Sept 22, 2023 – A cautionary tale…
The Conversation (Queen’s) – Corinne L. Mason and Leah Hamilton
How the ‘parental rights’ movement gave rise to the 1 Million March 4 Children
The authors Mason and Hamilton trace the Parental Rights Movement in its historic and current iteration in the United States, ending for the moment with Moms for Liberty, who, according to the very credible Southern Poverty Law Center, “is an anti-government and right-wing extremist organization with ties to white nationalists, including the Proud Boys.” “What is the so-called parental rights movement? Some mainstream analyses suggest it’s simply a group of united parents who are invested in their children’s education…But we debunk this misinformation by offering a brief history of the origins of the parental rights movement and some of its key organizers.” The Canadian organizers are Family ❤️ Freedom and Hands Off Our Kids. The authors conclude: “Parents clearly want to be involved in their children’s education. However, aligning with the parental rights movement will not increase parental involvement in school. This movement isn’t about enhancing education or protecting children — it is a conduit for right-wing extremism that will only serve to harm 2SLGBTQIA+ youth.” https://theconversation.com/how-the-parental-rights-movement-gave-rise-to-the-1-million-march-4-children-213842?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Latest%20from%20The%20Conversation%20for%20September%2021%202023&utm_content=Latest%20from%20The%20Conversation%20for%20September%2021%202023+CID_90776bbc4b37fa9530efd683cc47829b&utm_source=campaign_monitor_ca&utm_term=How%20the%20parental%20rights%20movement%20gave%20rise%20to%20the%201%20Million%20March%204%20Children Related article: CBC News: Arrests, heated exchanges mark rallies for and against teaching LGBTQ rights in schools – Arrests reported in British Columbia, Ontario and Nova Scotia during the day https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/rallies-gender-schools-1.6972606
Criminological Highlights – Anthony Doob and Rosemary Gartner
First a hearty congratulations to both authors for their steadfast service to the justice community. This edition makes the 26th Anniversary of the Highlights and all without losing the quality of the commentary, the scholarliness or the helpfulness of the articles.
As usual, there are eight questions focusing this September edition of the newsletter all recent concerns to justice: 1) Is the overall morality of people in our society really declining? 2) What businesses in a community increase the likelihood of firearms homicides? 3) Do mothers who were once incarcerated neglect their children’s education? 4) Why are Black defendants less likely to obtain pretrial release? 5) What can we expect to happen if police strength in a community changes? 6) Does the darkness of one’s skin make a difference for people other than Blacks who are charged with criminal offences? 7) How does climate change contribute to crime? 8) Does the use of body worn cameras improve the reputation of the police? https://www.crimhighlights.ca/ As usual, Tony and Rosemary invite direct subscription to the Highlights. There are some things happening as well at a second site, a twitter site, https://www.crimhighlights.ca/ . A third site is the Centre for Criminology and Sociolegal Studies https://www.crimsl.utoronto.ca/
Policy Options (Canada) – Cheryl Webster
Calls for harsher bail laws are misguided – False assumptions about leniency and public safety propel calls for harsher bail laws and greater use of remand. We need a better approach.
Webster leads growing chorus of knowledgeable people urging careful consideration around what is needed in bail reform. “Are we too lenient? Asks Webster. “To suggest that the Canadian bail system is too lenient defies our history as well as our place on the international stage. Using the most recent data from the World Prison Brief, Canada’s pre-trial/remand imprisonment rate is higher than that of almost every comparable western European nation as well as our most obvious comparators: England and Wales, Northern Ireland, Ireland and Scotland. Only when Canada is compared to New Zealand and Australia as well as the United States – as the quintessential mass imprisonment nation in the world – do we look more moderate.” What follows is a carefully researched and articulate expression of how to approach the issue. https://policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/february-2023/bail-reform/
Blogger Russell Webster (UK)
Representing care experienced young people – New guide for lawyers representing care experienced young people https://www.russellwebster.com/blog/
Youth Justice Legal Care (UK) has just published a guide for lawyers who are defending youth and youth adults who in turn have a history of having been in government care. The document examines elements deriving from care and the circumstances bringing the person before the police or the court. The guide offers considerable insight into the factors that the care experienced person has to cope with precisely because the person is care experienced. The guide includes tips for lawyers about things to look for, how to identify a person who has a care background, care leavers, and duty to persons in care. https://yjlc.uk/sites/default/files/attachments/2023-09/YJLC-Guide-DARE2CARE-16-D%20%281%29.pdf
International Conference ‘Changing Landscapes of Immigration Detention’ in 2022
The Changing Landscapes of Immigration Detention – Ana Ballesteros-Pena and Cristina Fernández-Bessa
The authors are publishing a collection which “highlights the diversity and changing nature of immigration detention practices around the globe, which in contrast to other manifestations of penal power, reflect a high degree of flexibility and mutability.” Themed Series: The Changing Landscapes of Immigration Detention https://blogs.law.ox.ac.uk/border-criminologies-blog/blog-post/2023/03/themed-series-changing-landscapes-immigration-detention Full Booklet: (There may be some access problems since they use a drop-box through a Google account.) https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/58jz3kkg0lwk2vt53qknt/The_Changing_Landscapes_of_Migration_Detention_final_pages_high_resolution.pdf?rlkey=vqqp1f02uot02l76eed51f1nj&dl=0
Human Rights Law Center (hrlc.org.au) (Australia)
Western Australia Passes Laws to Remove Abortion from criminal laws
“…The Western Australia Parliament finally passed new health-focused abortion laws that will see abortion removed from the state’s criminal laws…With the passing of these laws, abortion by doctors has now been decriminalised Australia-wide.” The new law eliminates much of the pre-abortion safeguards, the multiple consent of doctors, and insists that abortion is a health care issue, not one of criminalizing people or medical providers. https://www.hrlc.org.au/news/2023/09/21/wa-abortion-reform
Tweet from UBI Works on Guaranteed Annual Income (GAI): “Former Progressive Conservative Ontario premier John Robarts sees a day when there’s not enough work to support all residents of the province — #BasicIncome has a possible solution.” https://x.com/ubi_works/status/1590099114053746689?s=20 (Ed note: Followers of the GAI may also be interested in Commonwealth – “We advocate for land value tax and dividends from shared wealth to make homes affordable and give everyone a stake in our automating economy.” https://x.com/CommonWealth_ca/status/1657120838179606547?s=20h