Featured Stories
Stacey G. Lehr Foundation Commits $1 Million to John Stoddard Cancer Center
WEST DES MOINES, Iowa, June 27 -- UnityPoint Health issued the following news release:
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Stacey G. Lehr Foundation Commits $1 Million to John Stoddard Cancer Center
The Stacey G. Lehr Foundation has committed $1 million to support adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer care at UnityPoint Health - John Stoddard Cancer Center, ensuring young adults facing cancer have access to the specialized support and resources they need throughout their treatment journey.
The gift, announced during the 26th Annual Rally Against Cancer, will name the Stacey G. Lehr Adolescent & Young Adult Cancer Program,
... Show Full Article
WEST DES MOINES, Iowa, June 27 -- UnityPoint Health issued the following news release:
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Stacey G. Lehr Foundation Commits $1 Million to John Stoddard Cancer Center
The Stacey G. Lehr Foundation has committed $1 million to support adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer care at UnityPoint Health - John Stoddard Cancer Center, ensuring young adults facing cancer have access to the specialized support and resources they need throughout their treatment journey.
The gift, announced during the 26th Annual Rally Against Cancer, will name the Stacey G. Lehr Adolescent & Young Adult Cancer Program,honoring the life and legacy of Stacey Lehr.
Stacey passed away in 2023 at the age of 42 following a courageous battle with breast cancer. A talented designer, entrepreneur, mother of three and passionate advocate for others, Stacey was known for her ability to make people feel seen and cared for - even during her own cancer journey.
"For our family and all those who were close to Stacey, this gift is about honoring who she was and the way she lived her life," said Kent Lehr. "Even during treatment, Stacey was always asking how we could help other people facing difficult circumstances. Supporting young adults with cancer reflects her heart for others and her desire to make a difference. I am grateful to the many family members and friends who have joined us in this commitment, and I am proud to partner with John Stoddard Cancer Center to see it through."
The Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Program serves patients navigating cancer during some of life's most formative years. Whether they are pursuing education, building careers, raising families or planning for the future, young adults often face unique emotional, practical and financial challenges alongside their medical treatment.
The Stacey G. Lehr Adolescent & Young Adult Cancer Program will help provide specialized support services designed to address those challenges and ensure patients receive care that extends beyond treatment alone.
"Young adults facing cancer have needs that are distinct from both pediatric and older adult populations," said Sarah Zeidler, Executive Director of John Stoddard Cancer Center. "This extraordinary gift will help us continue providing comprehensive support that addresses the physical, emotional and practical realities these patients experience. We are deeply grateful to Kent Lehr and the Lehr and Gibbs Families for their generosity and partnership."
The commitment reflects the mission of the Stacey G. Lehr Foundation to continue Stacey's legacy of helping others and creating meaningful impact within the community.
"For our family, the incredible friends Stacey made throughout her life, and for our children, this gift represents more than a philanthropic investment," said Lehr. "It's a lasting tribute to Stacey's life, values and enduring impact on the community we both loved. Her love continues to show up for others, and her legacy will continue to grow through every life this program touches."
The Stacey G. Lehr Adolescent & Young Adult Cancer Program builds upon Stoddard Cancer Center's commitment to providing comprehensive, patient-centered cancer care for individuals and families throughout Iowa.
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Original text here: https://www.unitypoint.org/news-and-articles/press-releases/stacey-g-lehr-foundation-commits-one-million-dollars-to-john-stoddard-cancer-center
[Category: Health Care]
Protect Our Care: Statement - ACA Enrollment Drops By 3 Million After Trump and Republicans Gut American Health Care
WASHINGTON, June 27 (TNSrep) -- Protect Our Care issued the following news on June 26, 2026:
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STATEMENT: ACA Enrollment Drops By 3 Million After Trump and Republicans Gut American Health Care
Today, the Trump administration released new Affordable Care Act (ACA) enrollment data showing enrollment has plunged to 19.2 million people. This comes after Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress made the largest cut to Medicaid in history, putting care at risk for seniors in nursing homes, sick kids, and moms to fund tax breaks for billionaires and big corporations. They also ripped away the ACA
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, June 27 (TNSrep) -- Protect Our Care issued the following news on June 26, 2026:
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STATEMENT: ACA Enrollment Drops By 3 Million After Trump and Republicans Gut American Health Care
Today, the Trump administration released new Affordable Care Act (ACA) enrollment data showing enrollment has plunged to 19.2 million people. This comes after Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress made the largest cut to Medicaid in history, putting care at risk for seniors in nursing homes, sick kids, and moms to fund tax breaks for billionaires and big corporations. They also ripped away the ACAhealth care tax credits from hard-working families, causing premiums to double, triple, and even quadruple. Now, hospitals and providers are at risk of cutting services or closing their doors completely, costs are skyrocketing, millions are losing health care coverage, and this is just the beginning. Insurers are already requesting double-digit rate increases for 2027.
