This afternoon LGBTQ champion, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham gave her State of State address to the NM Legislature. You can find it in the archived Webcast video on NMlegis.gov. Look for the House Floor session on January 18th, and begin watching at about the 1 pm mark.
Of course - I am disappointed that Governor Lujan Grisham began by urging the Legislature not to be constrained by incrementalism while addressing teachers' wages but seemed to throw that idea out the window once she moved onto other issues.
EQNM has been asking for months for a shortlist of key LGBTQ priorities to be placed on the agenda for this Legislative Session, and we still haven’t heard about any of them from her office. But we can assume that this list released by her office means that she chose not to include our priorities. I’d hoped that a Governor who has been a champion for us for so many years would have prioritized our issues in her first administration, but we will continue to push forward to encourage her to act in her values.
Arguably the most passionate part of her address was when she chose to focus on crime. There is no doubt that crime should be a priority issue at all times. But let’s be 100% clear - more cops do not prevent crime!
The Governor called for a raise for State Police Officers (in our values, we will not oppose raising wages for any workers,) $100Million for hiring and retention of State Police Officers, and keeping people in jail longer/until their trial.
These are the beginning of setting a tone for how we might address crime. The research and evidence have been clear for a long time - the key to preventing and lowering crime rates is investing in communities to lift people out of poverty, increase access to basic needs, and provide for rehabilitation after a crime is committed.
Queer and Trans people launched our battle call to our modern fight for equality - with an anti-police-brutality riot at the Stonewall Inn in 1969. And here we are 53 years later, still having not accomplished any significant police reform. Law Enforcement Officers often over police, profile, and over-incarcerate LGBTQ people because of bais they inherited or were taught. And we are often the victims of brutality and unnecessary violence at the hands of the police. We cannot pretend that it will just be okay to hand over $100 million dollars and focus on hiring and retention of Police Officers - without the need to provide more training and better screening of Law Enforcement Officers before they are handed a gun and badge and sent into our communities. Especially when the multiple attempts last year to hold Law Enforcement accountable by reforming the Law Enforcement Academy, and the Licensing and Review process were vetoed by this Governor.
We have always had a presumption of innocence until proven guilty, but the proposal from the Governor and some District Attorneys, to allow individuals accused of a crime to be held unless they can prove they will not commit another crime is in direct violation of that value! And how does one prove they won’t commit a crime in the future? Is there an option to receive a “Minority Report”, as well, or must we rely on the majority view of the Precogs?
I am hopeful about the opportunity to discuss these and many other ideas, efforts, and policies that truly would help reduce crime in New Mexico. EQNM is suited up for this fight and we will keep our members and supporters updated as these proposals move along.
Because we give props when they are due, we must celebrate that the Governor’s Office did make the protection of our democracy a priority for this legislature. I am so excited to gear up in support of the New Mexico Voting Rights Act - being led by our Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver. We know that our liberation will not be achieved by voting alone, but while we have only this system to work within - we must do everything we can to protect it and ensure its inclusion of all of our communities!
This session is off to a less than ideal start, but I am confident that with the power of our movement behind us, and the invaluable partnerships we have across the state we will make it into a Legislative Session that is transformative for Trans and Queer New Mexicans in all 33 counties!
Update your contact information - or join our movement today - so we can help you engage on these critical issues this Legislative Session!