Mayors are ready to pass gun control laws, but we can't do it unless the NRA and state legislatures get out of our way. We need to end gun preemption. This op-ed by 11 Mayors of major cities in the United States appeared in USA TODAY, March 23rd, 2018. Atop that list should be smart, common-sense [...]
Florida's failure to ban assault weapons has angered some local officials, but they have few options for recourse. Some are taking the issue to voters, while others are challenging a state law that bans cities from passing gun laws. This article by Natalie Delgadillo appeared in Governing, March 20th, 2018. After the mass shooting in [...]
Blocks Youngstown Drinking Water Protection Initiative from May ballot; community turns to Ohio Supreme Court A Press Release from the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund, from March 19, 2018. YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO: For the second time in six months, the Mahoning County Board of Elections (BOE) unanimously blocked Youngstown residents from voting on a duly qualified citizen [...]
One-third of state legislature supports Community Rights Amendment; momentum building to advance rights A Press Release from the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund, from March 16, 2018. Yesterday, the New Hampshire House debated and voted on CACR19, the NH Community Rights Amendment, which received one-third of the legislators’ support. This is the first Community Rights state [...]
A Blog Posting by Lindsey Schromen-Wawrin and Tish O'Dell of the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund, from March 14th, 2018. When does the right to own a gun carry more cultural and legal weight than the right of a community to collectively decide what safety means and how to create protected, healthy, and resilient communities? That is a [...]
This article by Simon Davis-Cohen appeared in The Progressive March 8th, 2018. n January 16, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen confirmed that the Department of Justice intends to pursue criminal charges against local and state officials who defend “sanctuary” policies. “The Department of Justice is reviewing what avenues may be available,” Nielsen told the [...]
This letter to the editor by Austin Babrow appeared in the Athens News March 8th, 2018. Do you remember in fall of 2011, when the fracking landmen came to town offering bonuses for signed mineral-rights leases, when they were caught on tape claiming that chemical-laden fracking water was essentially Dawn dishwashing liquid? Where were the [...]
As local politicians attempt to keep government from grinding to a halt, they need the support of an involved citizenry. This article by Brooks Rainwater and Nestor M. Davidson was published on City Lab, March 8th, 2018. In the wake of the Parkland tragedy, mayors of Florida cities—and other local leaders across the nation—want to [...]
This article by Sean Kinane, and 2 minutes of audio, appeared on 88.5 WMNF's website, March 7th, 2018. Actions by a south Florida city could end up challenging a Florida law that prohibits local governments from enacting gun laws that are stricter than state laws; and a new nationwide poll suggests that Americans oppose rules that preempt [...]
'You don't have an oil and gas problem; you have a democracy problem' This article by Anthony Hahn appeared in the Daily Camera, March 5th, 2018. Calls for an outright fracking ban took center stage at a community forum with representatives of the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund on Monday night — a meeting heralded [...]
