2024 Governor's State of the State speeches: on Civil Rights
Kathy Hochul:
Expand eligibility for prosecution as hate crimes
I will not rest until every Jewish and Muslim child feels safe going to school or entering a house of worship. So we propose to make more than two dozen additional offenses, from gang assaults to graffiti, eligible for prosecution as hate crimes.
This means enhanced liability sentences, and ultimately, it means we're standing up for what's right. We'll protect the people of this state.We'll carry this fight until every New Yorker feels safe at home, at prayer, and at work.
Source: 2024 State of the State Address to New York legislature
Jan 10, 2024
Kristi Noem:
Strengthen anti-discrimination laws by defining antisemitism
College campuses across the country have become breeding grounds for disgusting antisemitic acts. There have even been isolated incidents here in South Dakota. The more it happens, the more it will be normalized. We must stop it before that happens.
I am proud to support legislation this year to define antisemitism to make it easier to prove when conduct is motivated by antisemitism. This strengthens our anti-discrimination laws and ensures our allies and our citizens are safe and protected.
Source: 2024 State of the State Address to South Dakota legislature
Jan 9, 2024
Ron DeSantis:
We've eliminated so-called DEI from our public universities
We reject the modern trend of universities that subordinate high academic standards in favor of promoting an ideological agenda. To this end, we have eliminated so-called DEI from our public universities. DEI is a highly-ideological agenda--in practice
it stands for discrimination, exclusion and indoctrination--and it has no place in our public universities.We have also overhauled faculty hiring to avoid ideological litmus tests and required all tenured professors to undergo review every five
years so poor performers can be terminated. The reforms instituted have transformed the college from an outpost of ideological indoctrination into an institution rooted in truth. We have ensured that higher education in
Florida is affordable--freezing tuition for the past decade. We also have supported Bright Futures scholarships that make it even more affordable for our top students.
Source: 2024 State of the State Address to the Idaho legislature
Jan 9, 2024
Jim Pillen:
I don't want my granddaughter competing against a boy
Supporting our women athletes takes more than just buying tickets and watching games, it also means protecting them in the arena and in the locker room. Simply put, I don't want my granddaughter to bear the fundamental unfairness of competing against a
boy. And I certainly don't want her to suffer the indignity of showering next to a boy. And that goes both ways--our boys shouldn't be sharing showers with girls. This is commonsense stuff that the overwhelming majority of Nebraskans support.
Source: 2024 State of the State Address to the Nebraska legislature
Jan 18, 2024
Josh Shapiro:
Once led the nation on LGBTQ rights now we're falling behind
We were leading the nation when it came to LGBTQ rights. Now we're falling behind. It's ridiculous that here in Pennsylvania two women can get married on a Sunday and fired from their job on a Monday, just because they're in love.
That their landlord can legally throw them out of their apartment just because he's bigoted. The House passed the Fairness Act to fix this. The Senate should honor our legacy of tolerance, pass that bill, and put it on my desk.
Source: 2024 State of the State Address to the PA legislature
Feb 6, 2024
Spencer Cox:
Paused transgender surgeries for minors, funded talk therapy
I know last session, there were difficult and controversial bills, including a pause on transgender surgeries and puberty blockers for minors which I supported. At the same time, we also unanimously passed a ban on conversion therapy and approved
$1 million in funding to provide additional talk therapy for our transgender youth with one primary goal: to help those kids and let them know we want to keep you here. We want you to stay with us. Even when we disagree passionately, we must still love.
Source: 2024 State of the State Address to the Utah legislature
Jan 18, 2024
Jay Inslee:
We've made equity part of everything in state government
We will continue advancing social justice. We have made equity a part of everything we do in state government with environmental justice policies like the HEAL Act and a new agency, the Office of Equity, which makes equity a part of everything we
do in state government. We must sustain our progress against racism's pernicious influence on the past and present. The work for a more perfect union continues.
Source: 2024 State of the State Address to Washington legislature
Jan 9, 2024
Page last updated: Sep 29, 2024