Inside to registered to vote. We will hear from dr. Martin luther king jr. s eldest son, and we will speak to one of the few republican members of congress who went to selma this weekend, alabama senator Jeff Sessions. I am on free voting. Things happen in two weeks or more before the election, and oftentimes people are, you know urged to go to vote and vote before they are ready. Amy and we will go to the Edmund Pettus bridge, where on sunday more than 70,000 people marched for Voting Rights today. All that and more coming up. Welcome to democracy now democracy now . Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. A group of 47 republican senators has released an open letter to iran in a bid to disrupt the obama administrations attempt at a nuclear deal. It was spearheaded by senator tom cotton and signed by a number of potential 2016 president ial hopefuls, including senators marco rubio, ted cruz and read and rand paul. It reads in part, we will consider any Agreement Regarding your Nuclear Weapons program that is not approved by the congress as nothing more than an executive him and tour agreement between president obama and ayatollah khamenei. Irans foreign minister, Mohammed Javad zarif, dismissed the letter as mostly a propaganda ploy. President obama criticized republicans for aligning themselves with heart like critics with hardline critics in iran. Some members of commerce want to make common cause with the hardliners in iran. It is an unusual coalition. I think what we will focus on is seeing whether we can get a deal or not it once we do, then if we do, we will be able to make the case to the american people. Amy secretary of state john returns to switzerland sunday in a bid to reach a deal with iran before a march 31 deadline. President obama has declared venezuela a threat to National Security and slapped seven top officials of sanctions amid the worst of dramatic flare up of the past two years. The sanctions target leaders of Security Forces involved in violence last year which left dozens of people than from both sides of venezuelas political divide. The white house said it is targeting human rights abuses and corruption, not venezuelas ridge oil sector. Jen psaki discussed the move. This is an implementation of what we have been working on for months, which is cracking down on those who are violating human rights and, you know, abusers, and those cracking down on the civil society. Also a couple of individuals who will be named today. Amy venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro denounce the sanctions has a further bid to undermine his government. Maduro has ordered the United States to slash Embassy Staff and barred individuals from venezuela including former president george w. Bush, Vice President dick cheney, and members of congress, includi bob menendez, who is now facing corruption charges of his own. He reportedly lobbied that a cure officials on the half of a wealthy doctor, Salomon Melgen who provided him with gifts and luxury vacations. In wisconsin, High School Students and College Students packed the State Capitol monday in the fourth day of protest over theilling of unarmed black teenager tony robinson. Police say he was shot and killed in an apartment after officer matt kinney is bonded to a report of a man jumping in and out of traffic after assaulting someone. 1500 students packed the capitol rotunda, hanging a banner that read black lives matter your cap Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker has signed a socalled right to work bill, striking a blow to organize labor four years after he got in collective for Public Sector workers. Labor workers had staged mass protests at the capitol against the bill, which makes wisconsin the 25th right to work state. The bill he signed was taken practically verbatim from model legislation proposed by the rightwing American Legislative Exchange council. It bans mandatory payment of union dues. The Missouri State green the Missouri Supreme Court has appointed a state judge to oversee Municipal Court cases in ferguson after a Justice Department report and covered systematic racial bias in violation of constitutional rights. The Justice Department has said the Municipal Court primarily used its Judicial Authority as the means to compel the payment of fines and fees that advance the citys whenever interest. Ronald brockmeyer, the minas book court judge singled out and report in the report for his pattern of jailing people unable to pay fines while fixing traffic tickets for himself, resigned his post. He reportedly owes 170,000 dollars in unpaid taxes. University of oklahoma has shut down a fraternity after video showed members on a bus singing a racist song. The songs lyrics include a racial slur and they found no black people will ever join the fraternity sae. There will never be a amy university of oklahoma president david boren said any students identified in the video could be suspended or expelled. Dark of this is not our way. These are not our values. This is not our way. These are