04/19/16 04/19/16 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from salt lake city, utah, this is democracy now! >> protect as children and all immigrants. help us with daca and immigration reform for all. in the right to protection. i have the right to live with my parent and live without fear. i have the right to be happy. amy: in the most significant immigration case in decades, the

supreme court hears arguments to determine if president obama overstepped his authority when he took unilateral action to protect more than 4 million undocumented immigrants from deportation. we will speak to congressman luis gutierrez and immigration activist and journalist jose antonio vargas. then it's election day in new york. >> we have a system here in new york were independent can get involved in the democratic primary. [boos] where young people who have not previously registered want to register today, just cannot do it. it is going to be a top primary for us. why can't millions of new yorkers vote in today's new york primary? as bernie sanders attempts to upset hillary clinton in new york, we will look at the restrictive voting laws. then as north carolina and

mississippi has sweeping anti-lgbt laws, we will look at utah with the other way. the u.s. legislature last year passed a landmark lgbt anti-discrimination law. >> i do believe that what we have done will become a model for the rest of the country of how they, too, can resolve these issues in their own respective's dates as we find the right balance necessary to discourage discrimination law protecting religious liberties. amy: we will speak with the only openly gay member of the utah state legislature as well as the head of equality utah. all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman.

voters in new york are heading to the polls today for one of the most closely watched races of the election. donald trump's leading of the republican side will bernie sanders and hillary clinton are locked in an increasingly tight race for the democratic contest. has 18 of the last nine contests, but hillary clinton enjoys wide support in parts of new york where she served as a senator for eight years. at least new yorkers -- 27% of 3 million the state's population -- cannot vote today because are not registered as either democrats or republicans, and are therefore barred from voting in the closed primary. the deadline to switch party affiliation was back in october. meanwhile, more than 200 new yorkers who saw their party affiliations mysteriously switched are filing a last-minute lawsuit to try to make today's primary open. we will have more on the new york primary later in the broadcast.

meanwhile, more than 300 people were arrested monday in washington, d.c., in a mass civil disobedience to protest against the influence of big money and corporate lobbying in politics. monday's demonstration, dubbed democracy awakening, caps a week of massive protests in which about 1200 people were arrested in total. among those arrested monday were naacp president cornell william brooks, moral monday organizer reverend william barber, and greenpeace usa director annie leonard. to see our interview with reverend barber before his arrest, go to democracynow.org. hundreds of refugees from ethiopia and somalia are feared to have died after their boat capsized in the mediterranean en route to italy on monday. survivors say that up to 500 people may have drowned, although the reports are still unconfirmed. the number of people trying to cross from libya to italy has

surged after a controversial new deal took effect in march that calls for all new refugees arriving in greece to be deported to turkey. monday's disaster comes nearly a year after a refugee boat capsized in the mediterranean april 19, 2015, killing as many as 800 people. after monday's news broke doctors without borders tweeted , -- "2016, the mediterranean is a mass grave." this comes as a latest round of syrian peace talks are close to collapse in geneva after the opposition pulled out of the formal negotiations in protest of ceasefire violations by assad 's regime and his backers. senior opposition negotiator mohammad alloush spoke out. >> when they are mobilizing of troops and strikes, when the

rent since further armed men in russia since a large group of , allts and unmanned planes of this tells us there is no real will for a political solution that ensures the safety and stability in the country. and ensures transition of political power. amy: in afghanistan, a taliban attack in kabul has killed at least 28 people and wounded more than 300. afghan officials say the morning rush-hour attack included both a car suicide bomb and multiple gunmen. the majority killed were civilians. after more than 15 years of the u.s. war in afghanistan, the taliban currently controls more territory than at any time since the 2001 u.s. invasion. ecuadorian officials say the death toll from saturday's 7.8-magnitude earthquake has risen to at least 413 people, as first responders continue to search for survivors. nearby latin american countries,

as well as the palestinian national authority, have sent emergency responders. the help from palestine comes after ecuador sent humanitarian aid to gaza following israel's 2014 offensive. texas governor greg abbott has declared a state of emergency in nine counties after unprecedented flooding killed five people and inundated thousands of homes in the houston area. more than 20 inches of rainfall was recorded in some areas. israeli police say 21 people were injured after a bomb exploded on a bus in jerusalem monday. no one was killed. no one has claimed responsibility for the attack. the los angeles public high school santee education complex has opened the school district's first gender-neutral bathroom, following months of student organizing. student activist johnny ramos spoke out about the bathroom's significance. >> this restroom is important for all students to feel

