Dear John,

June is here, and you know what that means—happy Pride month! 

This week, we are celebrating the beginning of Pride with a wonderful piece introducing you to the co-founders of WMN, a lesbian publication of art and poetry based in Queens, N.Y. WMN provides a platform for lesbian-identifying artists to have their work seen and heard—and we know that you will enjoy their powerful work just as much as the Ms. team did. 

During this month we’ll be watching to see if the Senate passes the Equality Act, which would ban discrimination against people based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The bill was passed by the House of Representatives back in February of this year, and the White House and business leaders have come out in strong support, not to mention that a majority of Americans agree. And yet—as we’ve been reporting for many months now—the Equality Act is another example of critical legislation with broad public support being held up in the Senate by the filibuster. 

Often touted as a way to force compromise, the filibuster has functioned only to hold up progress on bills that will have a significant and positive impact on the lives of the American people. It’s holding up passage of the Violence Against Women Act, the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, and the For the People Act, a comprehensive set of reforms to make it easier to vote in federal elections. And the threat of a filibuster is blocking final action on a resolution that would clear the way for the Equal Rights Amendment to be added to the Constitution—despite having MAJORITY support in the Senate.

Also this week, we are thrilled to share a wonderful piece by Representative Grace Meng (D-N.Y.), Chelsea VonChaz, founder of Happy Period, and Jennifer Weiss-Wolf, a leader in the fight for period equity. Together, they call for a whole of government approach to ending period poverty in the United States, writing that, “Period poverty is one of America’s alarming—and often hidden—inequities.” And we look at the cost of abortion restrictions to women, business and states. (We’re still looking for business leaders to stand up against these draconian laws being passed by state legislatures, to stand up for women.) 

And we are watching this weekend’s elections in Mexico. As Jennifer Piscopo writes, “While U.S. feminists were focused on breaking the 25 percent barrier for women in the House of Representatives, Mexican feminists … championed a groundbreaking constitutional reform: gender parity for all candidates for elected office, and for top posts in the executive and judicial branches.” Sunday’s elections will be the first time the gender parity rule applies to the gubernatorial races. 

Finally, I hope you’ll listen to our newest On the Issues podcast. Michele Goodwin interviews the “Fab 5” – the all-female Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. They preside over 10 million residents, control a budget of $38 billion and govern what would be the 19th largest economy in the world if Los Angeles was its own country. You won’t want to miss their stories! 

For equality,

Kathy Spillar
Executive Editor