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AMERICAN
“A Man In Debt is So Far A Slave” -R.W. Emerson
NEWSPAPER A Community Newspaper Serving San Bernardino, Riverside & Los Angeles Counties
June 30, 2022 Thursday Edition
Volume 53 No. 11 Mailing: P.O. Box 837, Victorville, CA 92393
Office: (909) 889-7677
Email: Mary @Sb-American.com
Website: www.SB-American.com
Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will. Find out just what people will submit to and you have found out the exact amount of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them and these will continue till they have resisted either with words or blows or with both. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance those of whom they suppress. —Fredrick Douglass (1849)
Protests, Outrage Follow Supreme Court Roe v. Wade Ruling Tanu T. Henry | California Black Media
The Supreme Court ruling that overtunrd Roe v. Wade, a 51 year old decision has sparked protests around the country and united opponents determined to use their political power to push back against it.
La st week’s Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade, the 51-year-old decision that guaranteed a woman’s right to an abortion, continues to draw outrage. It has sparked protests around the country and united opponents determined to use their political power to push back against it. Critics say the decision disregards decades of legal precedent and opens the door for nearly half of U.S. states who have stated their desire -- or instituted proceedings -- to ban the procedure. Last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom released a statement showing his displeasure with the ruling and spoke out against anti-abortion policies in Texas, which is among the 11 states that have banned or enacted restrictions on abortion. “I am outraged by yesterday’s U.S. Supreme Court decision allowing Texas’s ban on most abortion services to remain in place, and largely endorsing Texas’s scheme to insulate its law from the fundamental protections of Roe v. Wade,” the governor’s statement read. “But if states can now shield their laws from review by the federal courts that compare assault weapons to Swiss Army knives, then California will use that authority to protect people’s lives, where Texas used it to put women in harm’s way,” the statement continued. Newsom followed with a
tweet reiterating California’s commitment to providing abortion care and protections for women. “Abortion is legal in California. It will remain that way. I just signed a bill that makes our state a safe haven for women across the nation. We will not cooperate with any states that attempt to prosecute women or doctors for receiving or providing reproductive care,” he wrote. To hold gun manufacturers accountable, Newsom says he plans to use tactics similar to the ones Texas employed to target, attack and box in abortion providers. “I have directed my staff to work with the Legislature and the Attorney General on a bill that would create a right of action allowing private citizens to seek injunctive relief, and statutory damages of at least $10,000 per violation plus costs and attorney’s fees, against anyone who manufactures, distributes, or sells an assault weapon or ghost gun kit or parts in the State of California. If the most efficient way to keep these devastating weapons off our streets is to add the threat of private lawsuits, we should do just that,” Newsom said. Congresswoman Barbara Lee District 13 (Oakland) released a statement listing steps individuals outraged by the Supreme Court’s decision can take to fight back. In it, she also blasted lawmakers responsible for taking away citizens’ rights to make their
own healthcare decisions. “Now, we must support local clinics, health providers, abortion funds and nonprofits doing the groundwork to connect those in states with draconian abortion bans to safe-haven states like California or provide access to medication abortion. We must ensure safe abortions are still accessible to the most vulnerable,” Lee said. “This is NOT over. We must fight this in state legislatures. We must organize and elect a prochoice Senate in the midterms and every election thereafter. Rep. Karen Bass District 37(Los Angeles), who is running for mayor of Los Angeles, said biases related to race and class are factors that influence access to health care. “Today is a devastating day in the history of this country, especially for the most vulnerable communities. The reality is that affluent women will always have the right to choose even in states that establish bans on abortion,” she said. “Today's decision is an attack on low-income women and women of color by the same people who don't believe in accessible childcare or affordable food programs in schools. The idea that we are still fighting in 2022 for our right to access to reproductive health care -- a battle that was resolved fifty years ago—is an absolute tragedy and sets a potentially unconscionable precedent of decisions impacting
equal rights under the law.” Alexis McGill Johnson, President of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, warned that the Supreme Court’s decision may be a precursor to other protections being overturned in the future. “Knowing this moment would come does not make it any less devastating. The Supreme Court has now officially given politicians permission to control what we do with our bodies, deciding that we can no longer be trusted to determine the course for our own lives,” she said. W h i le t he SCOT US’ decision saddens Johnson, she is hopeful that the ruling will mobilize people to make their voices heard and exercise their power to create change. “But in stripping away our rights, the Supreme Court and anti-abortion politicians have also unleashed a movement. We are a movement that will not compromise on our bodies, our dignity, or our freedom,” she said. “We are a movement that will show up at every town hall, every legislative session, and every ballot box to demand we are treated like equal citizens. We are a movement that will do what we can to get abortion care to people and people to abortion care.” D e s pit e t he Supre me Court’s r uling, abortions remain legal in California.