comfortable, not just lgbt students are minority students, it is for all students. everyone can feel welcome. we are eight hours here. at a certain point in time, we're going to have to use the restroom. it is unfair some of the kids have to hold the restroom and it honestly sucks. amy: this comes amidst the passage of anti-transgender laws in north carolina and mississippi. a 22-year-old black transgender woman has been killed in montgomery county, maryland. keyonna blakeney was killed saturday at the red roof inn. police are investigating her murder. keyonna is the 9th trans person to be murdered this year. in chicago, a father of five american children has taken sanctuary in a church to protect himself from deportation. 34-year-old jose juan federico moreno has spent seven years fighting deportation after he was convicted of a dui in 2009.

on monday, moreno said -- "leaving my children behind is not a choice i can make. all i am asking for is a chance to see my children grow and support my family," he said. this comes as the supreme court heard arguments in one of the most significant immigration in decades. we'll have more on the supreme court case after headlines. in baltimore, 20-year-old destiny watford has become one of the youngest winners of the goldman environmental prize in the award's history for organizing to stop a trash incinerator from being built in baltimore's curtis bay neighborhood, which already has the worst air pollution in the city. she began the campaign she was only 17 years old. this is destiny watford. shy,have always been a bit but when i joined the group, was really challenged to come out of that comfort zone. and i went up to this man's door and i told him about the

incinerator. he just said, what you kids are doing is pointless. curtis bay is and always will be a dumping ground and you're not going to change that. and it was a disheartening moments, but it also lit a fire. amy: other winners of the prestigious environmental prize lawyer wholovakia shut down a toxic waste don't, -- dump a cambodian activist who , went under cover to expose illegal logging, a puerto rican who established a new nature reserve on the island, a tanzanian man who developed a new way to grant land titles to indigenous communities, rather than individuals, and a peruvian farmer who fought a gold and copper mine from taking her land. and the 100th annual pulitzer prizes have been announced. "the washington post" won for the series "fatal force," which tracked the 990 police killings throughout 2015. lin-manuel miranda won best drama for "hamilton."

ken armstrong of the marshall project and t. christian miller of propublica won for the investigation "an unbelievable story of rape," which chronicles a botched rape investigation. and the associated press won the pulitzer prize for public service for the investigative series "seafood from slaves," which uncovered slavery in the southeast asia fishing industry, which is a major supplier of seafood to the united states. i sat down with two of the ap reporters, robin mcdowell and martha mendoza, last week in los angeles. partys issue of third suppliers, what he said it companies, we can't be responsible for going back to the beginning of where fish is caught him if these men are slaves, certainly we do not condone that. but how would we know? .> we are a couple of moms we are news reporters and we found this. i don't buy it.

a major corporation that really cares and is really committed to keeping human trafficking out of their supply chain can get meticulous, get on the ground, talk to people, figure out where there products come from. it may be a little more expensive and their profit margin may be a little smaller, but it is entirely doable for them to follow their product from the producer right onto their store shelves. amy: the pulitzer prize debut into an all woman team. to see our full interview with the fillets are prize-winning reporters robin mcdowell and martha mendoza, go to democracynow.org. and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman in salt lake city, utah. it is part of our 100 city tour and headed to colorado this afternoon. in what is being called one of the most significant immigration cases in decades, the supreme court heard arguments monday to determine if president obama overstepped his authority when he took unilateral action to

protect more than 4 million undocumented immigrants from deportation. the case pits the obama administration against 26 states led by texas. the states filed suit to prove -- block daca. following the death of antonin scalia, the court is divided with four liberal justices and four conservatives. a 4-4 split would leave in place a 2015 lower-court ruling that threw out the president's executive action. attorney thomas saenz of the mexican american legal defense and educational fund was one of four attorneys to argue the case before the court. he spoke after the hearing. >> in defending the president's exercise of his constutional prerogative as has been exercised by his many predecessors over the last 50 years, to set priorities in immigration enforcement, his guidance issued in november