Protect Our Care Chair Leslie Dach issued the following statement:
"Donald Trump and Republicans are engineering the most devastating assault on health care in history, and today's numbers prove it. They ripped away the tax credits that helped millions afford coverage, gutted funding to help people enroll, and sabotaged the ACA at every turn. They knew exactly what would happen, they chose to do it anyway, and it's going to get worse.
"Among the three million who have lost coverage are parents skipping cancer screenings, patients rationing insulin, and families who are now one medical emergency away from financial ruin. Republicans created this crisis on purpose, and while Americans pay for it with their health and their lives, billionaires are cashing their tax cut checks."
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Background
* NEW REPORT: Over Five Million Americans Lost Coverage In the Year Following Trump-GOP Health Care Cuts (https://www.protectourcare.org/new-report-over-five-million-americans-lost-coverage-in-the-year-following-trump-gop-health-care-cuts/)
* Cover-Up: The Trump Administration Is Using Red Tape to Hide How Much Worse They're Making Republican Health Care Cuts (https://www.protectourcare.org/cover-up-the-trump-administration-is-using-red-tape-to-hide-how-much-worse-theyre-making-republican-health-care-cuts/)
* For Millions of Families, Health Care Is No Longer Affordable After Republican Cuts (https://www.protectourcare.org/for-millions-of-families-health-care-is-no-longer-affordable-after-republican-cuts/)
* Sabotage Alert: New Trump Rule Will Hike Costs Even More as Americans Are Already Grappling With GOP Health Care Crisis (https://www.protectourcare.org/sabotage-alert-new-trump-rule-will-hike-costs-even-more-as-americans-are-already-grappling-with-gop-health-care-crisis/)
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Original text here: https://www.protectourcare.org/statement-aca-enrollment-drops-by-3-million-after-trump-and-republicans-gut-american-health-care/
[Category: Health Care]
NRDC: California's Coastal Management Authority Is Under Attack
NEW YORK, June 27 -- The Natural Resources Defense Council issued the following news release:
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NRDC: California's Coastal Management Authority Is Under Attack
Federal review of California's coastal management program could clear the way for offshore oil drilling
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The Trump administration has formally initiated a federal review of California's Coastal Management Program under the Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA). It is holding public meetings to specifically solicit comments on the state's oversight of offshore oil production, spaceport infrastructure, pipelines, desalination projects,
... Show Full Article
NEW YORK, June 27 -- The Natural Resources Defense Council issued the following news release:
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NRDC: California's Coastal Management Authority Is Under Attack
Federal review of California's coastal management program could clear the way for offshore oil drilling
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The Trump administration has formally initiated a federal review of California's Coastal Management Program under the Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA). It is holding public meetings to specifically solicit comments on the state's oversight of offshore oil production, spaceport infrastructure, pipelines, desalination projects,and undersea cables.
This comes as the administration advances a five-year oil and gas leasing program under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OSCLA) that would open California's coasts to oil and gas drilling over the state's objections. At risk is California's coastal permitting authority, the state's ability to protect its coastal resources, and millions in annual federal funding.
The following is a statement from Taryn Kiekow Heimer, Ocean Energy Director at NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council):
"This is a blatant attack on California's right to protect its coastline. In seeking to undermine the state, the Trump administration is trying to bulldoze a path for offshore oil and gas drilling in California, which Californians have repeatedly and overwhelmingly rejected.
"California's waters should not be sacrificed to the fossil fuel industry. Our coastline belongs to the public, and we will oppose any effort to dismantle the protections that keep it healthy and vibrant."
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NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 3 million members and online activists. Established in 1970, NRDC uses science, policy, law and people power to confront the climate crisis, protect public health and safeguard nature. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Beijing and Delhi (an office of NRDC India Pvt. Ltd).
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Original text here: https://www.nrdc.org/press-releases/nrdc-californias-coastal-management-authority-under-attack
[Category: Environment]
Humans of Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences: Emma Beretta
BOULDER, Colorado, June 27 -- The Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences issued the following news:
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Humans of CIRES: Emma Beretta
Statistician found way to soundscape monitoring through hands on undergraduate research experience
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Emma Beretta is a passive acoustic data analyst at CIRES and NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) who uses open source software to build accessible visualizations about ocean sounds. A statistician by training, she is passionate about protecting Earth's ecosystems and mitigating human impacts on vulnerable environments.
