchez, Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob said the question is "when, not if, but when is the best moment to recognize Palestine."
Al Jazeera reported Wednesday that Sánchez aims to formally recognize Palestinian statehood by July, even if he does not secure enough support from other E.U. countries.
"The time has come for the international community to once and for all recognize the state of Palestine," Sánchez said in November. "It is something that many E.U. countries believe we have to do jointly, but if this is not the case, Spain will adopt its own decision."
Sánchez has also met with leaders in Ireland, Malta, and Norway in recent weeks.
Jonas Gahr Støre, prime minister of Norway—which is not an E.U. member—said last week that his government "stands ready" to join "like-minded countries" in recognizing Palestinian statehood.
Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris said after meeting with Sánchez last Friday that formal recognition "is coming much closer and we would like to move together in doing so."
"The people of Palestine have long sought the dignity of their own country and sovereignty—a home that like Ireland and Spain can take its place amongst the nations of the Earth," Harris added.
Ireland's Green Party said Monday that the full recognition of Palestine by European countries would help to secure a cease-fire in Gaza, where Israel has killed at least 33,899 people since October and has so far starved more than two dozen children to death by blocking the vast majority of humanitarian aid for months.
Al Jazeerareported Wednesday that Belgium—which has called for economic sanctions on Israel over its bombardment of Gaza—is likely to join Spain's push after June, when the country no longer holds the E.U. presidency.
The push from Spain comes as the U.N. Security Council is scheduled to vote on whether to admit Palestine as a full member of the U.N., which the Spanish prime minister said would be supported by the governments he's met with.
Palestinian representatives announced earlier this month that they would revive their application for membership, which the U.S. has vetoed in previous votes.
"We are seeking admission. That is our natural and legal right," said Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian ambassador to the U.N. Palestine has held observer status in the U.N. since 2012.
The League of Arab States on Tuesday expressed its "unwavering support" of the Palestinians' new application.
"Membership in the United Nations is a crucial step in the right direction towards a just and lasting resolution of the Palestinian question in line with international law and relevant U.N. resolutions," said the group of 22 countries.
U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters this month that full U.N. membership for Palestine "should be done through direct negotiations through the parties," while Israeli U.N. ambassador Gilad Erdan said the fact that the application is being considered is "a victory for genocidal terror."
The Arab League urged U.N. members "not to obstruct this critical initiative."
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"While the attention of the world is focused on Gaza, abuses in the West Bank, fueled by decades of impunity and complacency among Israel's allies, are soaring."
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Israeli soldiers have either passively watched or participated in the uprooting of at least seven communities in the West Bank since October of last year, Human Rights Watch said Wednesday in a new report documenting surging settler violence in the occupied Palestinian territory.
The rights group interviewed dozens of eyewitnesses and examined video footage showing harassment and other abuse of Palestinians in the West Bank "by men in Israeli military uniforms carrying M16 assault rifles."
Following the Hamas-led October 7 attack on southern Israel, the Israeli military drafted more than 5,000 settlers into "regional defense" units in the West Bank, Haaretzreported earlier this year. The Israeli newspaper noted that "alongside this large-scale mobilization, the [Israel Defense Forces] has distributed some 7,000 weapons to the battalions as well as to settlers who were not recruited into the army but received them as civilians whom the army considers eligible to carry military arms."
HRW's investigation found that "armed settlers, with the active participation of army units, repeatedly cut off road access and raided Palestinian communities, detained, assaulted, and tortured residents, chased them out of their homes and off their lands at gunpoint or coerced them to leave with death threats, and blocked them from taking their belongings."
"Israeli settlers and soldiers are literally wiping Palestinian communities off the map," said Omar Shakir, HRW's Israel and Palestine director.
"While the attention of the world is focused on Gaza, abuses in the West Bank, fueled by decades of impunity and complacency among Israel’s allies, are soaring."
The new report comes days after Israeli settlers—escorted by IDF soldiers—went on their latest destructive and deadly rampage in the West Bank, killing at least two Palestinians, injuring dozens, and setting homes and vehicles ablaze. At least 20 households were displaced after Israeli settlers burned down their homes.
The wave of settler violence came after a missing 14-year-old Israeli boy was found dead in the area around the West Bank city of Ramallah. The Israeli military said the boy was killed in a "terrorist attack."