2014 was simply an exercise of that long-standing authority. the justices this morning seem very concerned and vigorous questioning about whether the state of texas had standing or the right to even be in court to challenge that exercise of enforcement discretion. amy: sofie cruz, a six-year-old american citizen and child of an undocumented immigrant from texas, may have been the youngest person watching the historic proceedings. she spoke at a press conference after the arguments ended. >> i asked the judges to protect us children and all immigrants. help us with daca and immigration reform for all. i have the right to protection. i have the right to live with my parents. i have the right to live without fear. i have the right to be happy. amy: for more we are joined by , two guests. congress member who's good tears represent illinois in congress. he is the chair of the immigration task force of the

congressional hispanic caucus. and jose antonio vargas is a pulitzer prize-winning journalist and filmmaker. he famously came out of the shadows in 2011 in the "new york times magazine" with his story, "my life as an undocumented immigrant." he's the founder and editor of #emergingus and founder of define american. welcome to democracy now! you both were in the supreme court yesterday. ,ongress member luis gutierrez talk about the significance of this case. lay out exactly what the supreme work is considering. collects whether or not you can a drivers license and a work permit to someone. when you listen, and i was there in new orleans at the fifth circuit, and what has clearly been established as the president does have the authority under the law to set priorities about who is going to be deported or not will stuff it was a lot clearer in orleans and yesterday, but he came through

the resoundingly yesterday. in other words, as judge ginsburg said, they're going to say something that i and my colleagues have in saying for a long time, they are not going anywhere. and nothing yesterday is going to stop them from being deported. they get to stay, but what they're really saying is, yeah, we're not here to challenge whether the president of the united states is going to deport them or not. he is not going to port them, but we don't want them to have a drivers license. we do not want theto have a work pmit. we want them to live in miser and in sh conditons that maybe they will leave. anotr words, it is aery me-spiritekind of contentious because a driver's license has -- as the justices said yesterday, they are driving today. they are working today. isn't it better to put them on throughs, have them go a background check and have them drive with a drivers license and insurance? they are here and no one is going to deport them. i think we're going to win.

if robert sank unity are consistent with their decision that they had an arizona which they must flippantly asserted, it is up to the state of arizona whether they get a drivers license or not, but on the other hand, they can not become involved in dictating the gratian policies. that that is the purview of the federal government. amy: and you talk, congressman, about the significance of, well, the death of antonin scalia, what it means for this case and -4 --will happen in this 4 well, it is not necessarily a 4-4 split on this, but with the shape looks like now. >> no one ever expected judge really up to te and se with e immigrt cmunity on th caser with t predent. at was ner a conrn. itas alwaygoing to be-4

d it wile-3 or ybe 6-2. it depends on how the supreme urt lookat this. it is clearly the pview -- evenhen the lawyers for the reblican partyeresked yesterday whher orot they were theo force e no.ationsnd they said at is noeven an sue. moover, wh the attornefor pa ryan and the marity of republicans in e house of representatives came rward an ied to aue about t presidt overstped his clearlyutshe was do by the jusces of the supremcourt. let me say one thi, and that is, iot to tell you, if there s ever aeason fo having chary and juice and uality tween men and women, it was sterday. e women the supmeourt rely took thione forwd and were vigous and ergetic d aski t kinds o questns what believeill leado a

viory of o committ. let's make sure we keep passing those laws to make sure women and men have equality, even on the federal bench. amy: i want to turn to texas attorney general ken paxton speaking after the oral arguments monday before the supreme court. >> today, our solicitor general argued the case strongly for the rule of law. , whetherow a psident it is is presint or fure present, no matter what their political persuasion or their party to make changes in the law without congressiona approval, then we will end up with a perverted constitution. so today, it was a strong day for the constitution defending the rule of law. amy: congressman gutierrez, your response? >> look, the president of the united states is to set the priority. they are here. they did not sue under daca. we can see 750,000 strong today. what a magnificent example of

the positive nature of the president's action. the fact is, the american public -- amy, look, the law is on our side. it is clear the law is on our side. the american people are on our side. if they would allow a vote in the house or the senate today, this case would become moot. moreover, five million american citizenship and are on the minds of those supreme court justices. what will the legacy be for those millions of citizen children? one of happiness in which the government stood up and said, yes, your mom and dad were not a priority for deportation, are not a threat to the u.s. because the congress of the united states did not act -- are they going to continue to have a legacy which they live in fear? i think the supreme court is going to judge all of that. maybe they will not judge for justice, for fairness, for the immigrant children. maybe they're not going to do that but they are going to say, there is going to be chaos if

objected to state an action of the president of the united states or the congress of the united states, they would sadly say, oh, we don't like it because it costs too much money. that is what they're really saying with drivers license, a cost too much money. there would be chaos in the federal government in the united states of america. i think we are going to win on this case on the standing issues. they do not have standing to come before the supreme court and argue immigration that is purely in the federal purview. amy: on this issue, how many signs that times have you been arrested protesting around immigration reform? in fact, protesting president obama. and yet in this case, you certainly stand on his side when it comes to the executive actions around dapa and daca. >> amy, i stood with others in our immigrant community for years arguing that the president

