A victory — and the road ahead
October 1, 2012We did it! We – ACLU, LSPC, ACOG, CYWD, the many organizational supporters and nearly 6,000 individuals who took action – passed a law prohibiting leg irons, waist chains, and handcuffs behind the back from being used on pregnant women in California jails and prisons!
The last three years of advocacy on this bill have been nothing compared to the decades-long struggle to end the drug war; the centuries-long struggle against the old and new Jim Crow; the millenia-long struggle for the recognition and equality of all women.
Yes, compared to these ongoing struggles, our victory is small. And yet, we must celebrate a step in the right direction, and keep the dance moving ever forward.
So, how can this victory be a catalyst for the next and the next?