Beretta
... Show Full Article
BOULDER, Colorado, June 27 -- The Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences issued the following news:
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Humans of CIRES: Emma Beretta
Statistician found way to soundscape monitoring through hands on undergraduate research experience
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Emma Beretta is a passive acoustic data analyst at CIRES and NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) who uses open source software to build accessible visualizations about ocean sounds. A statistician by training, she is passionate about protecting Earth's ecosystems and mitigating human impacts on vulnerable environments.
Berettafound her way to passive acoustics research after an internship at California Polytechnic State University in 2022. She was analyzing population count data from invertebrates who live along the Florida coast when she met Lecturer Maddie Schroth, who was starting an acoustics research project. The meeting sparked exciting new opportunities and relationships: Beretta helped Schroth test acoustic recorders, she joined fieldwork out of Morro Bay, California, and she met NOAA scientist, Lindsey Peavey and Ella Kim. Beretta went on to complete two summer internships with Peavey at the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and held a data manager position at the Cooperative Institute For Marine and Atmospheric Studies (CIMAS) before landing at CIRES.
Beretta and her colleagues at CIRES and NOAA NCEI recently launched the U.S. Ocean Sound Monitoring and Condition Reporting website. Explore the new dashboard to learn more about ocean soundscapes in national marine sanctuaries across the United States. You can focus on particular frequencies or species to see how acoustics have changed through time -- and you can compare sites. In the coming months, the team will continue to add more recording sites and data to increase the analysis capabilities of the website, and improve certain graphics to be interactive.
Humans of CIRES Q&A
What do you work on at CIRES?
I helped create and currently maintain the U.S. Ocean Sound Monitoring and Condition Reporting website. My main focus for this project is to use open source software to create standardized graphics that visualize information about ocean sounds archived at NCEI, and enable easy comparison of soundscapes recorded at 29 listening stations deployed in 12 national marine sanctuaries (NMS) across three United States regions: Eastern, West Coast, and Pacific Islands.
What are you most passionate about professionally?
My driving passion that led me to pursue a career as an environmental data scientist is my desire to help preserve Earth's ecosystems and mitigate human's increasing impact on vulnerable species, caused by our advances in technology and increasing need for resources. I completed my B.S. in Statistics with a minor in Biology at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo in 2024. During my studies, I discovered the importance of data analytics in ecology and became eager to apply my coding and logical reasoning skills to environmental research. I am particularly interested in marine science research because of the unique data collection challenges inherent to the ocean. Because visual data is incredibly difficult to gather miles offshore and deep below the surface of the ocean, I have become fascinated by the passive acoustics field, using sound recordings to study the ocean and its inhabitants to bridge critical data gaps.
Where did you grow up?
I grew up in Maplewood, New Jersey, which is about 30 minutes outside of New York City, but have moved around the United States quite a bit throughout my life. My parents are first generation immigrants from Italy who moved to the U.S. one year before I was born in Boston, Massachusetts. We then moved to New Jersey when I was two years old and the summer after my sophomore year of high school we moved to Redondo Beach, California. This last move was most impactful to my life but despite the challenges that came with it, I am forever grateful to my parents for having taken the leap to leave their country to pursue a better career and life for their kids.
What sport would you compete in if you were in the Olympics?
If I had the skills to be an Olympic athlete, I would love to participate in one of the skiing events, like ski mountaineering (skimo) or freestyle slopestyle skiing. I have loved skiing since I was little and even helped run my local ski club when I was getting my undergraduate degree. I currently work for CIRES from California as a remote employee, but proximity to the mountains is one of the many reasons why I am excited to move to Boulder this summer!
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Original text here: https://cires.colorado.edu/news/humans-cires-emma-beretta
[Category: Environment]
Community Frustrated by Cleanup Timeline at Six Lakes
NEW HAVEN, Connecticut, June 27 -- Save the Sound posted the following news release on June 26, 2026:
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Community Frustrated by Cleanup Timeline at Six Lakes
Hamden, CT -- Wednesday night, over 70 advocates and concerned neighbors gathered online and at the Keefe Center in Hamden to demand answers from the Department of Energy and Environmental protection (DEEP) about the cleanup and remediation of the contaminated Six Lakes property in southern Hamden. Local advocates in the Six Lakes Park Coalition want to turn the 102-acre forested wetlands into a public park.
