More than 60 members and supporters of the League of Women Voters Broward County gathered March 26 for a spring luncheon at the Jacaranda Country Club. 

Keynote speaker Bacardi Jackson of the Southern Poverty Law Center gave an impassioned plea to attendees to speak up and work to defend democracy. She urged all to remain "unequivoally and unabashedly woke." 

Jackson themed her talk around a greeting Masai warriors commonly used: "Kasserian Ingera," which means, "And how are the children?" 

The answer, Jackson said, is our children are not OK. She listed the many issues we need to address to ensure the well-being of our children and our world, from ensuring voting rights that will give them power to shape their government to providing educations free from political interference. 

The luncheon ended with a raffle that raised nearly $900 for the League's charitable Education Fund. 

 
Bacardi Jackson at March 26 Spring Luncheon

Literati read a tail of greed, deceit, and a female tycoon

The LWV-Broward Literati Book Club will meet next on Friday, April 14 at 11 a.m. via Zoom. The discussion this month will be on Diamonds and Deadlines: A Tale of Greed, Deceit, and a Female Tycoon in the Gilded Age by Betsy Prioleau. Everyone is invited to join what should be a lively conversation. Register here  to receive the meeting link.

If that subtitle isn’t enough to pique your interest, how about this? The story is a biography of Mrs. Frank Leslie, a media baroness in the Gay Nineties whose past was filled with hidden drama and whose public life was awash with scandal and contradiction. But the real star of the book is Gilded Age New York in all its excess, right down to a monkey in a tux.

Diamonds & Deadlines reveals the unknown, sensational life of the brilliant and brazen “empress of journalism,” who dropped a bombshell at her death: She left her entire multimillion-dollar estate to women’s suffrage—a never-equaled amount that guaranteed passage of the Nineteenth Amendment. In this dazzling biography, cultural historian Betsy Prioleau draws from diaries, genealogies, and published works to provide an intimate look at the life of one of the Gilded Age's most complex, powerful women and unexpected feminist icons.

Reproductive Rights: Learn about the current challenges to abortion clinics

A conversation with Eileen Diamond, Director of the Michael Benjamin Center, a Broward County abortion clinic, was featured at  LWV Broward’s Women’s Rights & Reproductive Freedom Committee’s February, 2023, meeting. 

Diamond reported that the number of women needing abortions has gone up in the last three months. An increasing number of women, 50 percent, now opt for medical abortion using pills, a two step process. The Center offers support as needed during the process because the bleeding, although normal, can be very heavy. 

Diamond discussed the challenges the center faces in being able to provide service and emotional support to patients under ever-increasing state restrictions. She praised the Broward Women’s Emergency Fund for its invaluable financial support to patients unable to afford either the center’s services or travel and lodging expenses for out-of-state patients. 

Donations to BWEF can be made here: https://bwefund.networkforgood.com/   

Watch the conversation here! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmskLXn5JsU

By Barbara Markley, Esquire, gun safety advocate and Co-Chair of the Gun Violence Prevention Committee of the League of Women Voters of Broward. Her Lock it Up! gun safety program has distributed 30,000 free gun locks in Broward County.

Guns are now the leading cause of death for American children and teens--exceeding car accidents, illness, poisoning, and drowning for the second consecutive year. On average, twenty-two children and teens are shot every day and 5.4 million children live in homes with unlocked guns. It's a heartbreaking statistic and the steady stream of news stories involving children and guns can feel overwhelming.

While it's easy to feel helpless about the current situation, there are actions you can take to protect your children from gun injuries and death:

PRACTICE SAFE STORAGE

According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, safe storage practices, including keeping firearms stored unloaded, in a locked place, separate from ammunition, and/or secured with an extrinsic safety device, were shown to be protective for unintentional firearm shootings and suicide attempts among adolescents and children.

The four specific practices of keeping a gun locked, unloaded, and storing ammunition locked and in a separate location were each associated with a protective effect to reduce these types of injuries in homes with children and adolescents. 

The truth is that a home with an unlocked gun is twice as likely to experience a homicide, three times more likely to experience a suicide, and five times more likely to experience a fatality in a domestic violence situation. Safe storage saves lives.

PRIOR TO EVERY PLAY-DATE

Ask the parents if there's a gun in the home. If the answer is yes, ask if the gun is securely locked up with the ammunition stored separately. Not only will you protect your child's life, but you will teach other parents to ask this question thereby protecting their children from gun injuries as well.

Even if your child is going to a relative's house, it's important to ask about the presence of guns. Even if your child is in middle school, it's important to ask about the presence of guns. Teach your child to tell an adult immediately if they see a child with access to a gun. For guidance on how to ask these questions as well as additional resources, go to: https://www.hospitalsunited.com.

LEARN THE SIGNS OF DEPRESSION

Signs of depression include mood swings, personality changes, sleeplessness or sleeping too much, feelings of isolation or worthlessness. If you suspect your child is depressed, you should seek the help of a professional and remove all dangerous substances and objects from the home to avoid self-harm.

PREVENTING SUICIDE

Suicide is on the rise among young people and guns are the most lethal means of suicide. If a child or teen is depressed, it is critical to immediately remove all lethal means from the home, including but not limited to medications, firearms and other weapons, and poisons and then seek professional help from a licensed mental health provider.

There are community resources available to help a child or teen who is depressed, such as 2-1-1 Broward (Dial 211), texting 988, as well as school counselors, to name a few. Suicidal thoughts are often short-term, born of crisis, and nine out of ten people who survive a suicide attempt will never try again.

But, be aware that the decision to attempt suicide is often impulsive, made in less than an hour and as little as five minutes. This is why it's critical to remove the child or teen's access to all lethal means.

OTHER THINGS YOU CAN DO TO KEEP YOUR CHILD SAFE FROM GUNS

A gun is stolen every 90 seconds in the U.S. resulting in a quarter million stolen guns each year--enough guns to commit every violent firearm crime reported annually. Children and teens are not legally permitted to purchase firearms but are often able to take unsecured firearms from vehicles.

Educating others about the dangers of unlocked guns can not only protect you and your family, but also your neighbors and friends. According to the F.B.I., eight out of ten school shooters used a gun from their home or the home of a relative. 

FREE CABLE GUN LOCKS CAN BE REQUESTED AT:

gunsafety@lwvbroward.org.
Email your request and a gun lock will be mailed to your home, free of charge.

Share these award-winning public service announcements about protecting children from guns