From: “Nita and Shaunna, UltraViolet”
Right-wing groups are trying to block an amazing, pro-woman lawyer from becoming a judge on an important court. Tell the Senate: confirm Nina Pillard!
http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fact.weareultraviolet.org%2Fgo%2F1239%3Ft%3D2%26akid%3D664.6000.xKN5zy&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHvSOqKn3liKUkmWRFs0wJ2XmoK2g
Dear Readers:
This week is our last chance to get a pro-woman, pro-choice judge confirmed to one of the most important and influential courts in the country.
President Obama nominated a superhero–Nina Pillard–to be a judge on the DC Circuit Court. No really, she truly is a superhero, with a history of fighting injustices against women–and winning. She argued before the Supreme Court nine times, including upholding the Family and Medical Leave Act and ending the Virginia Military Institute’s exclusion of women. She’s been a lawyer for the Justice Department, ACLU, and NAACP.1
But right-wing groups like the Family Research Council are raising a ruckus, trying to get the Senate to block Pillard’s nomination because they don’t like her positions on abortion and abstinence-only sex ed.2 If their voices are the only ones senators hear, Pillard might not become a judge.
Senator Harry Reid is expected to call for a vote on Pillard’s nomination as early as Tuesday and some moderate Republican senators are on the fence about how they’ll vote.3 We have to show our support right away if we want her to be confirmed. Will you sign the petition asking the Senate to confirm Nina Pillard and put a great judge on an important court bench?
Sign the petition.
http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fact.weareultraviolet.org%2Fgo%2F1238%3Ft%3D3%26akid%3D664.6000.xKN5zy&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGkZXebau8s-aWIzyIUCjjRNOgtvg
In the fight for women’s rights, judges have a HUGE influence. Most recently, 3 female judges appointed by George W. Bush reinstated Texas’s sweeping abortion ban that’s closing clinics across the state.4 Judges who are more concerned with pushing an ideological agenda than good law are hurting women.
But it’s not just Texans who have to worry. Another George W. Bush-appointed judge on the DC Circuit Court–the very court Pillard is nominated for–authored an opinion saying religious employers can ignore federal birth control coverage rules. The judge has also called the New Deal a “socialist revolution” and likened Social Security to intergenerational cannibalism.5
Pillard’s nomination won’t just bring balance to the DC Circuit Court, it’s also critical for the court to function. There are currently 3 vacancies on the court which only has 11 seats.6 The DC Circuit hears cases on federal regulations–everything from environmental rules to labor policy. That’s why the DC Circuit Court is considered second in power only to the Supreme Court. Four of the current nine Supreme Court justices served on the DC Circuit Court.7
We can’t let ultra-conservative voices like the Family Research Council be the only ones senators hear from about Nina Pillard. It’s critical that we get such an amazing pro-woman, pro-choice superhero appointed as a judge if we want women’s rights to keep progressing. Will you sign the petition asking the Senate to stop the filibuster and confirm Pillard?
Add your name.
http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fact.weareultraviolet.org%2Fgo%2F1238%3Ft%3D4%26akid%3D664.6000.xKN5zy&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEmST_wT5valu-70_g5K-9MuBk_Ug
Thanks for all you do.
–Nita, Shaunna, Kat, Karin, Malinda, Adam, and Gabriela, the UltraViolet team
Sources:
1. Nina Pillard Nomination for D.C. Circuit Advances, Legal Times, September 19, 2013
Cry of the Republican Male Senator, Slate, July 25, 2013
2. Scary Feminist Nominated for Federal Judgeship; Conservatives Flip Out, Jezebel, July 24, 2013
3. Can You Be Openly Pro-Choice And A Federal Judge? We’ll Find Out Next Week, Think Progress, November 7, 2013
4. BREAKING: Three Bush-Appointed Judges Reinstate Texas’ Anti-Abortion Law, Think Progress, October 31, 2013
5. What You Need To Know About The Severely Conservative Judge Who Just Ruled Against Birth Control, Think Progress, November 1, 2013
6. Republicans Push Back On Obama's D.C. Court Nominees, NPR, September 19, 2013
7. Ibid.
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