Jimmy Williams The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a lawsuit against Alabama and its Secretary of State, Wes Allen, on Friday, alleging that the state’s effort to remove voters from its rolls was taking place too close to the Nov. 5 general election in violation of federal law. Under …
Read More »Alabama House Passes Bill That Could Be ‘Used to Arrest Librarians’
The Alabama House of Representatives voted 72-28 on Thursday in favor of a bill that would apply the state’s criminal obscenity laws to public libraries, public school libraries, and the people who work there. Critics, including the Alabama Library Association, have warned that the bill could see librarians jailed and …
Read More »Alabama Supreme Court Rules That Frozen Embryos Outside The Womb Are Children
Alander Rocha, Alabama Reflector Patient advocates fear that a Friday ruling by the Alabama Supreme Court stating that frozen embryos outside the womb are “children” could be the end for in vitro fertilization (IVF) in the state. In a majority opinion, Justice Jay Mitchell wrote that there was no exception for frozen …
Read More »DOJ To Join Suit Against Alabama AG’s Abortion Prosecution Threats
Alander Rocha, Alabama Reflector The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is joining a lawsuit seeking to stop Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall from prosecuting those who help Alabama women obtain abortion service out of states. In a motion to intervene filed on Thursday, attorneys for DOJ argued that the right …
Read More »Federal Court Selects New Alabama Congressional Map
Brian Lyman, Alabama Reflector A federal court Thursday ordered Alabama to implement a new congressional map drawn by a court-appointed special master that creates a majority-Black district and a near-majority Black district. In a 49-page opinion issued on Thursday morning, U.S. Circuit Judge Stanley Marcus and U.S. district judges Anna …
Read More »Supreme Court Denies Alabama’s Bid To Use GOP-Drawn Congressional Map
Jemma Stephenson, Alabama Reflector The United States Supreme Court Tuesday denied Alabama’s request to stay a lower court decision directing a special master to draw new state congressional maps to remedy Voting Rights Act violations. The nation’s high court dismissed the request in two one-sentence orders Tuesday morning. No opinions …
Read More »Alabama GOP State Rep. David Cole Arrested On Voter Fraud Charges
Alander Rocha, Alabama Reflector Rep. David Cole, R-Madison, was arrested Tuesday afternoon on a charge of voting at multiple or unauthorized locations. Cole, elected to the Alabama House of Representatives last year, was listed in the Madison County Detention Center on Tuesday afternoon. An official at the Madison County Sheriff’s …
Read More »Trump Lashes Out At Prosecutors, Biden And DeSantis In Alabama Speech
Clark Kauffman, Iowa Capital Dispatch Former President Donald Trump said in a speech Friday in Alabama that he wears as a “badge of honor” his recent indictment on charges of attempting to subvert the 2020 presidential election. In a nearly hour-long speech at a Montgomery fundraising dinner for the Alabama …
Read More »Alabama Voters Prep for Another Map Fight After Republicans Flout SCOTUS Ruling
Voters in Alabama are preparing for another legal battle after the state’s GOP-dominated Legislature and Republican Gov. Kay Ivey on Friday approved new congressional districts that critics say defy a surprising recent decision from the U.S. Supreme Court. The latest map “is really a slap in the face, not only …
Read More »Ruling in Alabama Case Could Boost Suits Increasing Black Voters’ Power In Other States
Zachary Roth, Nevada Current In one sense, the Supreme Court’s surprise ruling striking down Alabama’s 2022 congressional maps maintains the legal status quo. By 5-4, the justices rejected the state’s attempt to restrict the ability of the Voting Rights Act to block gerrymanders that suppress the power of minority voters. But that dramatically understates …
Read More »U.S. Supreme Court Rules Alabama’s Congressional Maps Violate Voting Rights Act
Brian Lyman, Alabama Reflector The U.S. Supreme Court Thursday upheld a lower court ruling that Alabama’s 2022 congressional maps violated the Voting Rights Act, a ruling that preserves a major part of the law and could lead to new congressional maps in Alabama. A three-judge panel in January 2022 ruled …
Read More »Four dead, 28 Injured In Shooting At Birthday Party In Alabama
Jemma Stephenson, Alabama Reflector At least four people were killed and 28 injured in a shooting at a birthday party in Dadeville on Saturday night. The shootings took place on Broadnax Street around 10:30 p.m., said Sgt. Jeremy Burkett, a spokesman for ALEA, at a press conference Sunday morning. The …
Read More »Providing Gender-Affirming Care For Trans Youth In Alabama Is Now A Felony
Orion Rummler Originally published by The 19th Alabama is now the only state in the country in which physicians can be charged with a felony for prescribing or administering puberty-blocking medication or hormone treatment for transgender youth under 19 after a new law took effect this weekend. The ban was …
Read More »‘Don’t Say Gay’ Bills Aren’t New. They’ve Just Been Revived.
Kate Sosin Originally published by The 19th Earlier this month, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signed into law House Bill 322, colloquially dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, restricting public school teachers from discussing LGBTQ+ history or people in public elementary schools. It stood out for two reasons: Alabama was just …
Read More »Alabama Governor Signs Two Anti-Trans Bills After Lawmakers’ 11th-Hour Push
Orion Rummler Originally published by The 19th On the last day of Alabama’s legislative session, lawmakers sent two anti-transgender bills to Gov. Kay Ivey’s desk — an 11th-hour move that shocked the state’s LGBTQ+ advocates. One measure classifies gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth as a felony. The other requires students …
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