has this authority. i always knew we had. i am happy we're on the same page. i voted into the primaries for barack obama and two general elections, and i voted when he became the senator of the state of illinois. i always wanted barack obama to do well in this to become part of his legacy. let me share to you what i said to the president the night before he announced these priorities while we were having dinner in the roosevelt room and he announced them. he said, luis, what do you think? i said, because i had been one critics,ost ferocious mr. president, i think i have to be one of your greatest defenders because i think you need to have balance. it can't all just be about criticism, criticism, criticism. it also has to be about saying thank you and having a sense of gratitude. i have a great sense of gratitude. remember, in 1986 under the ronald reagan -- and it was an amnesty act -- 3 million people

fix their immigration status. when we went, it will be over finally people in the president's executive order. it is not everything we are asking for, it is not everything we are striving for, but it is a great down payment. it allows the american people to see and the people to come out out of a different closet, right? people to come and see miguel and jose and margarita and people from poland and ireland in the philippines in a new state. when they come with a new smile on their face at work and say, you know that alters a security card? i was a new one because undocumented. for the american people to see there is nothing to fear, that these other coworkers, people they care about a lot. that is one of the greatest thing about the dreamers. to see the young people cap ford and everyone braced them as americans. amy: congress member luis gutierrez, you're standing next to jose antonio vargas in the cannon rotunda in the congressional building. jose, you were also there

yesterday at the supreme court. to say the least, it personally affects you and your community of, well, for so long undocumented. you famously came out of the shadows. your pulitzer prize-winning journalist. you're working at "the washington post." your bosses, your colleagues, most of them, did not know your undocumented. and then you made your stand. talk about what daca is, what dapa, for those your saying this is just a lot of alphabets soup and i don't know what they're talking about, and what this case means do you. about dignity.s i think that is the first thing i would say. the second thing is family. -plus, i will, daca hopefully be able to see my mom, who i've not seen for 22 years. i have a sister when i left the philippines who is about a year and a half in a psalmist 24. i have a half-brother of never

met. who sendsthe person money, like many immigrant families. i want to be able to reunite with my families and kind of make up for lost time in whatever way we can. for many of us, work reallyzation is really, important. i have to say, as an undocumented immigrant in this country, i am a job creator. i am played about 20 people through the find american in emerging us. if i get deported, what is going to happen to these 20 american citizens who rely on me for their living? we're not only the ones working, we are also the ones creating jobs. entrepreneurs. to be an immigrant in this country, so anything more entrepreneurial than being an immigrant? either privilege yesterday sitting next to sophie and her mama the great hall of the supreme court. i just have to say, it is kind of a political geek, probably the greatest honor of my life to

sit in that hall yesterday. and to see the intellectual rigor that goes on when people debate ideas. when the justices debate ideas. it is so what is lacking in most of the conversation, particularly in the republican party when it comes to this issue. and to see sophie, she at one point wrote down with her mom the names of all of the justices. i was to her left and she is like, how many do we need? i say, well -- amy: she is six years old. >> six. i'm like, sophie, it cannot be a split so we're hoping maybe 6-2. amy: explain that. why 4-4 is not enough. >> split is not enough because a decision of the lower court, the unjust decision of the lower court, would stay. and we cannot have that. it has to be for us, hopefully, convincing victory.

she is anttle girland american citizen sitting in the great hall of the supreme court next to her mom. is anything more american than that? i wish everybody could see this young woman, this eloquent young woman who is not only fighting for her family, but fighting for so many families in this country. and can you talk about dapa daca overall, even if this case came down in your favor, what you're looking for, what you see lacking? >> i think the congressman made a really great point about this is a down payment. this is not everything. this is not amnesty. i was just on fox news talking to megyn kelly. this is not amnesty. let's get that clear. but what it does mean, so this is my only piece of id from the government, my california driver's license. it actually says federal limits apply. apparently, i cannot use it in north carolina when i get there

tomorrow, which i would love to drive in north carolina. wouldn't north carolina want me to rent a car and drive it and get some gas? i guess north carolina isn't going to get my money in that way. this is one of the things that we could get. only 12 states allow us to get this. million home to 1.2 undocumented texans were working and consuming leads of dollars to the texan economy. is there good subway system in texas? undocumentedhink texans get around? this is a greater understanding of what it means to be an undocumented person in this country to survive and to work. every day, just sitting in that courtroom yesterday, surrounded by all of these undocumented people of many different backgrounds -- a lot of mexican, central american, korean -- sitting there it was like we cannot undo that. we're not going anywhere. we are not going anywhere.

