The Queer community has made huge strides towards social acceptance in this country, but there is still work to be done. In the state of New Jersey, the “Trans Panic” defense has been outlawed, and this March, the “Queer Senior Bill of Rights” was signed into law, barring senior care facilities from discriminating against seniors based on their orientation, gender identity, and HIV status, but key protections, such as transwomen’s rights to compete in sports, are still only under executive purview, and not codified in law.

This leaves us vulnerable to the whims of future administrations. Right now, there is even a bill to prevent transwomen from competing in women’s sports, a position rooted only in bigotry, and not at all in science. It seems to have died in committee, but it still poses a threat to the rights and dignity of transpeople in our state. We do not want to go down the road of other states, such as Florida, where minors are to have their genitals inspected by adults before competitions. Such egregious actions are not only a violation of transpeople, but of all people who wish to compete, and such systems are begging to be abused. We call on the state legislature and governor, Phil Murphy, of New Jersey to enshrine the rights of trans athletes in law so as to prevent such heinous abuses from encroaching upon us in the future.

Happy Pride Month! As a bisexual woman of color and as a new mom, I am so proud to share this time with you as we celebrate the beauty of the queer community. I am thankful to stand beside all of you as we fight for liberation. Yet the capitalists and the police state have tried to co-opt our struggle. Everywhere you walk in New York you can see banks, corporations, and cop cars decorated with rainbows in an effort to conceal that these institutions remain forces of domination against the oppressed people of the world. The Reclaim Pride Coalition (RPC) will take to the streets on Sunday, June 27th to stage the third annual Queer Liberation March. We’re joined by Natalie James, Saje Liese, and NYC-DSA endorsed candidate for city council Tiffany Caban to discuss the upcoming action and much more.

The city and county of La Crosse are each receiving over $20 million in stimulus funding. The broad left community must act together to ensure that public oversight and input are the driving force in spending this funding. This level of funding is a once in generation opportunity to pay for projects that can save lives and uplift our community as a whole. Please get involved in the decision making process.

Coulee Tenants United, CouleeDSA’s tenant organizing working group, is participating in 2 nights programming at the La Crosse Public Library on Housing and Homelessness this month. CTU is a working group dedicated to educating, organizing, and empowering renters in the Coulee region.

Part 1 on June 21st at 6:30 PM is focused on homelessness, while part 2 on June 28th at 6:30 PM covers housing, development, market and non-market solutions, and tenancy struggles. Follow the links to get registered. Program recordings will be available for those who can’t make it in person.

Long-term, systemic solutions to the housing crisis require large up front investment. Demanding that this historic stimulus bill is leveraged to better our community through permanent projects should be a priority. Reach out to us at CouleeDSA@gmail.com or at our Facebook page if you want to get involved.

The post Housing and Homelessness programming with CTU: Systemic problems and Solutions first appeared on Coulee DSA.

On June 8th, the Washoe County Dems announced that they would coordinate the state’s Democratic election campaigns, receiving statements of support from Governor Sisolak, Sen. Cortez Masto, State Assembly Speaker Jason Frierson, and State Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro.

This decision to run these campaigns outside of the state party is, in reality, an attempt to run these campaigns outside the oversight of Nevada Democrats. It is a move that purposefully circumvents the mandate of the State Central Committee and disregards the results of our free and fair officer elections. We decry this shameless bid to ignore the voices and values of the Nevadans these representatives claim to serve.

We recognize that this is only the latest development in a continued assault on the right of Nevada Democrats to govern their own party. Ever since the election of Chair Whitmer and the Progressive Slate, the political elite has made it clear that it has no intention of respecting the choices of rank-and-file members.

It is time for us to send a message: free, fair, and open democracy is not a slogan – it is a foundational principle that we, as a party, must embody.

It is for this very reason that we organized around Chair Whitmer. It is for this reason that we voted for the Progressive Slate. It is for this reason that we are proud to continue to support their bold agenda of transformative change – bringing genuine inclusivity, transparency, and bottom-up democracy to our party. We remain united in our vision for a better world and a party that gives us all a say in building it. Directing our movement is not a privilege granted to us by our representatives, it is our right.

Nevada’s working people deserve to be treated as partners in the democratic process, not as subjects to be dictated to by a wealthy and privileged elite.  In the coming primary season, Democrats will remember who among our representatives stood for the choice of the people and who stood only for themselves.

