Here is some real talk that’s an all-to-painful gut punch: we’ve lost #SCOTUS for a generation. But we still have a source of hope: To stop the bad and advance the good, we need to win back the States. (And we can do it.) A thread. #whystatesmatter
☹️Worried about fair voting access? Justified. The #SCOTUS conservative majority has consistently upheld state laws that brazenly suppress voting. Last year, they allowed OH to purge voters from the rolls and in the process protected similar laws in 6 states. BUT THERE IS HOPE!
🙂With different leadership in state legislatures, proposals that restrict voting access would be DOA. & with new majorities in purple or even red states, those same legislative chambers can protect voting! That's already happened in blue-majority states WA & OR. #whystatesmatter
☹️The new #SCOTUS will watch reproductive rights die a death by 1,000 cuts—if not throw choice back to the states altogether. & 5 conservative male jurists will consider whether employers can use prior salary to justify wage disparity btw men & women under the Equal Pay Act.
🙂Hope in the states: WA passed bills aimed @ curtailing harassment in private workplaces, addressing gender pay inequity & requiring reproductive parity in all state health insurance plans, meaning plans that offer maternity coverage must cover comprehensive reproductive health.
☹️Conservative justices have a “corporations first” approach—expect more rulings in this vein. Ex: In '18, Kavanaugh wrote a dissenting argument that illegal immigrants aren’t protected by anti-discrimination laws, but the business that employ them (illegally) are all clear.
🙂The states can fight back! 2018 saw wage increases for workers in 18 states! But in states like NC, ME, AZ & NH, legislative support for increased wages hinges on Nov election. Changing majorities in just 4 states means millions of people can have jobs with living wages.
The punchline couldn’t be clearer: the battleground for our country’s long-term future lies squarely in the states. Know who goes to your state capital for you. Learn more about #WhyStatesMatter at futurenow.org.
Or dive even deeper: link.medium.com/LbRRHCuR7Q
