In her latest report, Rep. Stacey Newman, D-St. Louis, not only tells us what is going on in Jefferson City, but also details some of the tactics being used by GOP leadership.
Plenty of fireworks hit the State House this past week. I'm amazed the Capitol Dome is still standing but we've only finished the 6th week of session with more to go. Almost everything is under attack including several attempts to impeach the Governor. It's Election Year, remember?
I'm eating my Wheaties as fast as I can.
However, our University of Missouri Tigers gave us a lesson in maturity this week. Mizzou is standing strong behind Michael Sam, their recent graduate & football star who announced last week he was gay. MU Chancellor Bowen Loftin issued a statement of support as did President and First Lady Obama, Vice President Biden, Governor Jay Nixon and many more athletes and celebrities throughout the country. Noticeably absent has been ANY comment from GOP legislators, who are normally quite exuberant Mizzou sports fans.
Last August prior to the start of the football season, Michael Sam came out to his teammates who have treated his sexuality as a non issue. Their maturity is prompting the rest of the world to examine their attitudes as he prepares to become the first openly gay player with the NFL.
I say we follow the lead of our very grownup college students and work to pass the Missouri Non-Discrimination Act, HB1858. Let's start by making sure Michael Sam and others just like him are not fired or evicted from their homes simply because of their sexual orientation or preference.
Saturday over a thousand students and fans formed a wall at the Mizzou home basketball game blocking Westboro Baptist Church's protest of Michael Sam.
See Huffington Post's coverage from Columbia HERE. As a Mizzou Mom and wife of a Mizzou double alum, I am completely bursting with pride. I could not join the students in Columbia to #StandWithSam so I participated in my own mini-wall.
HOUSE PASSES SPEAKER'S "MEDICAL CONSCIENCE" BILL
This week the House rushed through approving Speaker Tim Jones' Medical Conscience Bill. We first debated HB1430 on Wednesday which would allow any medical professional or entity to refuse treatment based on their conscience or principle - specifically reproductive care which include providing birth control, sterilization which is not medically necessary, fertility treatments and abortion.
Speaker Jones first introduced this legislation in 2012 which then read that ANY medical provider could refuse treatment on ANY medical procedure. Dr. Ira Kodner, former chair of the Ethics Institute at Washington University and Dr. Ed Weisbart, former chief medical officer testified then on the vast unintendended consequences for patients. So in 2013 and this year, the Speaker tailored his bill to target ONLY reproductive care. And they say there's no direct "War on Women"?
I spoke against the bill on the floor which would allow blatant discrimination and complete medical disregard for predominately female patients. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch: “This body is trying to put themselves in our gynecology offices telling our doctors exactly what they can and can’t do,” Newman said. "This is one more vagina-specific bill in an election year."
Jones said that the intent of the bill was solely to protect workers and their religious freedom under the First Amendment. He said Newman had brought political “vitriol” into the debate and said that if the other side really thought the government shouldn’t be involved in health care, then they should help dismantle the president’s health care law.“This is simply codifying and giving greater freedom and more rights to institutions that do not want to provide certain services,” Jones said.
HB1430 passed the House Thursday by a vote of 104-44. I was not recognized to speak against it during final debate (a pattern again by Floor Leader John Diehl?). It is one of 22 anti-women's reproductive rights bills filed to date (more coming this week). HB1430 is expected to be immediately be challenged in court if passed into law.
THE PREVENTION FIRST ACT GETS FIRST PUBLIC HEARING IN THE HOUSE - EVER
I was thrilled that one of the only proactive women's health bills was heard last Tuesday in the Children & Families & Persons With Disabilities Committee.
HB1529 has been filed by either me or a Democrat female legislator since 2005 but has never been granted a public hearing in the House. The bill contains several provisions, including expansion of sex education in public schools, the Compassionate Care Act for Rape Emergencies, the Birth Control Protection Act and the Women's Health Services Program to be initiated via Health & Human Services.
Many attended the standing-room-only hearing to testify in support. Jennifer Rigdon of St. Charles brought her daughter Abby, a Frances Howell High School senior to the State Capitol and presented a passionate plea for medically accurate non-religious based sexual education in schools. Others testifying included Dr. Beth Schmidt, a Washington University Medical Fellow in family planning; Reverend Rebecca Turner of Faith Aloud, Allison Hile, E.D. of Teen Pregnancy and Prevention Partnership and several social work graduate students from the University of Missouri.
Jennifer Rigdon contacted me last year with numerous complaints from parents about her district contracting with a private religious organization to teach sex education. Her testimony in favor of HB1529 was eloquent, passionate and gave the committee a parent's insight. I applaud her for getting involved in the legislative process in the Capitol which I urge EVERYONE to do.
HOW ABOUT SOME VOTER SUPPRESSION TO TOP OFF THE WEEK?
This past Tuesday the House Elections Committee heard HB1073, which would require voters to show state issued photo voter ID in order to vote. The hearing lasted almost 2 hours with the majority testifying in opposition, including Denise Lieberman, senior attorney with the national Advancement Project, Burt Newman, who challenged the 2006 law in the Missouri Supreme Court and Adolphus Pruitt, with the Missouri NAACP.
As the ranking committee Democrat, I asked the sponsor, Rep. Tony Dugger (R-Hartville), why Missouri needs this bill when over 220,000 longtime current Missouri voters cannot get the required underlying documents without great time and expense. He said, "There is the potential for voter inpersonation fraud". I find this argument false - as have recent federal courts in Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Texas.
Turning away lawful voters - who tend to be disabled, elderly, low income, minorities and out of state college students - solely to prevent their traditional Democratic votes - is plain wrong. Women voters would be among those severely impacted. 90% of women have changed their names from their original birth certificates and cannot easily (or at all) obtain the necessary documents that would be required.
NOT TO BE OUTDONE, the Speaker's office decided Tuesday afternoon they needed to hold an EMERGENCY Elections hearing Wednesday to also hear HJR47 - the constitutional amendment to allow for Photo Voter ID. Because of the rush hearing, many witnesses were not able to return to the Capitol on such short notice and were prevented from testifying.
Once again, I asked the sponsor, Rep. Stanley Cox (R-Sedalia), why allowing voters to change the Missouri Constitution is necessary when it has one of the strictest voting rights provisions in the country. He said,"Dead people are voting in certain parts of the state where we know cheating is happening on Election Day".
There you have it, folks. Even though there has been NO voter inpersonation fraud reported or even documented in Missouri, the GOP wants to change the rules so certain Democratic voters will no longer be able to vote.
Both the resolution (which would go on the November 2014 ballot) and the enabling bill passed the Committee by a strict partisan vote - 8 to 4. It is rumored to be coming quickly to the House floor for debate, possibly this week. Voter ID bills have been consistently opposed by every elected Democrat throughout the country.
STAY TUNED ----I'M POSITIVE MORE DISCRIMINATION EFFORTS ARE COMING BUT I PROMISE YOU I WILL CONTINUE FIGHTING ON YOUR BEHALF.
If you have any interest in testifying on any bill this session, please let my office know. We'd be happy to keep you informed - which may involve only a 24 hour notice on public hearings (what we often receive).
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