News & Commentary

This editorial was originally published by The Sentinel and has been updated since publication. T

Murray knew that one does not “apply” to be a justice of the Supreme Court. That was an unspoken rule, alongside another implicit requirement: being a white man.

Our First Amendment rights to read, learn, and discuss vital topics in schools are under attack. Since 2021, 10 states have passed classroom censorship bills that restrict discussions about race and gender in schools. In 2022 alone, state legislatures have introduced 111 new bills across 33 states, many of which explicitly target K-12 schools. These attacks come at a time when various groups — including state lawmakers and local school board officials — are simultaneously pushing to ban books from school and public libraries, primarily books by and about BIPOC, LGBTQ people, and other marginalized groups.He

One year ago today, President Biden issued an executive order directing federal agencies to conduct effective voter registration. Given the onslaught of attacks on voting rights across the country, this executive order on Promoting Access to Voting was imperative, and is an unprecedented opportunity for the federal government to provide meaningful opportunities to register to vote and expand access to the ballot for millions of Americans. A

In Montana, an all too familiar constitutional crisis is underway. Pretrial defendants who cannot afford a lawyer are languishing behind bars, awaiting the legal representation they are entitled to because public defenders face untenable caseloads. In response, Rhonda Lindquist, who leads the Office of the State Public Defender, was held in contempt of court and fined $8,500 by a county district judge. Lindquist’s overburdened and understaffed office was declining too many cases, the judge found, denying indigent defendants facing criminal charges their constitutional right to legal representation. L

One year ago, as part of a lawsuit, I was permitted to cross a bridge into the United States with my husband and three daughters — after more than 16 months living in danger and poverty, just beyond the Southern border. Our family is still trying to overcome the trauma of this ordeal. But now, the U.S. government has restarted the policy that caused us so much suffering, expelling asylum-seekers back into the cartel-controlled city of Matamoros, Mexico, and putting more families in danger. T

The governor of Louisana has a unique chance to ensure that Black Louisianans have an equal opportunity to participate in the political process and elect candidates of their choice to Congress. That’s why the ACLU and our coalition partners in the region are calling on Gov. Jon Bel Edwards to veto the proposed congressional and state legislative districting plans, submitted to his office by the Louisiana State Legislature. H

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton told trans youth in Texas last week that they considered their health care to be a form of child abuse. This is dangerous, dehumanizing, and terrifying to trans youth and their supportive families. The declaration will have devastating consequences — and we are already seeing them. Abbott and Paxton, along with the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, want to investigate families simply for following best practice medicine and supporting their trans kids through lifesaving, medically necessary health care. Texas political leaders lack the legal authority to enforce this declaration and separate trans youth from their families. But that hasn’t stopped investigations from starting. T

Hace un año, gracias a un proceso jurídico, me permitieron cruzar un puente para entrar a los Estados Unidos con mi esposo y mis tres hijas — después de haber pasado más de 16 meses viviendo el peligro y la pobreza, a unos pasos de la frontera del sur. Mi familia sigue intentando sobreponerse al trauma de esta terrible experiencia. Pero ahora, el gobierno de los EE. UU. ha reactivado la política que nos causó tanto sufrimiento, con la que expulsa a los que buscan asilo, enviándolos a la ciudad de Matamoros, México, que está bajo el control de un cartel, lo cual pone en peligro las familias. L