Remember, a ‘a voteless people is a hopeless people’
30th September 2024 · 0 Comments
Our vote is our power.
We already have an ample examples of what happens when we, Black people, don’t vote in numbers: elected officials who do not have our best interests on their agendas.
Governor Landry is a prime example.
Landry, who hasn’t been in office a whole year, seemingly is fixated on usurping New Orleans’ governing bodies.
Just as the state took over our public schools, Landry is trying to take over New Orleans.
Landry put state troopers in the French Quarter and wanted to put state troopers all over the city.
Media reports in August 2024 indicate overall crime is down, but homicides have doubled in the French Quarter over the same period last year.
“To date, in 2024, there have been seven (7) homicide incidents reported in the area designated as the French Quarter, which is within the Eighth District, according to an NOPD statement.
One need not be a rocket scientist to determine that the permitless concealed weapon carry law has endangered this populous city, especially in its economic heart: The French Quarter.
It’s one thing to defend the Second Amendment and the right to bear arms, but how are our police going to solve cases involving guns when there is no state-level firearm registration or licensing requirement?
FindLaw reports that Louisiana gun control laws are among the least restrictive in the United States.
Louisiana does not require a license or permit to own a firearm, place state restrictions on the possession or ownership of assault weapons or large-capacity magazines, or require universal background checks before gun purchases.
Under federal law, all purchases and transfers made through federally licensed gun dealers must include a background check. Purchases and transfers made through private sales are not covered.
Moms Demand Action said concealed carry without the training and permits required now makes the streets more dangerous for citizens and police.
Louisiana’s Fraternal Order of the Police opposed expanding carry, though the Louisiana Sheriffs Association took no position on the bill. Louisiana is already an “open carry” state, which means people can carry visible firearms without a permit or training.
Republican Oil City State Rep. Danny McCormick, who reportedly said his 6-year-old granddaughter is “quite proficient” with an AR-15 assault rifle she used to kill her first deer, filed the gun rights expansion bill that ultimately cleared the Republican-dominated state legislature and was signed into law by Landry.
More guns, more crime, more homicides, more violence. That’s what Landry and his gun-loving Republicans have unleashed on us.
Last April, a newly formed New Orleans Citizen Committee called on local elected officials to “defend New Orleans.” According to the group, the authority of the city’s elected officials is under attack between the proposed state takeover of the Sewerage & Water Board, recommended by a task force assembled by Governor Landry, the deployment of state troopers in New Orleans and a proposed rewrite of the state constitution.
Meanwhile, Landry has ethics violations to settle.
Landry pushed state lawmakers to pass a law to give him control over the ethics board, which will take full effect in January. At that point, the board will expand from 11 to 15 members, and the governor will have more control over who is appointed to the body.
Over his nearly two decades in politics, Landry has gotten in trouble with the ethics board more than once for violating state laws.
In addition to not disclosing a trip on a donor’s plane to Hawaii, the ethics board reprimanded Landry for using his campaign funds to pay back a car loan, but he didn’t face charges.
The board fined Landry twice for failing to turn in his timely campaign finance reports. Landry attempted to waive the most recent fine, but the board declined.
The ACLU is suing Landry for signing legislation mandating the Ten Commandments be placed in public K-12 schools and universities, charter schools and private schools that receive public money.
So, what about children, parents and college students who are not gung-ho about Judeo-Christian values? What if they are not Christians at all?
What do people of the Jewish faith think about this? The atheists? The agnostics? The Baptists, Presbyterians, Methodists, Muslims, Buddhists? What about people who practice other religious or spiritual practices?
Governor Landry’s actions smack of fascism, as does former President Donald J. Trump’s “Project 2025.”
Trump’s lips are dripping with racism, dehumanization and white nationalism. His and J.D. Vance’s lies about Haitians eating people’s pets and immigrants tainting the blood of our nation are beyond sick.
As are his lies about Vice President Kamala Harris.
Trump seems incapable of telling the truth. The Washington Post found that Trump told 30,000 lies during his tenure in the Oval Office. His only claim to fame was giving the wealthiest American residents an $8-trillion tax break.
If re-elected, Trump will do the same: give our hard-earned tax dollars to himself and the richest among us. He promises to deport millions of immigrants illegally in the U.S., and fire tens of thousands of workers then replace them with loyalists, the AP reports.
He will urge Republicans to kill the Affordable Care Act, reduce Medicare and eliminate Medicaid. He vows to abolish the Department of Education and Ethics and fire tens of thousands of civil servants. He also vows to weaponize the U.S. Justice Department against his “perceived” enemies. If elected, it is likely he will be able to appoint more U.S. Supreme Court justices.
Our ballot is our voice and our power. Please don’t waste it.
This article originally published in the September 30, 2024 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