this is oucountry. there's nothinmore americ for ushan to fht for i >> what your audience suld understand is that it is 4 million people that are undocumented. they need to have been here five years or more. half of them have been here 10 years or more, but they need -- >> 20 years. >> thank you, 20 years. but at their own expense, they have to go through a rigorous background check. they submit their fingerprints, they have to show they have committed no crime whatsoever. then on top of that, they have to prove all of the five years. everybody thinks it is easy to prove you have been hit the last five years. you have to really look through records,'s ashley when you are undocumented. submit that an yes what you get? you get a work permit which allows you to work and pay all of your federal taxes and get on the books. i don't understand why if the republicans understand they're

not going to be deported, why we would not want to put them on the books because they do not represent a threat. then we can take with the supreme court justices said yesterday, hey, by the way, you only get money for 400,000 deportations a year, and there are 12 million of them. doesn't it make sense to prioritize your going to the port? then you can use those resources to go after grain -- gang bangers, murderers, people who to causing real -- i like say that everybody that shows up here is a foreigner, but they don't all come as immigrants. immigrants come toork, just what, to toil. the areome foreners, y, amy, wshould gafter th and clnse our socty of th so th we all le a fer -in a frr societ amy:ongressm or luis gutierre, want to sk aout puto rico. last weeke, jim anhalf remmended reopeng u.s. military be in pueo rico as

commerceonsidersegislati to addre puerto co'debt cris. fodecades,he navy ed near three qrters of the ea for bbing praices, rgames, mping ol munitns, leing to sting enronmenta damage, palm inhe islan the navy end traini operatns in 20 followi maive cividisobedice. thsenatoraid reoping the baseould benefit the u.s. military and the puerto rican economy. i want to play for you what he said. >> i would think any kind of a deal that is made is going to have to include consideration for the training that is still available. there is still no range likevieques anywhere in the u.s. him is fair. what can be done there cannot be done on one location by joint force. amy: your response? >> first of all, the last time the federal magistrate sentenced me to a year probation, they were very clear if i participated once again and

protesting in vieques and trespassing on federal lands there i would be sent to jail. should they ever open at, i will protest along with thousands of others to stop the bombing of vieques. we won that battle. they can bomb the coast of florida. they can bomb the coast of georgia. but what does the senator say? oh, no, let's not bomb oklahoma, let's just on this poor puerto ricans because that is the perfect place. we can do it because as an established by these hearings, if my dad in 1950 and puerto rico would have said that puerto rico was a colony of the united states, he would have been jailed under the smith act as it was interpreted in puerto rico. their version of the smith act. yet today, clearly, the congress of the united states has established that puerto rico has

rolled under the territorial clause of the constitution of the united states. ist means that puerto rico owned by, is a property of the united states, but a not -- not a part of the united states. here's what i say, you know what, inoffe, it seems to me that king george iii, if you are to look at the u.s. congress and say, god, i thought i was the e de you guys are exceeding anything i did as king georgespot. iii with my 13 colonies. we fought a war against colonialism and we need to fight the same or against the colony of puerto rico and free it so that it can become everything that it can be. amy: any comment, commerce member luis gutierrez on fellow puerto rican winning the pulitzer prize for "hamilton"?

>> pride. what can i say? very supero be very, puerto rican. i'm so proud of his accomplishments. isn't it a difference when we get to write this groups for the broadway plays, the depiction of "west side story" of me and fellow puerto ricans nsa the depiction of us as a community when we get to write the script is very, very different. i'm so proud i live in both the american which "west side story" showed us as gang bangers, as foreigners, as people who were not from here and someone who writes about the history of the united states "hamilton," in a way that all in a can celebrate. i am so proud of him and so proud of all of the puerto ricans and their contribution to this nation. pride. amy: i want to say thank you so much to both of you joining us inm the cannon rotunda congressional offices and washington, d.c.. congress member luis gutierrez

and pulitzer prize-winning journalist jose antonio vargas who famously came out as undocumented. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org. how is it that millions of new yorkers could not dissipate in today's new york primary -- participate in today's new york primary? stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: "ave que emigra," "bird that migrates" by gaby moreno. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we're on the road as part of the 100 city tour, now in salt lake city, utah. we're headed to colorado today. we're broadcasting from the pbs studios at the university of utah in salt lake city. back in new york, voters are heading to the polls today in new york for both the democratic and republican primary in one of the most closely watched races of the election.