Left Caucus and Las Vegas DSA remain committed to their mission of lifting up the voices of Nevada’s working class and marginalized communities, transcending our differences and uniting us in our shared struggle for justice, equality, and democracy. When we fight together, we win together.

June 1st marked the start of a newly elected SC, contact buffalodsa@gmail.com to get involved and subscribe to our monthly newsletter to stay up to date >>>>>

You’re listening to Revolutions Per Minute live on WBAI 99.5fm. We’re a socialist radio show and podcast from members of the New York City Democratic Socialists of America. DSA is the largest socialist organization in the United States, with 95,000 members nationwide and NYC-DSA is its biggest chapter. We are run by our 7,000+ members and organizers who are working together to build democratic socialism in all five boroughs. As our returning listeners are well aware of, there is currently an ongoing struggle for Public Power here in New York. Earlier today, ecosocialists organizers held a rally outside city hall to demand the transformation of our statewide energy system necessary to avoid climate catastrophe. We’ll share with you protest sounds and speech from the action. Later in the show I’ll speak with DSA anti imperialist organizers Olivia Katbi Smith and Dylan Saba about the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions Movement against Israeli aparthied. DSA supports freedom of movement and equal civil and democratic rights for all people across the world. Palestinians are no exception. We’ll discuss how an anti imperialist analysis reveals how ruling classes across the region and especially here in the United States profit and are empowered by the current state of affairs. International working class solidarity is the only solution.

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Las Vegas Democratic Socialists of America is unequivocally opposed to recent anti-transgender legislation in Arkansas, Tennessee, Florida, and 30 other states. While the exact content of these bills varies by state, the goal of each is to criminalize the existence of transgender people and/or penalize anyone who supports transgender people.

Transgender people already face harassment and discrimination on a daily basis. These additional laws install additional methods of persecution against trans people for the “crime” of existing in public.

While we believe these laws are blatantly unconstitutional and will eventually be struck down, we also acknowledge transgender people already fight harder than most to simply exist. Transgender people face much higher rates of violence than cisgender people. In 2015, nearly half of all transgender people were subject to verbal harassment within the past year and 9% of all transgender people were physically attacked for their gender identity. More than half had been subjected to emotional or physical abuse by partners. Rates of attempted suicide are likewise much higher. Transgender people also experience high structural barriers to accessing healthcare. One in five transgender people are uninsured and nearly one in five reported being refused medical care because of their gender identity. Transgender people deserve the same rights and privileges afforded to cisgender people, as well as to live their lives free of harassment and discrimination.

We stand in solidarity with our transgender comrades around the world in condemning these actions and those politicians who promote them. Furthermore, Las Vegas DSA strongly encourages the Nevada Legislature to pass SB139, which would mandate coverage of medically necessary procedures for transgender people. We also encourage our Nevada Congressional delegation to pass the Equality Act, which would expand anti-discrimination laws to cover transgender people, before the midterm elections.

Last night, hundreds of people occupied the amphitheatre area in front of the Brooklyn Museum to share stories and collectively mark the anniversary of the murder of George Floyd. At least 15 NYPD vehicles lurked on Eastern Parkway 100 yards away. The police presence included the large vans used to transport people who have been arrested as well as two vans for NYPD’s notorious Strategic Response Group, a “riot control” division which has violently arrested, pepper sprayed, and intimidated anti-racist and anti-fascist protestors consistently over the last year. SRG was established in 2015 and has an estimated yearly budget of $68 million. 

We know it doesn’t have to be this way. We can change our city for the better by redistributing the massive amount of resources NYPD uses to harass and intimidate New Yorkers and investing that money in healthcare, education, housing, parks, art, and other things that will actually improve our quality of life and keep our communities safe. Tonight on Revolutions per Minute, we hear from DSA-endorsed candidate for City Council District 22 Tiffany Cabán, a long time de-carceral activist, on why she was proud to sign on to DSA’s vision for real public safety and budget justice. We’ll also be taking your calls live with Kay Gabriel, an NYC-DSA member and Defund NYPD organizer. 

Learn more about Tiffany Cabán and her campaign at www.cabanforqueens.com.

Has your City Council candidate signed on to the Real Public Safety pledge? Visit bit.ly/defundpressure2021 to find out and get involved. 

Revolutions per Minute looks forward to seeing you at the Defund NYPD week of action May 31 - June 6! View a full schedule and sign up at https://www.defundnypd.com/woa.