Tag: lawmaker

  • Congressman Andy Ogles introduces bill to send protesting students to Gaza

    Congressman Andy Ogles introduces bill to send protesting students to Gaza

    Republican lawmaker Andy Ogles has decided that the violent detention of college students participating in Gaza solidarity protests isn’t enough of a punishment. Instead, he believes the only way to encourage the students to stop using their right to protest is to ship them off to Gaza.

    Ogles, a Tennessee Representative, introduced a new bill into the House proposing that students who were arrested for protesting against Israel’s war on Gaza should be sent abroad to “provide community service” for a minimum of six months in the war-torn strip.

    He proposed this bill on Wednesday.

    https://www.yahoo.com/news/college-anti-israel-agitators-could-173040790.html?

    “Any person convicted of unlawful activity on the campus of an institution of higher education beginning on and after October 7, shall be assigned to Gaza for the purpose of providing community service… for a period not fewer than six months,” the bill reads.

    It is not currently clear what the exact parameters of the proposed community service would be, though the bill points to the term’s definition in U.S. Code, which are identified by universities “through formal or informal consultation with local nonprofit, governmental, and community-based organizations.”

    Even though it’s unlikely to gain momentum, the bill could impact approximately 2,100 students who were arrested while participating in peace protests in recent weeks.

    It’s at least the second time Ogles has hatefully condemned the citizens of Gaza and their American allies who want an end to the war. In February, the Tennessee Republican ruthlessly advocated for the complete extermination of Palestine while engaging in a fiery spat with an activist.

    “You know what? So, I think we should kill ’em all, if that makes you feel better,” Ogles, a self-described Christian, told a protester asking him about dead Palestinian children. “Everybody in Hamas.”

    “Hamas and the Palestinians have been attacking Israel for 20 years. And It’s time to pay the piper,” the lawmaker had remarked.

    Meanwhile, more than 34,000 Palestinians have been killed, and more than 77,000 Palestinians have been injured in the conflict, according to data from the Gaza Health Ministry. Most of the victims have been women and children.

  • First Muslim queer lawmaker elected in America

    First Muslim queer lawmaker elected in America

    Mauree Turner won her race for Oklahoma state House for District 88 becoming the first non-binary state legislator in US history and first Muslim lawmaker in Oklahoma.

    As per reports, Turner, 27, defeated Republican candidate Kelly Barlean to represent the district, winning about 71% of the votes, according to the Oklahoma State Election Board’s unofficial results.

    Turner identifies as non-binary, which the National Center for Transgender Equality defines as gender understood as neither male nor female. Turner uses both they/she as pronouns, according to Turner’s Twitter profile. She used the same on her campaign website.

    According to the LGBTQ Victory Fund, a national organisation dedicated to electing LGBTQ people, there are currently four known genderqueer or nonbinary-identified elected officials serving in the US and five public LGBTQ elected officials in Oklahoma. Turner is the first non-binary person to be named to a state legislature.

    An activist, community organiser and native Oklahoman, Turner has spent most of her life fighting for issues such as immigration rights, racial justice and criminal justice. Living as a black Muslim American queer woman in the state of Oklahoma, Turner said, she experienced not being seen or heard by lawmakers. Her campaign ran on a platform of seeking to drive conversations about what inclusive