not our values. Not from anyone. Those students will be out of that house by midnight tomorrow night. The house will be closed, and as far as im concerned amy the Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from the syrian man who sued the u. S. Government over his sevenyear wrongful imprisonment at guantanamo. Abdul rahim Abdul Razak Al janko was detained by the United States in 2002 after being tortured by al qaeda and imprisoned by the taliban and on suspicion of being a western spy. In the lawsuit, al janko described his time at guantanamo as a kafkaesque nightmare saying he was tortured, beaten, subjected to sleep deprivation and urinated on by u. S. Soldiers. He said he attempted suicide 17 times. In 2009 a judge ordered his release, saying that claim he was part of al qaeda defines common sense. But on monday the Supreme Court left in place a Lower Court Ruling al janko cannot e because he is an enemy combatant. In a second decision, the court declined the case concerning videos and photographs which according to the center for constitutional rights, would prove the torture of another guantanamo prisoner, mohammed alqahtani. The move leaves in place a Lower Court Ruling the images could threaten National Security by stoking antiu. S. Sentiment. A new report nds u. S. Weapons manufacturers are continuing to dominate the global arms trade saudi arabia replacing india as the top market. The United States accounted for a third of the more than 64 billion trade and military trade in military agreement last year. This year saudi arabia will account for one dollar of every seven dollars spent on military imports. As apple unveiled its new apple watch, i report by the intercept finds cia researchers have been working for nearly a decade to grapple to crack the security of apples iphones and ipads. Documents from Edward Snowden show the researchers claimed to have created a modified version of apples Software Development tool xcode, to sneak surveillance backdoors into any apps or programs created with the tool. Presumed democratic president ial candidate Hillary Clinton will reportedly News Conference will reportedly holding a News Conference to address her excessive use of a private email address while as secretary of state. White House Press Secretary josh earnest confirmed president obama had corresponded with clinton on her private account. Dark of the president was aware of your email address the president was aware of her email address and traded emails with her. But the president was not aware that this was a personal email server, and that this was the email address she was using exclusively for all her business. Amy a United Nations report has found rampant torture by Security Forces in new mexico in mexico, from local and federal police to the military. U. N. Special rapporteur on torture juan mendez highlighted the impact of the u. S. Backed war on drugs, noting the bulk of torture cases involved prisoners with a legit ties to organized crime. Medical has seen only five torture convictions between 2005 and 2013. Officials in florida have reportedly banned the terms Climate Change and Global Warming. Despite the disproportionate impact of Climate Change in the coastal state. Under the tenure of republican governor rick scott, officials at the department of Environmental Protection have been ordered not to refer to Climate Change or Global Warming in official reports or communications. Think progress notes at least two other states, North Carolina and pennsylvania, have been accused of similar bans. Those are some of the headlines. This is democracy now , democracy now . Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. As we continue our coverage of the 50th anniversary of the historic Voting Rights campaign in selma alabama on this day in 1965, the second tuesday of march, dr. Martin luther king led a second attempt to march from selma to montgomery. Two days earlier on bloody sunday, Alabama State troopers eat peaceful marchers crossing the Edmund Pettus bridge. On what became known as turnaround tuesday, 2000 protesters marched over the bridge. On the other side they were greeted by a line of flashing lights and police cars and helmeted troopers carrying shotguns. Dr. King told the crowd, folks, we will have to stop and we have been assured that we can neil for a moment of that we can neil down for a moment of prayer. The third and final march from selma to mike emery would begin less than two weeks later. On sunday, Martin Luther kings eldest son, Martin Luther king iii, spoke at the historic Brown Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church in selma. I would never have guessed a couple of years ago that our Supreme Court would dismantle the Voting Rights act. Today we should be celebrating but we cannot celebrate yet. Some would say we idolize dr. King, and, yes, we should. But, unfortunately, that is not what he wanted us to do. When you idolize something come you put it on a shelf. When Martin Luther king day comes, you pull it out and show it. So when