Editor’s Note: Reprinted with permission by Source NM.
Representative Stansbury’s contact info: DC: (202) 225-6316; Representative Teresa Leger Fernandez contact info: DC: 202 225-6190; SF: 505 428-4680
As Thanksgiving approaches, activists remind U.S. Rep. Melanie Stansbury they ‘have not forgotten’ about Palestinians
BY: AUSTIN FISHER
New Mexicans urged Rep. Melanie Stansbury to join the call for a ceasefire in Israel’s war on Gaza by staging a die-in outside her Albuquerque field office on Monday.
On a concrete sidewalk in front of the jet black office tower called “The Citadel,” about 35 people lay on the ground, covered with large white sheets marked with fake blood to visually represent at least 11,078 Palestinians killed by Israel after 45 days of airstrikes and a ground invasion which began Oct. 28, according to Palestinian health officials in Gaza.
As Stansbury begins her break for the Thanksgiving holiday, activists wanted to remind the representative and staff that people outside the Uptown office “have not forgotten” about Palestinians, said Dina Afek, a member of Jewish Voice for Peace Albuquerque.
“We have not moved on. We cannot let her move on,” Afek said. “While Americans are enjoying meals and time with families, Palestinian families are literally being torn apart and completely wiped out. They are without food, water and medical supplies. Israeli hostages are still in great danger.”
Stansbury on Oct. 27 called for a “humanitarian pause.” But some want her to join the 41 members of Congress who have called for a ceasefire.
The distinction between a “humanitarian pause” and an actual ceasefire is important because after the potential hostage release deal, the bombing would likely resume, according to the Washington Post.
The congressional group calling for a ceasefire includes fellow Democratic U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez, who on Nov. 16 posted on social media calling for “a lasting, effective ceasefire.” Vasquez previously called for a “humanitarian pause.” Source NM asked a spokesperson what changed his mind, and they said a week ago they would provide comments but didn’t, and also did not respond to a request yesterday. We will update this story if we hear back.
On Friday, Nov. 17, a spokesperson for Leger Fernández pointed to her previous statement which called for a “humanitarian pause in the fighting.”
“As the U.S. supports Israel’s right to defend itself against Hamas’s terrorist attacks, Israel must protect against the innocent loss of life,” the statement read, in part.
Two days later, Leger Fernández posted on social media in support of the Biden administration’s “work to achieve a multilateral temporary ceasefire that allows for the release of some hostages and for humanitarian assistance to flow.”
“A lasting peace cannot be built upon the rubble where children are buried,” Leger Fernández said.
A spokesperson for Leger Fernández confirmed she supports a “temporary ceasefire, the release of hostages, and facilitating humanitarian assistance.”
Group criticizes call for ‘humanitarian pause’
The most recent action in front of Stansbury’s office was co-sponsored by Youth United for Climate Crisis Action (YUCCA), an Indigenous-founded and youth-led movement focused on advancing climate and environmental justice.
In a letter YUCCA tried to hand her on Monday, the group said Stansbury’s call for a “humanitarian pause” late last month was “meaningless and hollow.”
“It did nothing,” the letter states. “Your failure to take more courageous action has had devastating consequences.”
As of Tuesday evening, a spokesperson for Stansbury had not yet responded to a text message seeking comment for this story.
YUCCA endorsed Stansbury in 2022 during her run for office, and the organization’s letter states they “have no problem publicly revoking that endorsement if you do not stand for what is right when it matters most.”
“This, representative, matters most: A ceasefire is what we need, now. You are late, five weeks late,” the letter states.
In previous letter deliveries to other members’ field offices in Santa Fe, staff allowed organizers inside to present the paperwork, including the staff of Sens. Ben Ray Luján and Martin Heinrich, and Rep. Leger Fernández.
In October, the state director for Sen. Martin Heinrich’s office came out to meet with hundreds of people marching on Marcy Street in downtown Santa Fe.
When a smaller group of protesters occupied Heinrich and Luján’s offices in Albuquerque, they were arrested.
Monday’s demonstration ended without any arrests or confrontation.
La Jicarita 
YUCCA are telling the straight, unpolished truth. What a refreshing thing to see.
Jewish Voices For Peace are courageous in the extreme. May they be blessed!
