• Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) recently questioned why the sexual orientation and gender identity categories won’t be recognized by the 2020 census. While the U.S. Census Bureau received requests in 2016 by several federal agencies to consider adding sexual orientation and gender identity for the upcoming census count, the bureau halted its evaluation of whether they should be included after the Department of Justice sent a letter on March 7 to rescind its earlier request to include the two categories. Quoting the bureau, both Harris and Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) said in a statement that the data is “critical to meet a wide range of federal needs—from providing apportionment and redistricting data as part of our representative democracy, to helping distribute more than $400 billion federal funds annually.” “As you have stated in the past, complete census data is critical,” the senators wrote in an open letter to Census Bureau Director John H. Thompson. “This is why it is critical that the Census Bureau’s process to include subjects to fairly and accurately count all Americans is impartial and free from undue interference.”
• Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) introduced two bills this week in the U.S. House of Representatives. On May 22, Carbajal introduced the Reporting on the Influence and Subversion by the Kremlin Act (RISK Act), which requires the Department of State to produce a report on the recent alleged subversive measures by the Russian government. Russia is accused of dedicating its military-industrial complex to help Donald Trump get elected in 2016. “It is imperative that Congress is fully briefed on updated methods the Kremlin is employing to destabilize democratic institutions both in the United States and abroad,” Carbajal said in a statement. “It is about preserving the integrity of our democracy.” Then on May 23, Carbajal introduced bicameral (both chambers of Congress) legislation that’s intended to reduce gun violence. The Gun Violence Restraining Order Act is a bill that encourages all states to adopt a law that makes it easier for people get a restraining order to temporarily stop someone from possessing or purchasing a gun. California already has a similar law. The bill was submitted on the third anniversary of the Isla Vista Massacre, when 22-year-old Elliot Rodger California shot and killed six people and injured 14 more near the campus of UC-Santa Barbara. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) will introduce the bill on the floor of the U.S. Senate. “Families have little recourse if they want to ensure their loved ones do not get their hands on guns that they cold use to kill themselves or other people,” Feinstein said in a statement. “Our bill would help states establish a court process to allow that to happen.”
• California state Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara) teamed up with reproductive rights nonprofit NARAL (formerly known as the National Abortion Rights Action League) to propose SB 309 that would create a pro-choice license plate. The license plate would cost an additional $50 with vehicle registration and $40 to renew. The money would go to fund the state’s Family Planning, Access, Care, and Treatment Program. There are three plate designs being considered. Drivers can vote for the design, as well as pre-order a plate, at californiatrustswomen.org. “SB 309 will provide a way for Californians who are deeply troubled by the federal attack on women’s rights and health care to take their values ‘to the street’ while providing a vital funding mechanism for California’s network of reproductive health care providers,” Jackson said in a statement.
This article appears in Jun 1-8, 2017.
