General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsGov Mcauliffe restores Voting Rights to more than 5,100 ex-offenders..
Last edited Wed Dec 31, 2014, 04:13 AM - Edit history (1)
ProgressivePhD @CallOut4Follow
McAuliffe restores rights of more than 5,100 ex-offenders @richmonddotcom
4:31 PM - 29 Dec 2014 12 Retweets 3 favorites
http://theobamadiary.com/2014/12/29/2014-50-most-memorable-moments/
Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe watched in an emotional moment for James W. Ray
snip//
James W. Ray sat silently in the front row of the church meeting room, rubbing his eyes.
Ray wasnt mourning a loss. Rather, the Vietnam veteran and felon wept over something that had just been returned to him the right to vote.
Those are tears of joy, observed Gov. Terry McAuliffe, who came to First Baptist Church in South Richmond on Thursday to formally restore the rights of Ray and two others.
The governor was commemorating a year in which the secretary of the commonwealths office restored the rights of 5,113 Virginians to vote, serve on a jury, hold public office and become notaries.
snip//
This is a great day in my life, said Ray, convicted in 2005 of a nonviolent felony. He received an official proclamation from the governor along with LaQuita Fairley and Verneda Muhammad.
This is whats great about being governor, said McAuliffe, who became a little emotional himself at seeing Rays reaction.
Ive said many times I think its important that everybody in life gets a second chance, the governor told the audience of parishioners, politicians and rights restoration advocates. They cheered and applauded frequently throughout the event as officials and former offenders alike told of trying to restore civil rights and the impact restoration will have on their lives.
MOre..
http://www.richmond.com/news/virginia/article_cbad7917-dac0-5ae1-a545-b5fafc29081b.html#.VKINMLIDXQM.twitter
Second Chances, baby! Thank you Governor McAuliffe~ The sacred right to VOTE
oldandhappy
(6,719 posts)Go, Gov.
The right to vote is number one.
Cha
(297,799 posts)Cha
(297,799 posts)appalachiablue
(41,182 posts)Cha
(297,799 posts)that's not going to happen.
Shame on Florida voters and those who didn't vote. This state is going head first into crap-ville.
Cha
(297,799 posts)Cha
(297,799 posts)Cha
(297,799 posts)appalachiablue
(41,182 posts)heard about high black and brown prison incarceration from him at a law school seminar in 2006. VA could use him again, should have stayed. Want to see more people freed from this terrible discrimination.
jaysunb
(11,856 posts)appalachiablue
(41,182 posts)Dave Brat doing? Heard nada since that primary-
jaysunb
(11,856 posts)Jim Webb. America, will like him too.
Hello from California !
appalachiablue
(41,182 posts)There's criticism as a candidate cuz of wimen, the CSA. That's about it I think.
Some folks like Sherrod Brown, me too though maybe not as pres. candidate.
jaysunb
(11,856 posts)and electability.
appalachiablue
(41,182 posts)SEA friends have a new place in San Diego.
Luminous Animal
(27,310 posts)ucrdem
(15,512 posts)I don't imagine it would impossible to make that happen if there was any congressional desire which obviously there isn't, for several reasons I can think of, bad and less bad but none good.
Orsino
(37,428 posts)We will never reform the prison system when we keep barring its victims/residents from the vote.
5,100 is a drop in the bucket, but the story is a nice reminder that some people still really care about the franchise.
Awesome initiative. Props to Terry, and let's hope the idea spreads!
Cha
(297,799 posts)2018, ucr!
ucrdem
(15,512 posts)it's also a good way to get out the Dem vote in 2016, not just from the reinstated voters, but their families and friends and communities. What's not to like!
Cha
(297,799 posts)freshwest
(53,661 posts)Cha
(297,799 posts)you have until it's taken away.
jaysunb
(11,856 posts)Cha
(297,799 posts)So happy for them Wish everyone took their right to vote with such appreciation.
951-Riverside
(7,234 posts)Felons are never really released, they have to live the rest of their lives labeled as an undesirable.
I think it should be illegal for jobs to discriminate against or refuse to hire people who have served their time for whatever crime they were convicted of.
Cha
(297,799 posts)herding cats
(19,568 posts)I've never understood the reasoning behind disenfranchising a block of voters because they once committed a crime. I could maybe see an argument for not letting people vote while they're being punished, but after they've paid their debt to society I can't understand it at all.
People make mistakes, it's human nature. Sometimes those mistakes are crimes, more often they're not, but putting a lifetime stigma on a person who committed a crime in their past is just barbaric to me.
Oh, and excellent OP, Cha! Thank you so much for sharing it with us!
Cha
(297,799 posts)incarceration. But, when I saw this story I just melted at James Ray's happiness at getting his Voting Rights back!
You're Welcome!
herding cats
(19,568 posts)It made my heart happy and I adore the feeling of a happy heart. You're the best!
Cha
(297,799 posts)lovemydog
(11,833 posts)I think all felons who have done their time (or whatever it's called) should be allowed to vote. Personally I think it's unconstitutional to deny it.
