In May this year an effort was made to repeal the Anti-Communist Laws in the State of California, prohibiting Communists for working in the state government. This follows a previous failed attempt to remove the restriction in 2008, in which a bill passed but was vetoed by the then state governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger. The Bill, AB 22, was introduced by Rob Bonta as an amendment to the 1953 law which would have amended section 1027.5 of the California Government Code that made membership of the Communist Party sufficient grounds for dismissal from state employment. It passed in the Assembly 41-30.
http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle...communist-oath-persists-despite-court-ruling/
Communists in California could soon be legally allowed to seek state employment
Facing a backlash from Republicans, Veterans and the Vietnamese American community, Rob Bonta announced he would not move forward with the bill, including being accused of being a "commie", being told to "go back to China" and death threats.
“After discussions with the public and constituents, I have decided not to move forward with Assembly Bill 22,” legislator Rob Bonta, a Democrat, said in a statement. “While AB 22 is a technical ‘clean-up’ bill that would remove statutory language that was ruled unconstitutional 50 years ago by the US Supreme Court..., it also brought up real pain for some,” he said. “Many expressed these concerns to me. Through my conversations with veterans and members of the Vietnamese American community, I heard compelling stories of how AB 22 caused real distress and hurt for proud and honorable people. For that, I am sorry.”
http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle...communist-oath-persists-despite-court-ruling/
‘I am sorry’: Assemblyman drops effort to end communist ban in California government
California MP drops bid to repeal anti-communist law
In Washington State, democratic senator Joe Fitzgibbon tried and failed to that would remove laws in the state prohibiting communists from voting or having jobs in the state government three times following opposition from Republicans. In Arizona the state successfully revised the loyalty oath in 2003 from swearing they are not members of the Communist Party to swearing they must not be terrorists. Illinois still has a loyalty oath for when candidates register to run for elected office, but the oath is optional. the requirement for candidates to sign a loyalty oath in Pennsylvania stopped in 2006 following objections from the Socialist Workers Party.
America's obsession with rooting out communism is making a comeback
The problem with these laws is not necessarily that they are legally enforced (as they are technically unconstitutional even though they remain on the statue book in many states). It is more in how they set a precedent for the undermining civil rights of other groups or as a form of intimidation of otherwise legal and constitutional activities. As Michael Risher of the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina put it, “Occasionally someone will dredge them up and use them to try to scare people … to stop them from speaking out.” “The danger is not so much that someone will be sentenced to life in prison, but that they will be restrained from doing something that they would otherwise do,”
In March 2017, Jill Bloomberg, a principal of a Brooklyn combined middle and high school, and two unnamed teachers were put under investigation at the school after being accused of being members of the Progressive Labour Party, recruiting students inviting them in participate in the party's activities, including marches. Jill Bloomberg is a critic of racial inequality in the school system and sued the city's department of education for violating her civil rights and is not a member of a communist group.
A Principal Is Accused of Being a Communist, Rattling a Brooklyn School
Given the ambiguity of the legal situation facing Communists in the US and the level of polarisation, I felt it was worth sharing here as we have to look out for each other. It is worth looking at the pinned thread here for more details for the legal status of Communism, including the US. Any additional information is welcome.
I know this sub-forum doesn't get a lot of replies but is there anything comrades would like to add on this? Do you think these restrictions made it more difficult to be open about your beliefs? Or do these restrictions simply feel normal given the depth of anti-communist feeling in the US?
http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle...communist-oath-persists-despite-court-ruling/
Communists in California could soon be legally allowed to seek state employment
Facing a backlash from Republicans, Veterans and the Vietnamese American community, Rob Bonta announced he would not move forward with the bill, including being accused of being a "commie", being told to "go back to China" and death threats.
“After discussions with the public and constituents, I have decided not to move forward with Assembly Bill 22,” legislator Rob Bonta, a Democrat, said in a statement. “While AB 22 is a technical ‘clean-up’ bill that would remove statutory language that was ruled unconstitutional 50 years ago by the US Supreme Court..., it also brought up real pain for some,” he said. “Many expressed these concerns to me. Through my conversations with veterans and members of the Vietnamese American community, I heard compelling stories of how AB 22 caused real distress and hurt for proud and honorable people. For that, I am sorry.”
http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle...communist-oath-persists-despite-court-ruling/
‘I am sorry’: Assemblyman drops effort to end communist ban in California government
California MP drops bid to repeal anti-communist law
In Washington State, democratic senator Joe Fitzgibbon tried and failed to that would remove laws in the state prohibiting communists from voting or having jobs in the state government three times following opposition from Republicans. In Arizona the state successfully revised the loyalty oath in 2003 from swearing they are not members of the Communist Party to swearing they must not be terrorists. Illinois still has a loyalty oath for when candidates register to run for elected office, but the oath is optional. the requirement for candidates to sign a loyalty oath in Pennsylvania stopped in 2006 following objections from the Socialist Workers Party.
America's obsession with rooting out communism is making a comeback
The problem with these laws is not necessarily that they are legally enforced (as they are technically unconstitutional even though they remain on the statue book in many states). It is more in how they set a precedent for the undermining civil rights of other groups or as a form of intimidation of otherwise legal and constitutional activities. As Michael Risher of the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina put it, “Occasionally someone will dredge them up and use them to try to scare people … to stop them from speaking out.” “The danger is not so much that someone will be sentenced to life in prison, but that they will be restrained from doing something that they would otherwise do,”
In March 2017, Jill Bloomberg, a principal of a Brooklyn combined middle and high school, and two unnamed teachers were put under investigation at the school after being accused of being members of the Progressive Labour Party, recruiting students inviting them in participate in the party's activities, including marches. Jill Bloomberg is a critic of racial inequality in the school system and sued the city's department of education for violating her civil rights and is not a member of a communist group.
A Principal Is Accused of Being a Communist, Rattling a Brooklyn School
Given the ambiguity of the legal situation facing Communists in the US and the level of polarisation, I felt it was worth sharing here as we have to look out for each other. It is worth looking at the pinned thread here for more details for the legal status of Communism, including the US. Any additional information is welcome.
I know this sub-forum doesn't get a lot of replies but is there anything comrades would like to add on this? Do you think these restrictions made it more difficult to be open about your beliefs? Or do these restrictions simply feel normal given the depth of anti-communist feeling in the US?
**Please Note this is in the Communist Only Sub-forum**