in the republican race, donald trump has a commanding lead in the polls. on the democratic side, vermont senator bernie sanders has touted his brooklyn roots and is hoping to pull a major upset in new york, keeping his streak of victories alive. he has won eight of the last nine contests. but hillary clinton, who served eight years as a senator from new york, has remained in the lead in every opinion poll. on monday, clinton addressed supporters in flushing, queens. happy to be here in reaching out to every voter throughout queens, throughout new york city, throughout the state in order to turn people out to vote tomorrow because the kind of future that we represent where we break down barriers, we give people a chance to get ahead, and where we support immigrants and the dreams that immigrants have brought to our shores all of these years is very different than what the other side offers. we hope everyone will come out and vote tomorrow. amy: while hillary clinton urged everyone to come out and vote today, that's not an option for

millions of new yorkers thanks to the state's restrictive voting laws. last week, bernie sanders admitted new york will be a tough primary thanks to these voting rules. >> we have a system here in new york where independents cannot get involved in the democratic primary. [boos] note young people who have previously registered and want to register today just can't do it. top is going to be a primary for us. amy: that the senator sanders speaking last week in front of 27,000 people in new york's washington square park. while sanders has held a series of massive rallies here in new -- rallies in new york, many of his supporters can't vote today in the state's closed primary. voting rights activists say new york has some of the most restrictive voting laws in the country. the state has no early voting, no election day registration, and excuse-only absentee balloting. the voter-registration deadline for the primary closed 25 days

ago before any candidate had even campaigned in new york. meanwhile, independent or unaffiliated voters had to change their party registrations back in october -- over 190 days ago -- before any debate or any primary or caucus to vote in today's closed democratic or republican primaries. this will reportedly disenfranchise nearly 30% of new yorkers. donald trump's own children did not manage to change their party registrations from independent to republican in time to vote for their father. meanwhile, wnic is reporting the number of democrats registered --brooklyn chopped to dropped to 60,000 since november and no clear reason why. during that same time, most counties in new york's on increase in registered democrats. this comes as a group of new yorkers who saw the party affiliations is scarcely switched filed a lawsuit seeking to open new york's closed primaries so they can cast a ballot. the lawsuit is asking for an

emergency declaratory judgment that would make today's new york primary open, meaning any registered new york voter could cast a ballot in either party's primary. well, for all this and more, we're joined by ari berman. he is a senior contributing writer for the nation where he covers voting rights. his latest book "give us the , ballot: the modern struggle for voting rights in america." democracy now! welcome to you wrote a -- welcome to democracy now! you wrote of he's called, "27% of new york's registered voters won't be able to vote in the state's primary." can you explain this? >> newly one third of new yorkers cannot participate in the primary because they're not registered with the democratic or republican party and new york at some of the most restrictive voter registration laws in the country as you mentioned. people had to change the party affiliations back in october when no one was paying attention to the new york primary. people had to register to vote 25 days before the election before any candidate had campaigned in new york. and beyond that, new york has some of the worst voting laws in

the country. unlike 37 states, we do not have early voting. unlike 15 states, we do not have election day registration. our constitution does being been allow it because you have to register no more than 10 days before the election. you have to prove your out of town or you to prove you have a disability to get enough city ballot. i think it is that we are the fourth bluest state in the country but have some of the worst voting laws. we rank below texas, and north carolina, buying all of the states with new voting restrictions in terms of voting turnout. we are 44th in voter turnout in 2012. regardless of which candidate you are for, regardless of whether you're for open or closed primaries, we should be for making it much easier to vote in new york. amy: why is this? why are these laws so restrictive? nupathe these laws and win? >> both parties want to protect the status quo. democrats by larger happy with

the system. republicans by and large are happy with the system. they just want their slice of the pie and what to protect it. incumbents in power want to stay that way. unlike states like oregon and california which have embraced reform, passing policies like voter registration, new york has not followed this trend for progressive reform. it is unfortunate. the one good thing that could come out of this primary with the trumps kids not being able to register, so many bernie supporters not being able to register, so many people are finally paying attention to just how bad the voting laws are. thiscan you talk about piece in "the new york daily news" which recently ran an article, hundreds of new york state voters to file suit calling the closed primary a threat to our democratic system after claiming their party affiliation mysteriously changed." the article quotes joanna viscuso, a 19-year-old from long island.

