Blue cities in red states say they won't help enforce abortion bans

[babylonsister]

43 mins ago - Politics & Policy
Blue cities in red states say they won't help enforce abortion bans
Oriana Gonzalez


snip//

Driving the news: José "Chito" Vela, a member of the city council in Austin, has proposed a resolution to decriminalize abortion locally, even as Texas has one of the most restrictive anti-abortion laws in the country.

Jenna Hanes, a spokesperson for Vela, said his office has been in contact with lawmakers in several other cities, including Dallas, San Antonio and Houston, who are interested in advancing similar measures.

In Louisiana, Orleans Parish district attorney Jason Rogers has said he "will not shift priority from tackling shootings, rapes and carjackings to investigating the choices women make with regard to their own bodies."

Prosecutors in Nashville, Tennessee; DeKalb County, Georgia; Fairfax County, Virginia; and Durham County, North Carolina; have all said abortion-related prosecutions won't be a high priority for their departments, or directly stated that they will not enforce state bans.

That's an echo of the "sanctuary cities" that don't aid in federal immigration enforcement.

more...

https://www.axios.com/2022/06/02/liberal-cities-red-states-abortion-roe-bans

[Walleye]

1. They forgot to try and get the consent of the governed

[LiberatedUSA]

6. Just remember...

…cheer now, but red cities in blue states likely won’t enforce a gun ban; red states either. Any retaliation to that you can think of, the red states with blue cities can think of for abortion.

Basically this country doesn’t fit well together anymore.

[Walleye]

7. So it seems at least the Republicans are governing by grudges and retaliation

I think we have seen in other parts of the world that vindictiveness is not a good basis for society. We seem to have elevated it to a patriotic duty in this country somehow

[AleksS]

9. But are there red large cities?

Most of the population of the US lives in urban areas, and those are generally overwhelmingly blue. If bumblebutt backwoods Michigan village won’t enforce a gun ban, is it a big deal?

In fact, is there a significant red population center in any blue state? Or is the repuke population in blue states spread out amongst the rural areas?

[LiberatedUSA]

12. I guess red towns and areas would be more accurate for blue states.

The point is neither side has any intention of following any bans the other side comes up with.

[FakeNoose]

13. I would imagine Oklahoma City and Salt Lake City must have a majority of Repuke voters

... but by and large, the blue (Dem) voters tend to congregate inside the city limits. Also in areas where colleges, universities and cultural centers are located. For example, State College Pennsylvania is a small town in the center of the state, and they generally vote blue, but they are surrounded by deep red counties on all sides.

Yes there are Democrats everywhere in the United States and our numbers are still growing. To my way of thinking, blue voters are more likely to move to red areas, than the other way around.

[AleksS]

14. True ,OKC and SLC might be majority red--I'll google it later, BUT

Those are both in bright red states, so the chances of the state passing gun control laws that the city votes to ignore are pretty slim. I really don't think there are red-majority medium-to-large cities in blue-majority states. (towns, hamlets, and villages, sure.)

Edit: SLC is generally blue, it turns out. 53% Democratic in the last election. So that's something. I'm checking OKC now but am much less hopeful...

OKC is a red city in a red state, but not by much, and much less red than the state overall: "Oklahoma County, OK is Leaning conservative. In Oklahoma County, OK 48.1% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 49.2% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 2.7% voted Independent"

[FakeNoose]

15. OK thanks for checking

Don't forget that there are crossovers - by that I mean Repukes registering as Dems (and vice versa.) For the most part, the Repukes do this to mess with our primary elections, and it happens more in blue-ish states where the Repukes can't get their own candidates elected. They've been doing this since the 1990's I think, or maybe even longer.

The Dems aren't so active in this kind of ratfucking, but we just saw an instance of it in Georgia last week. Enough Dems registered in the GOP so they could vote down Chump's candidates and allow the incumbents to be nominated. Of course this only happens in primary elections, where we can only vote for our own party candidate. There's nothing to stop a Dem who's registered as a Repuke to vote for their own Dem candidates once they get to the general election.