black History Month comes out, you pull it out and show it. But dad would not want us to idolize. He would want us to embrace his ideals. True freedom, justice, and equality and righteousness. So i am concerned because our Voting Rights have been decimated. We are a better nation than the behavior that we are exhibiting. To the 100 members of congress joined with the president yesterday, there ought to be legislation that is proposed tomorrow. [applause] three quick things we can do. We ought to first of all make registration online available not just number two, we might consider changing election day from tuesday if you want people not to participate in a party, throw it on tuesday. Why not look to at least a couple or three days, and at least a couple of those days the weekend days. And then if those who are so concerned about ideas we have always had to bring some form of id to vote. Bring new forms of id. Seniors and students and people of color it makes it challenging to get. So what we could do, as ambassador young proposed at the johnston ceremony just last year, is put a picture on our Social Security card. If we have to have a government form of id. Those are the three things we can do. The final thing, there is something wrong with us purporting to practice and promote democracy all over the globe, yet question democracy at home. That must change. Theres something wrong in a nation where 6 million black men are not allowed to vote because they were convicted of felony. They paid their dues to society, yet their right to vote has not been reinstated. Somewhere i heard about taxation without representation. Maybe they should not pay their taxes, because they have no ability to vote for someone. Every time i come to these anniversaries, i think about what dad said in montgomery in 1965. He talked about how long he went on to say he did not know how long, but he said he knew it would not be long because no lie can live forever. How long echo not long, how long . Not long. How long . Not long. He goes no lie can live forever. How long . Not long, because god almighty is still on the throne. Keep keeping on. We are going to be all right. We are not there yet. Amy that was Martin Luther king iii speaking of the historic brown chapel ame church in selma, alabama, where on march 7, 1965, hundreds of marchers left from the church and made their way to the Edmund Pettus bridge. Just outside the church i had it since i had a chance to speak with civil rights pioneer c. T. Vivian, a close friend and advisor to dr. King during 50 years ago vivian was punched in the face by Dallas County sheriff jim clark on the courthouse steps in selma as he tried to escort a group of African Americans inside to register to vote. The punch was so hard, sheriff clark broke his own hand. C. T. Vivian began by talking about the power of nonviolence. Nonviolent direct action is something we have brought to america, right . Nonviolent direct action has no violence in it, right . It is not there to destroy. It is there to develop and build, and that is what we have been trying to do at the core of that. The core of that is an understanding of the faithful life. Amy do you think for a Voting Rights have been achieved at this point . Dart go no, because if they had it would have been done in 1776. There is nothing we have not done for this nation. We have died for it. But it has been overlooked, what we have done for it. We kept knowing the scriptures, living by faith. We kept understanding that it is something deeper than politics that makes life worth living. Amy what gave you the courage 50 years ago to stand up at the courthouse and make that law . You cannot keep anyone in the United States from voting without hurting all other citizens. Democracy is built on this. Our grandmothers and greatgrandmothers taught us how to live even when they could not speak well as long as what society was concerned about. About it is as old as amy can you talk about the violence against you even leading up to march 7 . It is the understanding of nonviolent erect action. What we have to see of nonviolent direct action. What we have to see above all things is that Martin Luther king was our leader. What we have and what was given to us from the very beginning is an understanding that we could not win by killing. Light does not come because of darkness. We are here to change america and always have been. Sees it as they are changing us, but when he Christian Church exists that does not want to accept anybody but white people they have already denied the faith. Can you be a christian and a racist at the same time . We refuse to be racist. We just want to simply tell america what their faith is about. America talks about democracy but they have kept us from voting for years, and even when they give us the vote on paper politically they turn around and take away the important part of what they said they were giving, all right . The truth is we have to Work Together to save ourselves politically, save ourselves spiritually, and save ourselves