she said she registered to vote as a democrat during her college orientation at adelphi university in 2014. then she noticed last week that now her voter registration online says she is not affiliated with a party. viscuso reportedly called nassau board of elections and they told her that she had filled out a form in september to change her party affiliation and sent it in october, but she claims she never did that. viscuso says she's a first-time voter. she told the "new york daily news" -- "as soon as i noticed it was changed i was infuriated and then when they said there was nothing i could do i was still infuriated. all of a sudden we can't vote? that's ridiculous!" how is this possible? >> we're seen similar things happen in other states. in arizona, there were five-hour lines of the polls because they reduced so many polling places. in a lot of people there had their voter registration

switched without knowing. people waited in five-hour lines and store not able to cast a ballot because they were not registered. in new york, with these voters should do is cast a provisional ballot and try to have it counted after the election. there is going to be a lawsuit this morning to try to open up new york's primary, regardless of whether not that succeeds, people should go to the polls and vote today. they should cast a provisional ballot and try to get that counted afterwards. amy: a wnyc analysis of new york state voter enrollment statistics found that the number of active registered democrats dropped there by 63,558 voters between november 2015 and april 2016. that translates into a 7% drop in registered democrats in the borough. a cool -- according to wnyc, no other borough in new york city nor county in the rest of the state saw such a significant decline in active registered democrats. in fact, only 7 of the state's

62 counties saw a drop in the number of democrats. everywhere else saw the numbers increase. can you explain what is going on in brooklyn? electionse board of in brooklyn said, they had changed the number of voters from active to inactive and that is why there were such a big drop-off. but 60,000 people are a lot of voters to shift from active to inactive. it is very possible that some active voters are going to be wrongly purged from the polls and some will show up to vote in brooklyn, think their registered and active, and not be on the voting rolls. we have seen this and many other states. in florida and iowa. amy: how do you become an active? >> by not voting in the past few elections. that is i you become an active. sometimes people don't vote for whatever reason a want to vote now another times people are wrongly labeled an active and wrongly purged from the voter rolls. we do not know enough to say what happens, but it is disturbing that some people may have been put on inactive status

when they are not in fact an active. amy: ari berman, thank you for being with us senior , contributing writer for the nation where he covers voting rights. his book is titled, "give us the ballot: the modern struggle for voting rights in america." we willing to her piece in the nation magazine, "27% of new york's registered voters won't be able to vote in the state's primary." we will link at democracynow.org . this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. when we come back, we stay here in utah and we look at, well, a very different outcome and republican legislature when it comes to lgbt rights. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: this is democracy now! democracy now, the war and peace report. yes, we are on the road again as willie nelson is singing, part of our 100 city tour. today we are broadcasting from the pbs studios at the university of utah here in salt lake city. i am amy goodman. as north carolina and mississippi have passed sweeping anti-lgbt laws, with similar measures under consideration in -- elsewhere i want to turn to a , landmark law utah passed last year that goes the other way. you might not expect it of one of the reddest states in the nation, but last year utah was

the only state to advance statewide nondiscrimination protections for lgbt people. backed by the mormon church, and passed with a republican super majority in the legislature, the new law dubbed "the utah compromise," sought to protect lgbt people from housing and employment discrimination. republican governor gary hebert spoke at the law's signing. >> this has been something of a collaborative effort that has brought us to this historic occasion, and i have no doubt that the eyes of the nation are upon us as we have shown a way to resolve a somewhat contentious issue in a very satisfactory manner. and i do believe that what we have done here will become a model for the rest of the country of how they, too, can resolve these issues and their owners active states -- respective states as we find the right balance necessary to discourage discrimination while protecting religious liberty.

amy: many have criticized the utah compromise for not going far enough to protect lgbt rights. in an article for slate, three law professors wrote -- "the utah legislation should not become a model for the nation. the bill contains troubling exemptions for religious groups, allowing them to continue to discriminate in ways that would be impermissible in many other states and under federal law. in particular, the utah law specifically exempts religiously affiliated nonprofits such as schools, hospitals, and social service organizations." well, for more we're joined by , two guests who played a pivotal role in the passage of antidiscrimination law here in utah. senator jim dabakis is a democratic state senator and troy williams executive director , of equality utah. formerly a very popular radio talkshow host on krcl, the committed radio station where democracy now! broadcasts insult

lake city. we welcome you both to democracy now! state senator to baucus, explain -- debakais explain. you have a republican super majority in the legislature, yet you past this compromise. explain what it is. >> it goes back to 2009 after prop 8 and the mormon church said, we wouldd like to talk to the homosexual community. it had been after long years ofus asking them and a group five of us sat down and began a dialogue that continues to this to where we have been able build up some trust and build up relationships and build up a civic dialogue to the point where when negotiating what we