November 25, 2023 at 5:11:12 PM PST
‘Travesty for Democracy’: Court Guts Key Part of Voting Rights Act
A devastating blow to the civil rights of every American, and the integrity of our nation’s electoral system.
https://www.commondreams.org/news/voting-rights-act-ruling?utm_source=Common+Dreams&utm_campaign=f66c24232c-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2023_11_22_09_24&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-f66c24232c-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D https://www.commondreams.org/news/voting-rights-act-ruling?utm_source=Common+Dreams&utm_campaign=f66c24232c-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2023_11_22_09_24&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-f66c24232c-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D ‘Travesty for Democracy’: Court Guts Key Part of Voting Rights Act https://www.commondreams.org/news/voting-rights-act-ruling?utm_source=Common+Dreams&utm_campaign=f66c24232c-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2023_11_22_09_24&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-f66c24232c-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D “This decision is a devastating blow to the civil rights of every American, and the integrity of our nation’s electoral system.” http://www.commondreams.org
‘Travesty for Democracy’: Court Guts Key Part of Voting Rights Act “This decision is a devastating blow to the civil rights of every American, and the integrity of our nation’s electoral system.”
Jake Johnson https://www.commondreams.org/author/jake-johnson, Nov 20, 2023
A federal appeals court on Monday ruled that only the U.S. Department of Justice can bring lawsuits under Section 2 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, a decision that—if upheld—would deprive private citizens and advocacy groups of the ability to file legal challenges to fight discriminatory election practices.
In a 2-1 decision https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/24172336-arkansas-state-conference-naacp-2023-11-20-8th-circuit-opinion, the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that there is no “private right of action” under that part of the Voting Rights Act, which prohibits https://www.justice.gov/crt/section-2-voting-rights-act “any voting standard, practice, or procedure that results in the denial or abridgment of the right of any citizen to vote on account of race, color, or membership in a language minority group.”
Judge David Stras, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, wrote in the majority opinion that “the who-gets-to-sue question is the centerpiece of today’s case.”
“The Voting Rights Act lists only one plaintiff who can enforce § 2: the attorney general,” Stras added, acknowledging that “we must decide whether naming one excludes others.”
Stras and Judge Raymond Gruender, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, argued that it does, siding with a 2022 lower court ruling https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/11/politics/voting-rights-act-appeals-court-private-lawsuits/index.html. Chief Circuit Judge Lavenski Smith—also a Bush appointee—wrote in dissent that he “would follow existing precedent that permits citizens to seek a judicial remedy” until either the U.S. Supreme Court or Congress changes the law.
“Rights so foundational to self-government and citizenship should not depend solely on the discretion or availability of the government’s agents for protection,” Smith wrote.
The case stems from a legal challenge https://www.acluarkansas.org/en/cases/arkansas-state-conference-naacp-et-al-v-arkansas-board-apportionment-et-al that Arkansas State Conference of the NAACP and the Arkansas Public Policy Panel—represented by the ACLU of Arkansas—brought against the state of Arkansas in late 2021. Filed under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, the lawsuit argued that a redistricting plan for Arkansas House races would illegally “undermine the voting strength of Black Arkansans.”
“This ruling is a travesty for democracy,” Sophia Lin Lakin, director of the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project, said in a statement https://www.acluarkansas.org/en/press-releases/federal-appeals-court-upholds-radical-ruling-arkansas-redistricting-case. “For generations, private individuals have brought cases under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act to protect their right to vote. No court had denied them the ability to bring their claims in federal court—with the sole exception of the district court, and now the 8th Circuit.”
Barry Jefferson, political action chair of the Arkansas State Conference of the NAACP, added that “this decision is a devastating blow to the civil rights of every American, and the integrity of our nation’s electoral system.”
“By stripping individuals of the ability to sue under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act,” said Jefferson, “the court has gutted one of the most critical protections against voting discrimination.”
The 8th Circuit ruling is widely expected to face an appeal at the conservative-dominated U.S. Supreme Court, which delivered a surprise victory https://www.commondreams.org/news/supreme-court-voting-rights-alabama-map for civil rights advocates earlier this year when it declined to gut what remains of the Voting Rights Act.
If the 8th Circuit’s decision stands, an administration hostile to the Voting Rights Act could simply decline to enforce Section 2, a potential disaster for fundamental freedoms nationwide.
Experts were stunned by the court’s willingness to dispense with decades of precedent by ruling against the right of private citizens to sue under Section 2.
“The brazenness of this decision is something else,” wrote https://twitter.com/ProfNickStephan/status/1726640887739138479 Nicholas Stephanopoulos, a professor at Harvard Law School. “The thousands of litigants who have brought Section 2 claims? The thousands of courts who have decided these cases? Somehow they all missed what these two judges, in their infinite wisdom, finally saw.”
Wendy Weiser, vice president for democracy at the Brennan Center for Justice, wrote https://twitter.com/WendyRWeiser/status/1726643070475890722 that “this radical 8th Circuit decision would essentially gut the remaining nationwide protections of the Voting Rights Act by preventing anyone other than [the Department of Justice] from enforcing them.”
“This is deeply wrong,” Weiser added, “and it goes against decades of precedent and practice.”
Jake Johnson is a senior editor and staff writer for Common Dreams. .,.,_