Victoria A. Brownworth
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VICTORIA A. BROWNWORTH
Political Activist, Journalist , Philadelphia, PA
Your silence will not protect you. -- Audre Lorde
The resolution continues to explain that a current list of those states is available and that “this list shall be updated as necessary and shall conform to the lists maintained by those states which track the enactment of such legislation, including, but not limited to, the State of California Attorney General’s office.”
NAWJ President, the Honorable Elizabeth A. White, made the announcement. White said, “At today’s Annual Business Meeting, NAWJ affirmed the position we have always maintained namely, that we abhor discrimination of any kind, and we vow to continue to support all of our members without regard to race, gender, ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation.”
White also said, “Since 1979, NAWJ has been recognized as the premier voice for women jurists in the United States and the only association representing all levels of the judiciary. NAWJ’s mission is to promote the judicial role of protecting the rights of individuals under the rule of law through strong, committed, diverse judicial leadership, fairness and equality in the courts, and equal access to justice.”
According to the Honorable Kristin L. Rosi, Chief Administrative Law Judge at the California Department of Insurance, “Five members spoke in opposition of the Resolution, four of which are NAWJ Board members, including the current Board President, President-Elect, Treasurer and International Director.”
Rosi told PGN, “Of the five members who spoke in opposition, only two are from states on the California Attorney General’s list; one from Texas and one from Florida.”
Rosi is chair of the NAWJ’s LGBTQ Committee.
Tennessee, where the 2021 meeting was held, is among the states listed. The other 17 are: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, South Carolina, Texas and West Virginia.
The International Association of LGBTQ+ Judges released a statement lauding the NAWJ action, calling it a “groundbreaking resolution,” and saying that “The resolution, which was shepherded through the governance process by NAWJ’s LGBTQ Committee, sets a standard for all legal and judicial organizations to consider the personal safety and dignity of all its members when selecting conference or meeting sites.”
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