April 8 was the final day of the Maryland General Assembly’s 2024 legislative session. Congratulations to all legislators, advocates, and to WDC’s passionate, dedicated, and all-volunteer advocacy team, led by WDC Advocacy co-chairs Cynthia Rubenstein and Melissa Bender. I am grateful for your service to Marylanders everywhere.
Out of 25 WDC priority bills that made Crossover, 19 passed in both Chambers by Sine Die and are headed to Governor Moore’s desk. I was thrilled to see SJ1, the resolution to affirm the federal Equal Rights Amendment, pass both houses. With the growing number of states imposing restrictions and outright bans on women’s rights to access health care, I applaud lawmakers for taking up this resolution. While Marylanders and those in 22 other states are fortunate to have state ERA protections in place, those state protections may be in jeopardy as long as the federal Constitution does not include the ERA as our 28th Constitutional amendment. Thank you to Senator Kelly and Delegate Patterson for their leadership in steering this important resolution through the General Assembly this year.
There were many other important wins this session that prioritize the well-being of women and their families, including the redefinition of consent, the Maternal Health Act, and the wage transparency bill that WDC supported this session. Read more about some of those bills in our in our Advocacy Corner below.
In other news, WDC kicked off April with a fabulous virtual program featuring Barbara McQuade, NBC and MSNBC commentator and author of Attack from Within: How Disinformation is Sabotaging America. We took a deep dive into the information war that is being waged in America. A key takeaway from the discussion: We need to make truth in democracy our national purpose. Disinformation, left unchecked and unexamined, is undermining our democracy.
As she asserts in her book, "Respecting each other means telling each other the truth. While we can never rid politics of spin and advocacy, we can insist on facts and refuse to perpetuate assertions we know to be lies simply to make a buck or somehow get ahead. Allowing public leaders, media, businesses, and institutions to propagate falsehoods assaults the integrity of our democracy,” This book is a must-read in today’s political environment. It can be purchased from Politics & Prose with the 10 percent discount code "Special10" through the store’s website: www.politics-prose.com.
Looking ahead, WDC has two in-person events coming up that I hope you will take advantage of. First, on April 18, WDC will celebrate Earth Day with Sarah Bloom Raskin, Special United Nations Environmental Consultant, on climate change, the environment, and net zero. Join us for this important conversation on how the choices we make now could determine the extent of future global warming and its impact on the environment, public health, and the economy. This WDC Happy Hour with a Purpose will be held at Los Chorros restaurant in Wheaton. For more information and to register CLICK HERE.
We will close the month with a U.S. District 6 Democratic Candidates Forum on April 28 at Seneca Valley High School in Gaithersburg. This will be a great opportunity for you to hear directly from the candidates on key issues, so please take advantage of it. To register for the forum, CLICK HERE to save a spot. You will have an opportunity to submit a question upon registration. For anyone unable to attend in-person we will be live-streaming the forum via our YouTube page. Please CLICK HERE to watch.
At WDC, we continue to bring you important events, presentations, community dialogues, advocacy efforts, and more throughout the yea, and, to make these events accessible to everyone, we provide many at no cost. But for us to be able to continue doing this important work we need your support. Please make sure you are renewing your annual membership and consider making an additional donation when you can. We also want you to join us by volunteering your time, attending our events, engaging with our advocacy, and sharing information about our work to amplify important issues and voices to bring Democratic values to our community now and in the future.
Stay Strong. Stay Focused. Stay United.
Tazeen Ahmad
President