physically. We are not going to be able to do it until we listen to the faith without the hate. When a preacher has to stand at the door and keep people out because of their color of their skin there is something wrong with their faith. Amy did you stand in front of sheriff clark and get punched in the face . Well, yes, but that is not why i was standing there bank or we are willing to be beaten for democracy, and you must use democracy in the street. We do not have to fear the opposition and we are willing to die for the freedom they say they have. Amy when he attacked you especially for young people to understand your thoughts at the time what went through your mind . That the problem was him. I was not the problem. He was trying to get rid of us show that he could act as though the problem was us. The problem is never the person that is never being beaten. It is the person who does not have a reason to beat people but beats people, who hates people and has no reason for it. What have we done to america that they should hate us so . We have not done it to america. You can state very quickly what democracy has done to us, and we were just trying to live for the face. We died in every war, every war and yet everybody who came here 10 minutes later was accepted. Amy senator sessions yesterday who was here, the republican senator from alabama, said that Voting Rights is now protected that the shelby decision was a good decision. We have come a long way from 50 years ago. He said that about every black freedom that we have had in this country since he has been board, much less since he has been in congress and politics. He comes from a state that has always had to wait for amy last question do you see Marriage Equality as part of the civil rights struggle . Of course. Women are treated so badly in this nation that we should all be ashamed of ourselves. Amy so this week the state Supreme Court, chief Justice Roy Moore and the alabama Supreme Court, put a ban on all samesex marriages. I understand that. That is to bdecided by god. Amy c. T. Vivian, thank you very much. C. T. Vivian, speaking outside the brown chapel ame church. Senator barack obama in 2007 called him the greatest preacher who ever lived or it in 2013 president obama awarded him the president ial medal of freedom. He also participated in the freedom ride. This is democracy now , democracy now . Org, the war and peace report. C. T. Vivian was speaking outside the brown chapel, where hundreds of people packed in this past sunday as they did 50 years ago on bloody sunday outside to begin their march to the Edmund Pettus bridge. When we come back, we will hear from inside the chapel and outside, the marchers, tens of thousands who took to the bridge to remember the bravery of those who walked from Voting Rights 50 years ago. Stay with us. [ music break] amy that is the brown chapel ame church choir on sunday. This is democracy now democracy now . Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. As we continue our coverage of the 50th anniversary of bloody sunday, we look at the civil rights martyrs who lost their fight to secure Voting Rights in alabama. Eric holder remembered one of them, jimmie jackson, during his speech at the brown chapel in selma. Jimmy lee jackson during his speech at the brown chapel in selma. He was a 26yearold Church Deacon shot by an officer, and died on february 26, 1965. Jimmy lee jackson, an unarmed black male, an unarmed young black male. [applause] an unarmed young black male. [applause] and an earlier Movement Began and citizens began a march from selma to montgomery, across a bridge that was named for former alabama senator, confederate general, and gran wizard in and grand wizard in the ku klux klan. It was a march along the road to promise that we need to smooth, a road that led through difficult terrain, that had been traveled by generations whose footsteps were still left over from history. Amy attorney general eric holder inside the brown ame at this church. People marched across the Edmund Pettus bridge sunday in selma. During the march, i spoke with many of the people who had come from around the world. I started by asking about the civil rights martyrs. Weighed in the water my dad came back from the march, and i remember the state troopers on their horses, get in the house, get in the house, whatever. We were trying to run into our apartment. My dad was telling us get into the house. The state troopers tried to make the house go into the house. I remember hearing the sirens. You still have a lot of people the governor got the word back to the church that they had to guess and billy clubs, trying to scare the marchers. Amy tell me about Jonathan Daniels. We were just at brown church. They raised his name. He was a white seminarian, and activist who came here. Jonathan daniels was a white it to skip alien minister that lived with us was a white episcopalian minister that lived with us. They let him out of jail. It was him, two black girls, and amy he went to buy some food . Right. The guy