were negotiating got very dicey and very difficult and it looked like it was going to fall off the table and the lawyers are .rguing we were able to pull out the strength that we had gained over two or three years of regular communication and get a bill that passed the muster on our side as well as theirs. amy: and that bill says? >> that bill says it is illegal in the state of utah for employees to be discriminated and alsohey are lgbt people cannot be discriminated and housing based on those classes as well. amy: and housing or employment. what about public accommodations? >> we're not there yet. i had a bill for public

accommodations this last session. amy: explain what that is. >> anywhere the public goes -- restaurant, hotel, renting a car , if you have a license to do business, you cannot discriminate. that has not happened yet, but i'm in a -- -- optimistic hope guy. amy: troy williams can your the head of the largest lgbt group in utah. your assessment of this bill and talk about what it meant to get it passed. >> it was called utah, rise in the press and i don't think that is a fair analysis. it was really the utah collaboration, something unprecedented that happen in this state. we're the cease-fire in the culture war and we all came together, republicans and people,s, religious nonreligious people, gay and straight, transgender people. we work together to pass a law to bring fairness for all.

that collaboration, that sitting around the table hashing out differences, focusing on our commonalities -- that was the breakthrough. one of the things we share in .ommon older able to hit those points, then we were able to make progress. amy: how have you managed, state senator dabakis, to prevent the passage of anti-lgbt legislation like we have seen in other states? actually, you recently made headlines for staging a filibuster by sneezing and the utah state senate in order to stall and anti-lgbt law? bills,of the negative indiana, mississippi, that element is in our legislature. there always sneaking around trying to do their little bad deeds. our sessions are 45 days. they must end exactly at

midnight, no exceptions. and an innocuous bill that we had sent from the senate over to the house, just cleaning up work, had been added very "marriedthe words couple" have a group up -- replaced with "man and woman" and they did it when no republicans were the committee room. >> democrats. >> no democrats were in the committee room. it passed there and can act over to the senate -- came back over to the senate for final passage. it was so knock it was, no one really looked at it. it was pulled off the board at two minutes before midnight. i just met for some reason, maybe divine inspiration, i'm not sure, i flipped up the bill and happened to see those words. so we had two minutes to debate it and it is a rollcall vote. so they started adams, bramble, and when it came to me, i just

looked around and the woman who is doing the rollcall called my name twice and then three times and then four times. the president of the senate figured out what was going on. he said, pass it, pass him, pass him. i just did there. the woman did not quite understand. i started sneezing and by the time i was done sneezing and clearing my throat, the time was up and the president hit the gavel and it was the end of the session. amy: democratic state senator jim dabakis was one of the people who try to buy the tribune who is run through a joint operating agreement with the desert news, which is owned by the mormon church. senator dabakis, if you could explain the history of the paper. is the mormon church trying to buy this paper and what are you trying to do?

i understand others are competing to get a hold of the paper. >> for many years, since the 1950's, the salt lake tribune has been the big independent, progressive voice in the mormon church had the desert news. always circulation and the ad revenue is much bigger in the tribune. through a series of circumstances, now the desiree news believes it has a right of veto power over who can only salt lake tribune and -- amy: which meets the mormon church. >> has the ability to veto the owner of the salt lake tribune. they say come at the department of justice doesn't necessarily agree, but a big hedge fund in new york that has been paid off is in the middle of all of this. amy: and it is called? >> alden global capital.

we're in the position now where it looks like the salt lake tribune will be a daily or once a week supplement inside the tribune without an independent voice and there will be one voice in our community and it will be the voice of the mormon church. >> jon huntsman is also part of a group that is trying to buy at? >> they gave up, apparently. and it is his father who tried. so we have a group of very five prominent members of the community and we're saying, look, we have the money, we have expertise, we love the community, we will buy that paper but they may not want those e editorial views and the community at any price. amy: we will continue to follow this. it is a major paper this country. thank you, state senator jim to baucas and troy williams. we will be an idaho springs in denver, colorado today speaking at noon and in the evening. on thursday i will be speaking

at colorado college in colorado springs. democracy now! is looking for feedback from people who appreciate the closed captioning. e-mail your comments to outreach@democracynow.org or mail them to democracy now! p.o. box 693 new york, new york 10013. [captioning made possible by democracy now!] bq