Cha
(297,799 posts)Gov McAuliffe says he has plans to do a lot more before his term is up.. "this is only the first year".
TexasTowelie
(112,517 posts)If a felon successfully serves his/her sentence for the crimes committed then he/she should have their right to vote restored. I also believe that they should be able to serve on jury duty (including grand juries) because of the life experience that they bring to the courtroom. Those two items are privileges and duties that are necessary to reintegrate convicts back into society.
Cha
(297,799 posts)don't even want to .. the same with Voting as we unfortunately saw in the MidTerms.
SunSeeker
(51,745 posts)Thank God for Dems like McAuliffe.
NBachers
(17,149 posts)I lived a long time in Miami, and I still wouldn't be able to vote if I still lived there. But I've been in California since the early '90's, and I registered soon after I got out of the halfway house.
I never miss an election. Let's hope this is the start of a trend everywhere.
Cha
(297,799 posts)takes it for granted, NBachers.
Gov McAuliffe said there's more to come.. he's "only been in office 11 months.. he's just getting started".
From the link..
"Virginia has historically been among the most restrictive states in the nation in returning civil rights to former offenders, requiring felons to go through a waiting period and a detailed application process even after they have served their time."
And, this..
States Deny Millions Of Ex-Felons Voting Rights
"Four states permanently disenfranchise ex-felons. In Florida, Iowa, Kentucky and Virginia, it takes a decree by the governor or a clemency board to restore a person's voting rights, and only after a predetermined waiting period and all fines and fees are paid can an individual submit an application."
MOre..
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/08/felon-voting-rights_n_1924535.html
Hope this starts a trend, too!
davidpdx
(22,000 posts)I really don't understand why once a person is released they can't immediately vote in all states. It is fucking insane.
Cha
(297,799 posts)why not honor them, encourage and inspire to make them believe it?
davidpdx
(22,000 posts)Oregon really went to the right on some of their decisions about prisons that last 20 years or so. It is surprising given how progressive the state is suppose to be. Part of the reasons is that ballot measures qualified for many of these issues and they actually passed. The other part was the large budget shortfalls Oregon had during the recession. Almost any type of rehabilitation has been cut to the point where very little is left.
/end slightly off topic rant
Cha
(297,799 posts)second chances. Why not go all the way as long as the person is willing?.. instead of making it easier to go back instead.
And, that is surprising about Oregon.. thanks for explaining why.
whathehell
(29,096 posts)Cha
(297,799 posts)whathehell
(29,096 posts)I've always thought that law was messed up.
riqster
(13,986 posts)Without our votes, we are reduced from citizens to subjects.
Cha
(297,799 posts)Mahalo
riqster
(13,986 posts)A very happy new year to you and yours.
Cha
(297,799 posts)Cha
(297,799 posts)JustAnotherGen
(31,937 posts)Cha
(297,799 posts)napkinz
(17,199 posts)thank you for sharing with us!
Cha
(297,799 posts)Cha
(297,799 posts)nt
CatWoman
(79,302 posts)Cha
(297,799 posts)This is a good argument for not cutting off the right to vote. If people are out of jail, why exclude them from society but not expect recidivism?
Cha
(297,799 posts)Thank you!
sheshe2
(83,953 posts)It was the right thing to do, Cha. The emotion on James Rays face said it all.
Cha
(297,799 posts)James Ray is a compelling example of someone who lost his right to vote and really appreciates getting it back!
sheshe2
(83,953 posts)Cha
(297,799 posts)ohheckyeah
(9,314 posts)surprised by our governor.
Cha
(297,799 posts)Gov McAulliffe but of course I'm not there in your state.
We have our own new Dem Gov and looking forward to seeing how he'll do. I'm optimistic.
ohheckyeah
(9,314 posts)Overly optimistic but he's won my admiration. Good luck with your new Dem governor.
Cha
(297,799 posts)HONOLULU On a windy morning in front of hundreds of students, state lawmakers and five former state governors, Sen. David Ige became Gov. Ige.
He gave a speech that focused on family as he became Hawaii's eighth governor.
I am a son of immigrants like most of us here in Hawaii, Ige said. We are forever marked by that immigrant experience, by that voyaging.
Ige takes over the states top job with unemployment at its lowest level since 2008, but he still says there is a lot of work to be done.
In the last several years, we have had to deal with some of the most divisive issues we've faced as a community, including GMOs, same-sex marriage and others that go to the heart of what many of us believe, said Ige. But that's the thing, you see. As important as those issues are, they really don't define us.
Hawaii's new governor served in the state Legislature for nearly 30 years before the inauguration Monday.
MOre..
http://www.kitv.com/news/David-Ige-becomes-state-s-8th-governor/30011984
http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/27562835/thousands-join-gov-ige-in-inauguration-celebration-dinner
Hekate
(90,865 posts)Cha
(297,799 posts)Mahalo
Not Montgomery Burns' Excellent, but instead the good, K&R type of Excellent!
Cha
(297,799 posts)Mahalo