2022 Election – Page 2 – Powers For the People

Podcast: As Gun Violence Rocks US, March for Our Lives Calls for Action

Posted on July 12, 2022July 21, 2022 by Pamela J. Powers

Season 2, Episode 9 of a View from the Left Side focuses on our country’s epidemic of gun violence.

My opening commentary, recorded on June 1, 2022, refers to the mass shootings at a Buffalo, New York grocery store and at the Uvalde, Texas elementary school. Unfortunately, there have been more since then, most notably the Highland Park, Illinois Fourth of July Parade mass shooting. There have been more than 300 mass shootings in the US in 2022, according to the Washington Post. (Mass shootings are defined as events in which four or more people — besides the shooter — are killed or injured.) Mass shootings are averaging one per day in 2022, and there have been no weeks in 2022 without a mass shooting, according to the Post. This is not a well-regulated militia. This is a country with more privately owned weapons than people.

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Arizona Reacts to End of Abortion Rights (video)

Posted on July 7, 2022September 13, 2022 by Pamela J. Powers

Planned Parenthood & Dems Press Conference

Planned Parenthood of Arizona (PP) and the Arizona Democratic Party (ADP) held a joint press conference at the Arizona Capitol on June 24, 2022, the day the US Supreme Court struck down Roe v Wade, the landmark abortion rights case from 1973.

At the press conference, PP President and CEO Brittany Fonteno said that Planned Parenthood stopped all abortion care services and canceled appointments in Arizona that day, due to multiple conflicting state laws on the books.

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Stop Abortion Bans Rally, May 14, 2022 (video)

Posted on June 18, 2022July 7, 2022 by Pamela J. Powers

In early May 2022, a leaked Supreme Court opinion showed the court may be leaning toward eliminating or severely limiting Roe v Wade, the landmark abortion rights case from the early 1970s.

There were rallies and marches around the country to protest this ideological strike against women’s rights and body autonomy by a Supreme Court packed with appointees from a discredited President.

Here are two of the speeches from the Tucson rally on May 14, 2022 — one by Congressman Raul Grijalva and the second one by State Senator Stephanie Stahl Hamilton. The video clip begins with Mayor Regina Romero leading the unity clap as I arrived at Armory Park.

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Abortion Care Severely Limited in Arizona if SCOTUS Strikes Down Roe v Wade (video)

Posted on June 14, 2022June 14, 2022 by Pamela J. Powers

Senator Nancy Barto often brags that Arizona is the #1 “Pro-Life” state in the country. That’s because, for years, Arizona Republican politicians have followed the extreme anti-abortion agenda laid out by Cathi Herrod of the Center for Arizona Policy. Barto often sponsors these repressive reproductive rights bills, like the recent 15 week abortion ban.

If the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) strikes down the landmark abortion rights case, Roe v Wade, in the coming weeks, Arizona’s “Pro-Life” label will come back to haunt many residents as they find their right to body autonomy removed by state law.

Arizona Republicans passed the contentious 15 week abortion ban in 2022, but there are many abortion-related laws on the books. Some territorial era statutes criminalize doctors and patients for abortion. Controlling reproductive rights and sexuality are popular topics for Republican legislation. Rep. Walt Blackman is running for Congress — against Democrat Congressman Tom O’Halleran — on a strong anti-abortion platform. Blackman has made at least three campaign-style anti-abortion speeches on the Floor of the House this year.

Continue reading Abortion Care Severely Limited in Arizona if SCOTUS Strikes Down Roe v Wade (video)

March for Our Lives Calls Out Lawmakers at Press Conference (video)

Posted on June 12, 2022 by Pamela J. Powers

On June 1, 2022, March for Our Lives Phoenix hosted a press conference calling for Governor Doug Ducey and the Arizona Legislature to take action on common sense gun violence prevention legislation.

Jacob Martinez, March for Our Lives Phoenix organizer, gave opening remarks and introduced Superintendent of Public Instruction Kathy Hoffman, Democratic House Minority Leader Reginald Bolding, and Senate Minority Leader Rebecca Rios.

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