behind the counter said that he was not going to serve any black or nlover in the store. Amy she was scared she would be shot . Right. Johnson was killed instantly. The two black girls are still living today. Amy dr. King said what Jonathan Daniels did was one of the most heroic christian deeds of which i have heard in my entire ministry. It was performed by Jonathan Daniels. Jonathan was a brave original man. As a matter of fact, he and his girlfriend were going to leave alabama and come back to new hampshire. He said god sent him to selma alabama, to help him vote. Johnson said that he was not going to jonathan said he was not going to leave alabama. I am the pastor of all souls church in washington, d. C. Our minister, james reed, was martyred 50 years ago in the south this week. We are here today to continue his march for Voting Rights. He marched with dr. King on turnaround tuesday, two days after bloody sunday. Dr. King organized another march, and he marched people across the Edmund Pettus bridge. Later that night, james reed the minister of our church, was coming out of a black diner, and he was bludgeoned to death by three klansmen on the streets of selma. He died 50 years ago for the right to vote. Leaning on the everlasting arms amy can you tell me your name . Corey hawkins, grand master of alabama. He was an army veteran who had been trying to register to vote for quite some time but was constantly being denied. At the time when he was shot, he was trying to protect his mother , who was being beaten by a state trooper. He was shot and was in the hospital, and he died almost a week later. He was a member of our organization. We have film of where his body was carried four miles outside the city limits to be buried. We know that he was a member. We could not think of honoring him in a better way than what we have done today. Amy so we are coming over the bridge right where the front lines were met ivy Alabama State troopers the met by the alabama troopers, the Edmund Pettus bridge. I am from california. Amy i see you are holding a sign that says it says bebrave. We are raising awareness of what sacrifice was made to allow everybody to vote. Amy the sign says i am viola. Can you tell us about that . She is a mother of five, married, left her family after she saw what happened on bloody sunday. She got up and drove through three s tates to participate in the march. She was murdered by the clan on highway 80. She gave her car to the cause and was shuttling people back and forth between selma and montgomery. On the last day of the march they were heading back to selma, and she was gunned down by klansmen and shot in the head, and she died. The film follows her five children as decades later they try to put the pieces together of what happened to their mom. Amy tell me what the back of your tshirt says. Ebony is the most revolutionary emotion. It is a statement that Gloria Steinem said about viola and what she did here. She is in a film that is being rereleased. I think that is the key, the bottom line, the ola was viola was a regular person like me and you. Amy some of the marchers remembering those killed for Voting Rights 50 years ago. Upwards of 70,000 to 80,000 people marched over the Edmund Pettus bridge sunday. Here are a few more of their voices. We are on the Edmund Pettus bridge in selma, alabama 50 years after bloody sunday when hundreds of people marched for Voting Rights and were eaten down by Alabama State troopers. Today, the largest crowd were beaten down by Alabama State troopers. Today, the largest crowd sceneen. Can you tell your name . My name is kimberly bell, and i represent the Oldest Baptist Church alabama. We were founded in 1806, and before the state was, we were. Who are these people with you today . This is the youth department. Amy how old are you . I am 9 and my name is ray bell. Amy why are you here today . I am here to march across the bridge in remembrance of my people. Amy what is my name . My name is donna thurman. Amy and why are you here . I am here because because i wanted to be where they were. I wanted to feel it, and i am. I have. 50 years later, i have. What a feeling. What a feeling. I cannot imagine what it was 50 years ago. It was like this for me now, if it is like this from e now, i cannot imagine what it was like for them. It is such an honor. Amy can you tell me your name and where you are from . I am from south africa, and we are here i am a director for the company and we are celebrating the 50th anniversary of bloody sunday. Amy you are here all the way from south africa . We are based in atlanta. Amy what is the connection . Nelson mandela, having to go through the same thing in south africa fighting for freedom, and for equal rights, we feel a close connection. Nelson mandela they both studied gandhi. They have a really strong connection. For me coming from south africa, my husband the same way the same place from mandela. Amy we are walking over the Edmund Pettus bridge that spans the alabama river. Edmund pettus is a former u. S. Senator. He