The wave of new laws restricting voting access rolls on. On Tuesday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed a massive and dangerous voter suppression bill into law. It condones harassment of voters and election officials by poll watchers, bans 24-hour and drive-thru voting, and makes it harder for voters with language access barriers or disabilities to get assistance. It also violates three constitutional amendments, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Voting Rights Act. The Brennan Center has taken action, filing a lawsuit in federal district court to stop the worst provisions in this cruel and unlawful law.

Shortly after 9/11, Congress passed the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF). This open-ended resolution granted the White House permission to use military force against anyone anywhere, outsourcing Congress’s foreign policy responsibilities to the president in the process. The result has been untold numbers of foreign and domestic casualties, trillions of dollars in spending, and a ballooning military-industrial complex. In the final essay of the Brennan Center’s 9/11 at 20 series, Rep. Barbara Lee, the lone vote in Congress against the 2001 AUMF, powerfully argues that the time has come for Congress to step up and bring an end to endless war.

According to a public records request filed by the Brennan Center, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) authorizes its officers to conduct extensive surveillance of citizens’ social media. The department is purchasing new surveillance tools to track hashtags and harvest profile information, allowing officers to create “Fictitious Online Personas” to monitor activity, collecting social media account information when conducting stops, and establishing few limitations on officer authority.

Few details are publicly available about how most police and sheriff’s departments conduct investigations using social media. The Brennan Center is building a repository of police social media monitoring policies, which will be expanding as new information comes in. Data is currently available for departments in 13 states; browse the directory for information on police departments in your area.

The new census results make clear that our country’s diversity has grown, with all population growth coming from people of color for the first time in history. The redrawing of electoral districts, however, grants an opportunity for partisan political operatives to kneecap this new multiracial and coalitional America through gerrymandering. Preventing such a disastrous outcome will require bold action by Congress. Crucial reforms in the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the For the People Act would ban partisan gerrymandering and strengthen protections for the communities that need it most.

For too many legal aid organizations, client support stops at the courthouse door. For the poor and persecuted communities they represent, legal challenges are often only the start of their troubles. ArchCity Defenders Executive Director Blake Strode shares experiences from his organization’s work in St. Louis and describes its holistic advocacy model, which recognizes and supports clients as the experts in their own lives.

BREAKING: The Brennan Center, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, and co-counsel have sued to stop SB1, a Texas bill that will make voting harder. Read more on Instagram >>

Guns vs. Speech: Does the 2nd Amendment Threaten the 1st?
Tuesday, September 14, 2021 // 12:00 p.m.–1:15 p.m. ET
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