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MWEG Press Conference Statement at the Utah “Vote No” Rally
The following statement was read by MWEG Co-Executive Director Emma Petty Addams and MWEG Utah Chapter Co-Coordinator Melarie Wheat at a press conference at the Utah State Capitol. The event was held to launch a “Vote No” campaign for a proposed amendment to the Utah state constitution — Amendment D, which would grant the Legislature unlimited power to repeal citizen initiatives. It is a beautiful day to gather as citizens to speak up for our rights! Thank you so much for joining us here today as we speak up, once again, for our right to reform our government. This is not a new position for us to be in, is it?…
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Water Rights on the Colorado River in a Drought-Prone World
The Colorado River is the beating heart of the West, pumping life into the region’s cities, farms, and deserts. Its water is used for reasons as diverse as growing alfalfa that is shipped to Saudi Arabia to providing hydroelectric power to over 40 million people in the southwestern U.S. and northwestern Mexico. The Colorado River is the principal source of water for seven states (Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming, Arizona, Nevada, and California); it also provides water for Mexico. Water rights on the Colorado River are governed by a complicated network of laws, court decisions, contracts, and regulations known as the Law of the River. The Colorado River Compact The…
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Official Statement From MWEG on Fair Districting Litigation in Utah
Today, Mormon Women for Ethical Government joins the League of Women Voters of Utah and seven individual plaintiffs in a suit challenging the congressional maps drawn by the Utah State Legislature in November 2021. This challenge is a manifestation of our deep commitment to peacemaking. We are seeking redress through the courts on behalf of our members in Utah’s four congressional districts who have been denied access to representative government. In 2018, Proposition 4 was passed by Utah voters with an aim to create a redistricting process that was neutral and fair. This represented an effort by the people to alter and reform a government process in direct response to…
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Call to Action: Ask the Utah Legislature to Require Transparency, Accountability, and Legality in Projects Seeking to Restore Utah Lake by Passing HB240
Utah Lake is a treasured and priceless resource in the state of Utah. In 2018, the Utah Legislature passed HB272. This legislation gave a body of non-elected officials power to dispose of sovereign lakebed and lakeshore properties for development projects that would promise to restore the lake. Concerns about the lack of accountability and transparency of this process have led legislators to propose HB240 Utah Lake Amendments. This amendment would require that any such disposal of properties be approved by the Utah Legislature and the governor, who must first determine that restoration projects are practically, fiscally, and constitutionally sound. TO DO Contact your Utah legislators to encourage them to pass…
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MWEG UT Official Statement on 2021 Redistricting
Yesterday the Utah House and Senate discarded the fair and transparent Independent Redistricting Commission maps and instead passed the redistricting maps created by the Legislative Redistricting Committee. We are concerned that what we have just witnessed, especially with regards to the congressional map, is a clear attempt by legislators to exercise undue influence over voters, doing so in a way that does not engender trust in processes or follow standards of transparency. We recognize that these maps have passed with a veto proof majority, but the governor has not only refused to speak in defense of the people of Utah, he has justified his disengagement by claiming he is doing…
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MWEG’s March on Utah
Thousands rallied today in Washington, DC, and around the country to march for voting rights, and MWEG Utah leaders Melarie Wheat and Elizabeth Vanderwerken spoke at the Utah event. They explained what is at stake, why our voices matter in this fight, and how we can protect this most basic democratic right. Read the full text of their speech below, or watch the video here. Civil rights activist and Black voting rights champion Amelia Boynton Robinson was a key figure in the 1965 Selma to Montgomery marches. On “Bloody Sunday” she was beaten by police on the Edmund Pettus Bridge, and photos of her lying bleeding and unconscious drew national…