The activity I just described is probably not happening in OKC or SLC as far as I know, but ....

[dalton99a]

2. Kick

A city of Austin spokesperson said in a statement that “the city is prepared to take the steps necessary to implement this resolution upon passage by City Council.” The council passed a similar measure in 2020 that effectively decriminalized marijuana by ending arrests and fines for low-level possession, which the police department has followed.

The new resolution doesn’t explicitly decriminalize abortion but rather directs police to make it their lowest enforcement priority in an effort to skirt conflict with state law, Vela said. But it highlights the tension between red state and the blue cities, where a new front in the battle over abortion rights is opening as the Supreme Court prepares to issue a decision on Roe in the coming weeks.

Austin’s proposal, which aims to protect both patients and providers, comes as an extension of the city’s efforts to preserve abortion access despite the state’s restrictions. The city has, for instance, provided logistical support for abortion access, including transportation, lodging and child care, since 2019 — a model St. Louis is now looking to replicate.

More cities in Texas could be next. Julie Oliver, executive director of Ground Game Texas, a group that pushes for progressive, local ballot measures, said they are looking at pushing similar measures in San Antonio, Houston and Dallas. If that isn’t successful, the group plans to turn to the local ballot initiative process.

[Roy Rolling]

3. Republicans

So the party of less government has to send in more government to enforce the laws they say are giving freedom to every unborn fetus in America.

If they knew half those fetuses grow up to be Democrats they wouldn’t be so aggressive.

[IronLionZion]

4. I would hope the 4th amendment and 9th amendment might apply here

to protect people seeking abortions

[SCantiGOP]

5. A worthwhile but futile effort

While a local government can emphasize which laws they want to enforce, a city or county cannot ignore or go against any State or Federal law.

[LeftInTX]

16. Doctors won't perform abortions anyway

They are licensed by the state and make a vow to follow the Medical Practice Act of the state.

I can't see this working for abortions unless a woman self induces an abortion etc.

[PTWB]

18. Sure they can ignore them.

Local police elect not to enforce state and federal laws all the time.

[Ex Lurker]

8. So blue municipalities won't enforce abortion legislation and red municipalites won't enforce gun

legislation. Here we stand in 2022.

[AleksS]

10. But, as is often pointed out,

Last edited Thu Jun 2, 2022, 04:47 PM - Edit history (1)

Cities tend to be blue. And more people live in cities overall in the US, and more business is done in cities, so anything that disproportionately happens in or is controlled by government in cities will A) affect more of the population, and B) lean towards blue/progressive positions.

If Dallas won't enforce TX abortion restrictions, but Podunk CousinGrandpaVille won't enforce IL gun control laws, we're coming out pretty far ahead on that one. I'll take that trade off.

If there’s an ideological war and the battleground is municipal policy, we’ll win.

[LeftInTX]

17. Doctors are the ones who make decisions on abortion

If it's against state law, they won't perform them

They can have their license revoked by the state even if no charges are filed.

It's nice to take a stand, but it won't be very effective.

It works with other laws, but since this also involves the Medical Practice Act, local governments can't do much.

[AleksS]

20. I believe the OP is about prosecuting women

Who seek abortions. I was led to believe that by the line: "will not shift priority from tackling shootings, rapes and carjackings to investigating the choices women make with regard to their own bodies."

What doctors will or won’t do would be a related, but different topic. Especially with chemically induced abortions available, etc. it’s good to know the cities are on our side. And as I was replying to, whatever retaliatory similar efforts are made by CousinGrandpaville podunk township, population: 150, won’t have a comparable impact.

[Amishman]

11. Yup, there is little answer for nullification like this

[Azathoth]

19. Not a good idea

Refusing to assist the feds (eg sanctuary cities) is one thing, as that can be tangled up endlessly in federalism, but individual cities are not sovereign entities. The state government could pass legislation taking over a city's government or even repealing its charter entirely.

There's a real limit to how far they can push.