is a former grand dragon of the ku klux klan and a confederate general. The bridge still bears his name today. I live in atlanta. My son says i am because we are because selma was. I came out today to bring my daughter out so she has a stronger connection with history. I am really excited to be here to be a part of history today. This is my brother. He started a new movement, and the concept is in georgia they passed legislation that says you cannot take down a monument unless you replace it with anyone monument. My whole thing is this. The movement is called dhd dont honor devils. This dude is a ku klux klan member. Amy this dude, being i dont want to say. This dude known as Edmund Pettus. There is no germany bridge called the adolf hitler bridge. So if you are going to be the grand dragon of the kkk, you dont deserve to have a bridge named after you. It is not right. We do not like that. We do not like that. And ill fight for my right to be free amy your id says selma Planning Team member, living legacy project. What is living legacy . A group coming together to bring people into the south alabama, mississippi, and tennessee. We go into communities like selma and marion, alabama, all the way to oxford, mississippi. Amy tell us about this. This bridge is legacy history. One of the things we do on our pilgrimage is walk across the bridge. We tell the story of those who came over today. As we reach the press where we are now, not knowing what was going to happen they saw that line of blue down there, and they knew they were in trouble but they did not realize that the police were going to eat them not own were going to beat them. We have let the people in the communities tell their own stories. It has changed my life. I am a musician, and i share the stories and the songs of the Civil Rights Movement. It is the story of people on the bridge that day that are really important. Amy a few more than 70,000, perhaps 80,000, perhaps more. The Edmund Pettus bridge has never seen as many people at once, not dimension selma itself. We go to break with reggie harris. [ music break] amy that is reggie and kim harris leaving marchers that they knew and did not know, singing o freedom on the Edmund Pettus bridge. This is democracy now democracy now , the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. The vast majority of congressman who attended were democrats, but some were republicans. I had a chance to speak with senator Jeff Sessions. This is a pivotal moment. Some might say the biggest part of the Civil Rights Movement and it led to the Voting Rights act and people were systematically denied the right to vote around here and throughout the south. That was a historic change, no doubt about it. People risked their lives on this day. People lost their lives in that effort. It is important to remember that. A lot of it is not pretty. A lot of it is painful to see and remember, but we need to remember. Amy your thoughts about Voting Rights today where they stand and what you think needs to be done to protect Voting Rights for everyone . I have to say that the south has improved tremendously. I dont think it is a commitment on Voting Rights that is any less than any area of the country, which is what the Supreme Court found in the section 5 case. So they knocked out part of the Voting Rights act, but not the heart of it. The government still has the power to investigate anyone who violates the Voting Rights act. As we go forward, maybe there are some other things that need to be done, but it does not have i think fundamentally the Supreme Court was correct. Amy how do you increase africanamerican voting . It is pretty good. All of us need to vote at her, but i think in this area, african all of us need to vote better, but i think in this area, africanamerican voting is strong. Amy that is alabama senator Jeff Sessions, speaking at the foot of the Edmund Pettus bridge saturday, the day president obama stood there as well and gave a major address to. We are joined by ari berman. His latest article is headlined 50 years after selma, nothing has changed. His forthcoming book, give us the ballot, will be out later this year. First, a with Jeff Sessions said. First, he has a long and troubling record on Voting Rights. When he was an assistant u. S. Attorney in alabama, he prosecuted lack voters for voter fraud in he prosecuted lack voters he prosecuted black voters for voter fraud. They were later acquitted. He was blocked by the congress partially because he had prosecuted these black voter fraud activists. So i think his position on the Supreme Court ruling, the fact that he agreed with the Shelby County decision, is not surprising in light of his long opposition. Amy Shelby County in a nutshell it validated the formula that those with the worse history of discrimination had to clear voting changes with the government. So places like georgia, North Carolina mississippi, had such a long record of voting discrimination, they had to clear changes with the federal government to prevent discrimination in