California Police Killing Shows Need for Mental Health 911, But 988 Hurdles Remain By: Radiah Jamil and Julianne Hill Four officers from the Walnut Creek Police Department in California arrived at Taun Hall’s home just minutes after she called 911, seeking help for her son Miles who was experiencing a mental health crisis. For years, Hall had been developing a relationship with police in preparation for an emergency call like this, hoping it would be met with compassion. Miles was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, and during the previous year, his hallucinations and delusions came and went. During that time, Miles’s mom learned as much as possible about the disease and made sure police knew of her son’s condition. But on June 2, 2019, 23-year-old Miles broke a sliding glass door with a crowbar, thinking that it was a staff, or stick, from God. When the officers arrived, they saw Miles as a threat and the tool as a weapon, and two officers fired their guns at him, killing Miles. Communities around the country are reimagining their responses to mental health emergencies. Congress has mandated a new three digit hotline – 988 — an alternative to 911 designed to handle mental health emergencies, ranging from people with suicidal thoughts to those with hallucinations. It will launch this July. With the change, many communities aim to shift the response to mental health emergencies from the hands of law enforcement to mobile crisis teams staffed with trained mental health professionals. In 2021, more than 20% of 911 calls involved either a mental health or substance use crisis, according to the American Psychological Association. “We hear endless stories about
Miles Hall with his mother, Taun Hall families who call (911) in distress because their kid is having a psychotic episode or some other kind of a mental health condition that's frightening,” says Vincent Atchity, Mental Health Colorado president and CEO. That typically summons police. “Somebody who's experiencing a psychotic episode, or is in some kind of altered state based on their mental health condition, does not necessarily respond well to scary-looking individuals coming into their homes, and barking commands at them,” he adds. “And when police orders are not readily complied with, they apply the tools that are most familiar to them–and that is asserting control over a situation by laying on hands, or using other implements of control like tasers, sticks, or guns.” Advocates say they hope the implementation of 988 will include providing around-the-clock access to mental health professionals for those in crisis, integrating a care system to prevent suicides, and offering mental health care rather than jail cells. Despite the federal mandate, each state must hammer out legislation and funding and continued on page 3
MISSION STATEMENT Clifton Harris /Editor in Chief Investigative Reporter sbamericannews@gmail.com Mary Martin-Harris / Editor Legal /Display Advertising (909) 889-7677 Clifton B. Harris / Audio Engineering Editor Digital Online Banner Advertising (909) 889-7677 The San Bernardino American News was established May 6, 1969. A legally adjudicated newspaper of general circulation on September 30, 1971, case number 15313 by the Superior Court of San Bernardino County. The San Bernardino AMERICAN News subscription rate is $59.00 per year. The San Bernardino AMERICAN News is committed to serving its readers by presenting news unbiased and objective, trusting in the mature judgment of the readers and, in so doing, strive to achieve a united community. News releases appearing in the San Bernardino AMERICAN News do not necessarily express the policy nor the opinion of the publishers. The San Bernardino AMERICAN News reserves the right to edit or rewrite all news releases.