Since October 7, according to the United Nations, Israeli settlers have launched more than 720 attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank, displacing at least 206 households comprised of 1,244 people—including 603 children. Israeli soldiers in uniform have been present at many of the attacks.
"Settlers and soldiers have displaced entire Palestinian communities, destroying every home, with the apparent backing of higher Israeli authorities," Bill Van Esveld, associate children's rights director at HRW, said in a statement Wednesday. "While the attention of the world is focused on Gaza, abuses in the West Bank, fueled by decades of impunity and complacency among Israel's allies, are soaring."
HRW's new report examines five West Bank communities that have come under attack by Israeli settlers, including one in which uniformed Israeli men armed with assault rifles entered tents and destroyed or stole people's belongings, abused residents, and threatened to kill them if they didn't leave the area.
"One man in uniform kicked me in the back of my neck," a Palestinian mother told HRW. "They said, 'Go to the valley, and if you come back, we will kill you.'"
None of the families forcibly evicted from the five communities examined in the HRW report have been allowed to return home.
"Palestinian children have seen their families brutalized, and their homes and schools destroyed, and the Israeli authorities are ultimately to blame," Van Esveld said Wednesday. "Senior state officials are fueling or failing to prevent these attacks, and Israel's allies are not doing enough to stop that."
Following the latest wave of settler violence in the West Bank this past weekend, a coalition of human rights organizations said in a joint statement Wednesday that "the international community must swiftly and decisively pressure the government of Israel to halt these attacks and urgently de-escalate the situation."
"With international attention centered on Gaza, the government of Israel has not only allowed settler violence to spiral but also persisted in the expansion of Israeli settlements built on Palestinian land and unlawfully seized Palestinian territory by designating it as 'state land,' blatantly violating international law," the groups noted. "Concerted efforts are needed to tackle the root cause of settler violence by permanently dismantling settlement outposts and ensuring the safe return of displaced Palestinians to their lands."
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"If you have access to any communications, the government can force you to help it spy," said Sen. Ron Wyden.
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Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden took to the floor of the U.S. Senate on Tuesday to speak out against a chilling mass surveillance bill that lawmakers are working to rush through the upper chamber and send to President Joe Biden's desk by the end of the week.
The measure in question would reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) for two years and massively expand the federal government's warrantless surveillance power by requiring a wide range of businesses and individuals to cooperate with spying efforts.
"If you have access to any communications, the government can force you to help it spy," said Wyden (Ore.), referring to an amendment that was tacked on to the legislation by the U.S. House last week with bipartisan support. "That means anyone with access to a server, a wire, a cable box, a Wi-Fi router, a phone, or a computer. So think for a moment about the millions of Americans who work in buildings and offices in which communications are stored or pass through."
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Wyden said the process "can all happen without any oversight whatsoever: The FISA Court won't know about it, Congress won't know about it. Americans who are handed these directives will be forbidden from talking about it. Unless they can afford high-priced lawyers with security clearances who know their way around the FISA Court, they will have no recourse at all."
Wyden's remarks came after the Senate narrowly approved a motion Tuesday to proceed to the FISA reauthorization bill ahead of Section 702's expiration at the end of the week. The Oregon senator, an outspoken privacy advocate, was among the seven members of the Democratic caucus who voted against the procedural motion.
Despite its grave implications for civil liberties, the bill has drawn relatively little vocal opposition in the Senate. A final vote could come as soon as Thursday.
Titled Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act (RISAA), the legislation passed the Republican-controlled House last week after lawmakers voted down an amendment that would have added a search warrant requirement to Section 702.
The authority allows U.S. agencies to spy on non-citizens located outside of the country, but it has been abused extensively by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and National Security Agency to collect the communications of American lawmakers, activists, journalists, and others without a warrant.
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That would mean U.S. intelligence agencies could, without a warrant, compel gyms, grocery stores, barber shops, and other businesses to hand over communications data.
"In the face of the pervasive past misuse of Section 702, the last thing Americans need is a large expansion of government surveillance," Caitlin Vogus, deputy director of advocacy at Freedom of the Press Foundation, wrote in an op-ed for The Guardian on Tuesday. "The Senate should reject the House bill and refuse to reauthorize Section 702 without a warrant requirement. Lawmakers must demand reforms to put a stop to unjustified government spying on Americans."
Wyden said during his floor speech Tuesday that some of his colleagues "say they aren't worried about President Biden abusing these authorities."
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