the future. Now they do not have to. Amy i want to go back to Jeff Sessions at the foot of the Edmund Pettus ridge saturday. Of the Edmund Pettus bridge saturday. Senator sessions, why not make voting easier for those in this country . Let people vote early, longer days. The whole issue of opening up the voting assess so that people can feel welcomed. I am uneasy about this long free voting. Things happened between two weeks or more before election day, and oftentimes people are urged to go to vote and vote before they are ready to vote. So i think there is nothing wrong with voting on election day. That is the way we have had it since the founding of the republican. Amy it is hard in a working day to be able to get out. You can vote absentee, and if you are unemployed you can vote absentee, and you can vote absentee if you are ill or a number of other reasons. So i am not just stamping the time amy sameday registration . I think sameday registration is very dangous. Amy because . Because of the fraud that can occur with people voting more than once. Amy what about felons . In some states, people who have served tir time are allowed to vote from prison. But in many stas, they lose that right forever. It depends on the conviction and the state, but that has historically been the rule. In most states at one time or another, they had denied amy what is alabamas . You can vote after you complete your time in jail for some crimes, but i do not really know the details. Amy that is republican alabama senator Jeff Sessions. Ari berman . It is indicative of those on Voting Rights. Largely, claiming voter fraud less even though there is no evidence that early voting leads to voter fraud. To give you a big picture of what is happening nationally, 390 five new voting restrictions have been introduced in 49 states from 2011 to 2015. Nearly half the states in the country actually, half the states in the country have passed laws making it harder to vote since 2011. That is a really dramatic effort. That is the greatest attack on Voting Rights since the Voting Rights act was passed in 1965. Amy we talked with a number of Congress Members and senators yesterday, but Susan Collins was also there. There are an number of republicans who are here including senator kim scott, the only africanamerican senator from south carolina. He was the one who invited me on to this trip. I have to tell you, it has been so moving. I feel like all of us have learned so much, and this truly has been a privilege. This truly has been a privilege. Amy what can be done to ensure Voting Rights for all . That is critical of one of the fact that i learned on this journey, which the was that in one county in alabama in 1965, the population was 80 africanamerican, yet not one was able to register to vote because of the many barriers. We never want to go back to those days, and the right to vote is certainly absolutely fundamental to our democracy and must be protected. Amy are you critical of the shelby decision at the Supreme Court . This trip will cause to take more of a look at that decision. Each one does not affect my part of the country but certain southern states. It is important to recognize that those states have changed a lot over time. But i have to look exactly at what the impact is. We certainlyo not want to in any way we can the protections that we can ensure that every american regardless of race, gender, or creed, has the opportunity to vote. Amy that is republican senator Susan Collins. Ari berman, the significance of what she is saying, that it may make her look differently at Voting Rights how significant is this . A lot of members of commerce have never been to the south for print a lot of them had never really thought much about the Supreme Court. Amy so you are an embedded reporter with faith and politics . Is an organization that supports this pilgrimage every year. Around the issue of faith, and they are trying to get bipartisan delegation to places that are historically significant. Susan collins is saying i had not thought about this much before. She said she was more sensitive that barriers can prevent people from voting. That is what people have been arguing for years, that the new voting restrictions do. The message not get across to many republicans. None was sponsoring and congress it has zero republican sponsors. In the senate, as a result of this trip maybe Susan Collins will sponsor the legislation and they will take it more seriously. Amy what is the legislation . Many people on the bridge were saying what counts is not so much today, remembering what happened 50 years ago, but what happens when these Congress Members go back. There is a bill called the Voting Rights amendment act. It has it restores section 4 of Voting Rights and creates a new formula of which states have to approve their voting changes with the federal government, based on recent Voting Rights violations. The state has five violations and they had to clear their voting changes with the federal government. That formula is current. The old