by Sarah Audelo, Senior Manager, Domestic Policy

This weekend the Senate voted on two pieces of legislation that we had mobilized our activists around: the DREAM Act and the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. 

The good news is that in a decisive 63-33 vote, the Senate decided to end debate on the issue of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell repeal (60 votes were needed), which lead to a 65-31 vote (51 were needed) that ultimately will repeal the measure. There is a 60 day window for the President and Joint Chiefs to move forward on “officially” repealing the measure (create a process, etc.), but overall this is great news to celebrate! 

On a sadder note, the Senate voted 55-41 to end debate on the DREAM Act.

by Sarah Audelo, Senior Manager of Domestic Policy, Advocates for Youth, and Lindsay McClusky, President, United States Student Association

 
As the Senate prepares to vote on the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and the passage of the DREAM Act, it would be wise for President Obama, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, and their colleagues in both houses of Congress to take a moment and recognize the joint significance of these two pieces of legislation. Together, these two bills are a basic test of social justice for our elected leaders and for the country – and a political litmus test for the Millennial generation. 

Exciting news! Applications to become a Great American Condom Campaign Spring Semester SafeSite are now open!

In case you forgot, The Great American Condom Campaign is a youth-led grassroots movement to reduce unintended pregnancies and the spread of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections by normalizing condom use on college and university campuses. Students from across the country apply to become SafeSites, individual condom distribution points, and receive a box of 500 Trojan condoms to distribute to their peers. SafeSites are also tasked with educating their peers about safer sex and advocating on campus and within their community for the sexual and reproductive health rights of young adults.


Sound like fun? Apply for the GACC NOW!

By Amplify Columnist Jaclyn Friedman, crossposted from www.amplifyyourvoice.org

I'm hardly the first person to say this, and I certainly hope I'm not the last, but what is up with Hollywood's movie-rating system?

The latest installment of MPAA madness is over the upcoming film Blue Valentine, starring Michelle Williams and Ryan Reynolds in a difficult relationship. The film evidently features three fairly-explicit sex scenes, though nothing that sounds outside of what I've seen in plenty of other places. Which is why the MPAA's recent decision to give it the feared NC17 rating is so outrageous.

A little primer on NC17: while “R” means the under-17 set has to be accompanied by a parent or other adult, “NC17” means no one under 18 is allowed in the movie theater, period. Because of that, it’s basically a box-office and award-season kiss of death, sending the message that the movie is just too sexually explicity to be taken seriously. (As if to prove my point, the highest-grossing NC17 film in history was the unintentionally campy classic Showgirls, which netted a paltry $30 mil domestically.) As far as I can tell, it's almost always used to steer "kids" clear of sex, rather than violence. Which is problem number one: why is watching sex more damaging to kids than watching violence?