There is an urgency to President Obama’s agenda in his second term. Unlike the first term, a second term president has little precious time to waste before the momentum is lost. Two months after the State of the Union address, the Obama second term agenda is moving at a slow pace. In his State of the Union address, President Obama urged the passage of gun control laws stating we must protect our “most precious resources-our children.” We need new laws to make it harder for criminals to get guns. Nothing will be 100% safe but we must make an effort. He asked that Congress call for a vote. Calling the names of Gabrielle Giffords, the parents of Hadiya Pendleton, a student who was shot and killed within days after appearing in the Inauguration parade, the Newtown families, Aurora, Tucson and all others affected by gun violence-saying they deserve a vote—up or down. Fast forward and now Republicans have threatened to filibuster the gun bills and prevent a vote from occurring. … [Read more...] about Pres. Obama’s 2nd Term Agenda- Is it Making Progress?
Archives for April 2013
We Must Get More Judges Confirmed
We need judges in the court room. There are thousands of cases that are heard each year by federal judges across the country. But a backlog in getting judges confirmed to replace retiring or departed ones has been going on for quite a while. Most people are not focused on the issue because quite frankly, it’s not one that seems to affect most people. But that’s where we’re wrong. A lack of judges affects everyone as federal judges decide issues that affect everyone. This problem has been going on now for over 4 years. Now it’s like a car stalled in neutral except the car is our judicial branch of government. And the judiciary branch is in an emergency situation in some states due to a lack of judges. Tracking the nominees since President Obama’s first term reveals an unprecedented delay of voting or confirming federal judicial nominees. To put things in perspective there are a total of 686 federal district judges, 179 circuit judges and 9 Supreme Court justices. All are nominated by … [Read more...] about We Must Get More Judges Confirmed
Maryland Has the Latest Gun Control Law to Pass
Maryland is the latest state to pass gun control legislation. Maryland’s law which was approved by the House of Delegates and Senate will ban 45 assault style weapons, limit gun magazine cartridges to 10, require fingerprinting to buy a gun and ban gun purchases to persons who have been involuntarily committed to a mental institution. It will also require that persons report if a gun is stole or lost. I applaud Maryland and Governor O’Malley’s stance on gun laws. This can only be the beginning towards the stand against violence. While Maryland has not been a state associated with mass killings like Colorado, Denver, Virginia and Connecticut, there’s no need to wait for a horrific crime of mass gun violence to occur before passing gun legislation to prevent it. Maryland’s largest jurisdictions are Baltimore City and Prince George’s County. In both of those areas, the homicide and violent gun crimes are mostly directed in lower socio-economic areas with mostly crimes against and by … [Read more...] about Maryland Has the Latest Gun Control Law to Pass
Gender Pay Gap and Women Lawyers
Equal Pay Day is the day that represents how far into the next year that a woman must work in order to earn what a man of equal work earned by the end of the previous year. On average women earn 77 cents for every one dollar that a man earns. No working woman is exempt from making less than her male counterpart, even women lawyers according to a recent study by the American Bar Association and other independent studies. Some people fault women for the pay gap citing the career choices that women choose causes them to earn less money. That argument doesn't hold muster when it comes to women lawyers. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, women's salaries are outpaced by men almost everywhere from the highest paying occupations to the lowest paying occupations. Everywhere from doctors and lawyers to cashiers and lesser positions, women earn less than their male counterparts. While some people think that the gender pay gap is a myth, all the reports from the American Association of … [Read more...] about Gender Pay Gap and Women Lawyers
Honoring the Memory of Ron Brown
This article was reposted with permission of the White House Communications. It can be also found on whitehouse.gov Today, we honor the anniversary of the passing of former U.S. Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown. Secretary Brown was a dedicated public servant whose untimely death during a trade mission to Croatia on April 3, 1996 ended his life far too soon. His vision continues to be important and today’s work at the Department of Commerce builds on his legacy. Secretary Brown served his country in Korea as a soldier in the U.S. Army and in the halls of Congress as chief counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee. He also broke down barriers – becoming the first African American chairman of the Democratic National Committee and the first African American to serve as U.S. Secretary of Commerce. In this latter role, he made perhaps his largest impact. During his tenure at Commerce, Secretary Brown pioneered a focus on exports that helped to boost the U.S. economy in the 1990s and … [Read more...] about Honoring the Memory of Ron Brown
Duane Buck Received Death Penalty for Being Black
There is a slow trend moving towards eliminating the death penalty. And 17 states, with Maryland being the most recent one, have joined in the process. There are many reasons for the elimination of the death penalty in America and race disparity is just one of them. Black men who are under represented in the overall population are over represented in the prison population and on death row. And states like Texas, Virginia and Florida trend towards executions, even where there are constitutional law issues. The Texas case of Duane Buck is a prime example of how the disparity of blacks on death row occurs. Buck was found guilty of killing his girlfriend and her friend. He had a sentencing hearing where he could be sentenced to life without parole or the death penalty. A state psychologist testified in 1997 that blacks are more likely to be a threat to society and eluded that the death penalty was a more appropriate penalty. Buck was sentenced to death based on the state doctor’s … [Read more...] about Duane Buck Received Death Penalty for Being Black