form was not. It is not regionally specific. Any state, no matter where it is california, new york, vermont, or alabama it is not as allencompassing as the previous formula, but it is an attempt to restore the protections of the Voting Rights act, and also as a deterrent. Amy how does the u. S. Compared to other countries in the world when it comes to voting . We are horrible. First thing, Voting Rights is an issue in the u. S. In a way it is not in other countries. Other countries have higher participation and they make it much easier to vote. It is far less politicized. There is far less money. For such an advanced democracy that has exported democracy supposedly to around the world we have one of the worst records of democracy at home. Amy john lewis headed the delegation, john lewis who 50 years ago had his head bashed in by Alabama State troopers in 1967. The first time he led the trip, there were six or Seven Members of congress with him. Now there was 100. When you see the photo of john lewis introducing the president and hugging him on the Edmund Pettus bridge, you see how far we have come. When you see the Supreme Court striking down the Voting Rights act, you see how far we have to go. Amy thank you for being with us. We will link to your article and we also look forward to your book that is coming out. We wrap today on looking for another fight on civil rights in alabama. Monday attorney general of alabama asked the state Supreme Court judge to r keep the ban for samesex marriage is on hold. In some on sunday, i spoke to the first samesex couple to marry in montgomery, alabama. We are outside of brown chapel in selma, alabama. We are here for family weekend. Amy we are here on the 50th anniversary of the observance of bloody sunday. People are talking about Voting Rights and the right to be heard. This happens to come a few days after the alabama Supreme Court put a halt to Marriage Equality in alabama. You were the first couple to get married in montgomery, the first samesex couple. Your response to this and how it relates to this weekend . It is really hard to tie it together. They are parallel and not really perpendicular issues. Considering the fact that now no other couples can be married this makes it bittersweet. We are not able to enjoy the fact that were married because all of our rights were just strips and there are so many people who would like to be wed and that opportunity is no longer there. Amy can you talk about Marriage Equality as it relates to civil rights . A lot of the people who went to strip our rights do not really understand what they are. They think about the sexual nature of it, but they do not understand what those rights are and what rights we do not have and what rights we are fighting for. In alabama, there is no accommodation protection, and people can be fired for being same gender loving individuals. I am missing something i am sure, but there are so many things we do not have, so Marriage Equality means that if one of us goes to the hospital, i would be able to check on her without any issue. If we wanted to adopt, there are laws on the books that you have to be married. There are a lot of protections we are not afforded, and people do not understand that when they are trying to deny them. Looking at it from a civil rights aspect, if you are about liberation, you have to be about liberation for all people. Often, more so than not, people are trying to romanticize Marriage Equality is the new civil rights issue. It is, but you should not try to replace something that has already happened in history. Amy is there any message you would like to leave with the alabama Supreme CourtJustice Roy Moore, who told judges not to issue samesex marriages when it is legal and now has put a halt to samesex marriage in alabama . Lets be clear. For someone with privilege, it makes no sense to deny anyone else those privileges that you are afforded. Amy will you be walking over the bridge today . Tory and shante wolfesisson. That does it for us today. Democracy now is looking for feedback from people who appreciate the closed captioning. Email your comments to outreach democracynow. Org or mail them to demo music playing thank you so much. Were here at burger bar, and really in general, people always ask me, what is your favorite burger or do you eat a burger at burger bar . And yes, i actually do. This is my favorite burger, and its actually on t menu. It says the hk burger, and what its made from is some buffalo and then a layer of spinach on it and then a layer of caramelized onions, a little bit of bleu cheese i just love bleu cheese and a little bit of greens on top. It comes actually with a red wine sauce. On todays show, ill be making a unique slider starting with a buffalo patty and then topping it off with a hunk of succulent king crab. For a touch of sweetness, ill add a slice of pineapple. Then we head to the burger bar kitchen where i will be showing you a blt burger made with turkey meat, a touch of pork sausage, and all the components that go into a blt