Hamden Mayor Adam Sendroff
... Show Full Article
NEW HAVEN, Connecticut, June 27 -- Save the Sound posted the following news release on June 26, 2026:
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Community Frustrated by Cleanup Timeline at Six Lakes
Hamden, CT -- Wednesday night, over 70 advocates and concerned neighbors gathered online and at the Keefe Center in Hamden to demand answers from the Department of Energy and Environmental protection (DEEP) about the cleanup and remediation of the contaminated Six Lakes property in southern Hamden. Local advocates in the Six Lakes Park Coalition want to turn the 102-acre forested wetlands into a public park.
Hamden Mayor Adam Sendroffcommented, "It was great to see so much civic engagement at the Keefe Community Center Wednesday night. I'd like to thank the members of the DEEP remediation team for their presentation. And I'd like to thank the Six Lakes Park Coalition for their organizing, their advocacy, and for creating a vision that many people throughout Hamden would like to see become a reality."
Despite new, more stringent regulations that went into effect March 1st, DEEP has allowed Olin to remain under an earlier agreement and has granted the multi-billion-dollar corporation an additional eight-year timeline for testing and remediation at Six Lakes--three years longer than the new regulations could have required. This follows decades of delays and a drawn- out process that allows Olin to drag its feet at the expense of local residents.
In response to questioning by the Six Lakes Park Coalition and concerned neighbors, DEEP Remediation Team director Ray Frigon defended the new schedule, calling it "reasonable" and emphasizing the complexity of testing multiple sites across the 102-acre property, including wetlands and steep slopes. The fact that the cleanup agreement with Olin is now 40 years old is the result of short staffing in combination with the demands of many contaminated site projects, Frigon told the community.
Six Lakes lead organizer Justin Farmer cited another reason: Six Lakes is part of a larger parcel once owned by Olin that includes the state-designated environmental justice community of Newhall.
"As Dr. King pointed out..., 'Only time can solve the problem of racial injustice.' Only the people of Newhall who have been waiting for justice and reciprocity can be the judges of what is 'reasonable.' To me, a $59 plane ticket down to St. Louis [where Olin is headquartered] seems reasonable even in this economy if I have to wait another 8 years to see justice for my community."
After the community meeting and Q&A, attendees contacted their legislators and signed up to volunteer at future actions.
The Six Lakes Park Coalition will continue to advocate for increased transparency, a more timely cleanup, and the opening of the property to public access.
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Original text here: https://www.savethesound.org/2026/06/26/press-release-community-frustrated-by-cleanup-timeline-at-six-lakes/
[Category: Environment]
CAIR Files Lawsuit Challenging Indiana U's Suppression of Doctoral Student's Speech and Scholarship
WASHINGTON, June 27 -- The Council on American-Islamic Relations posted the following news release on June 26, 2026:
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CAIR Files Lawsuit Challenging Indiana U's Suppression of Doctoral Student's Speech and Scholarship
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, filed a federal lawsuit today against Indiana University for violating Jewish doctoral student Sabina Ali's First Amendment rights by retaliating against her pro-Palestine expression on two different occasions during the Fall 2025 semester.
READ CAIR'S LAWSUIT
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, June 27 -- The Council on American-Islamic Relations posted the following news release on June 26, 2026:
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CAIR Files Lawsuit Challenging Indiana U's Suppression of Doctoral Student's Speech and Scholarship
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, filed a federal lawsuit today against Indiana University for violating Jewish doctoral student Sabina Ali's First Amendment rights by retaliating against her pro-Palestine expression on two different occasions during the Fall 2025 semester.
READ CAIR'S LAWSUIT(https://www.cair.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/S.D.-Ind.-26-cv-01362-dckt-000001_000-filed-2026-06-26.pdf).
BACKGROUNDER:
In September 2025, Ali was removed from a hybrid university event by the Interim Director of the University's Borns Jewish Studies Program, Gunther Jikeli, because she refused to hide her Zoom profile picture. Her picture depicted a woman, wearing a keffiyeh, in front of the words "Free Palestine" and the Palestinian flag. After the majority of attendees walked out of the event in protest of Ali's removal, Jikeli tried to justify his actions in a program-wide email, smearing Ali's image as a "Palestinian terrorist" and an "attack" on others at the event.
Two weeks later, Jikeli unilaterally denied Ali's application for funding to travel to a major academic conference, after her application received unanimous approval from the Program's faculty committee. Ali was scheduled to present academic research, funded by the Program, arguing that Zionist voices coopt the language of "Indigenous rights" to justify the ongoing occupation of Palestine. Jikeli offered no explanation for his actions, but his record speaks loudly: for years, Jikeli has smeared pro-Palestine speech at Indiana University as dangerous "Hamas propaganda" and conflated students' criticism of Zionism with antisemitism.
