Civil Rights News: Florida Rolls Back Voting Rights for Ex-Felons, Scott Walker offers Compromise, Bias in Counterterror Training
Fla. Republicans make it harder for ex-felons to vote
Washington Post
Voting rights for ex-convicts are now harder to attain after a recent vote in Florida. The new rules, which roll back a 2007 expansion of ex-felon voting rights in Florida by then-Governor Charlie Crist, now require nonviolent offenders to wait five years, and violent offenders seven years, before they can apply for restoration of civil rights.
Scott Walker Proposes Union Compromise in E-Mails
The Huffington Post
The battle in Wisconsin over key union rights is showing signs of resolution, as Republican Governo¬r Scott Walker begins to negotiate with state Democrats. Yesterday, Walker proposed a compromise that would allow continued collective bargaining rights in certain disputed areas, including salaries and overtime pay. However, Democratic legislators have said that the Governor’s offer doesn’t go far enough, as it excludes bargaining rights for important issues such as vacation pay and sick time.
New Concern about Bias in Counterterror Training
NPR News
Racial profiling and stereotyping have become a concern in counterterrorism classes, as unqualified teachers educate firefighters, beat cops, and federal agents on ways to fight terrorism locally. “That’s not the kind of information that is going to make our cops or federal officials smarter about terrorism,” said Sam Rascoff, a law professor at New York University. “That’s the sort of stuff that is going to paint the wrong sort of picture and cause them to go looking in the wrong places for the wrong sorts of things.” Poor training at this level threatens to wrongfully single out Muslims in communities across the nation.
Compiled by Alice Thompson and Hayley Lennon