READ: CAIR Designates Indiana University as a "Hostile Campus" for Targeting Anti-Genocide Students and Faculty (https://www.cair.com/press_releases/cair-designates-indiana-university-as-a-hostile-campus-for-targeting-anti-genocide-students-and-faculty/)
The plaintiff, Sabina Ali, issued the following statement at the filing of her lawsuit:
"This lawsuit documents Indiana University's history of suppressing pro-Palestinian speech, including IU administration's brutalization of students, faculty, and staff during the Spring 2024 encampment for Gaza. Perpetuating this ongoing repression, Professor Gunther Jikeli has sought to suppress my pro-Palestinian expression, violating my First Amendment rights. He has repeatedly falsely characterized activism for Palestinian liberation as 'terrorism,' conflated anti-Zionism with antisemitism, and policed the boundaries of Jewish identity to exclude anti-Zionist voices. Jikeli's disregard for democratic faculty governance and his abuse of authority--such as denying my conference travel funding as targeted punishment for my speech--undermines academic freedom and creates a toxic environment of fear and retaliation, exemplifying how universities can too easily revert from sites of inquiry into instruments of repression."
"Indiana University acted to silence Ali for expressing solidarity with Palestine," said CAIR LDF attorney John M. Fossum. "But free speech is guaranteed by the Constitution--and also by Indiana University's own students' bill of rights."
The lawsuit calls for Indiana University to refrain from restricting and retaliating against Ali's viewpoint, in accordance with the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment, and for damages for First Amendment violations and breach of Ali's contract with Indiana University.
READ: KYR Free Speech in Schools (https://www.cair.com/know_your_rights/your-rights-as-a-student/)
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CAIR's mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
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Original text here: https://www.cair.com/press_releases/breaking-cair-files-lawsuit-challenging-indiana-us-suppression-of-doctoral-students-speech-and-scholarship/
[Category: Sociological]
A Better Wisconsin Together: Reminder - Tom Tiffany Voted Against Protecting Marriage Equality
MONONA, Wisconsin, June 27 -- A Better Wisconsin Together, a state-based research and communications hub for progressives, posted the following news release on June 26, 2026:
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Reminder: Tom Tiffany Voted Against Protecting Marriage Equality
Some Wisconsin Republicans voted in support of the bill, but not Tom Tiffany
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MADISON, Wis. - 11 years ago today, the United States Supreme Court released the landmark ruling that officially legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. But as marriage equality faces new attacks, Republican Congressman and candidate for Wisconsin governor Tom Tiffany voted
... Show Full Article
MONONA, Wisconsin, June 27 -- A Better Wisconsin Together, a state-based research and communications hub for progressives, posted the following news release on June 26, 2026:
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Reminder: Tom Tiffany Voted Against Protecting Marriage Equality
Some Wisconsin Republicans voted in support of the bill, but not Tom Tiffany
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MADISON, Wis. - 11 years ago today, the United States Supreme Court released the landmark ruling that officially legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. But as marriage equality faces new attacks, Republican Congressman and candidate for Wisconsin governor Tom Tiffany voted"No" on a bipartisan bill that would help protect marriage equality from being the next freedom taken away by Trump's MAGA justices.
"In addition to our private medical decisions and the books we read, Wisconsinites can also add marriage to the list of personal life decisions that Tom Tiffany wants politicians like himself in charge of," said A Better Wisconsin Together Communications Director, Lucy Ripp.
When MAGA Supreme Court justices overturned our constitutional right to abortion in 2022 and threatened that marriage equality could be next on the chopping block, Wisconsin Democratic Senator Tammy Baldwin introduced the bipartisan Respect for Marriage Act, a bill to help ensure the right to same-sex and inter-racial marriage is protected no matter a person's zip code.
In a show of true bipartisanship, some Wisconsin Republicans voted in support of the bill - but not Tom Tiffany.
According to Ripp, Tiffany's "No" vote on the Respect for Marriage Act despite the bill's overwhelming bipartisan support among constituents and politicians alike raises serious questions about who Tiffany is really looking out for.
"Clearly Tiffany won't lift a finger to protect our freedoms and constitutional rights," said Ripp. "Yet he'll gamble our healthcare and other benefits away to line the pockets of his billionaire backers in a heart beat."
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A Better Wisconsin Together is a state-based research and communications hub for progressives and is an affiliate of ProgressNow.
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Original text here: https://abetterwisconsin.org/reminder-tom-tiffany-voted-against-protecting-marriage-equality/
[Category: Economics]
