The Chicago Journal

Donald McEachin died from cancer on Monday

Edward Anderson Edward Anderson on December 19, 2022

Image source: The Hill

Donald McEachin, a Democratic Representative from Virginia, was pronounced dead by his office on Monday.

McEachin was 61 when he died.

The announcement

According to Tara Rountree, McEachin’s chief of staff, the Virginia Democrat has battled cancer since 2013.

“Valiantly for years now, we have watched him fight and triumph over the secondary effects of his colorectal cancer from 2013,” said Rountree.

“Tonight, he lost that battle.”

Read also: Democrats Keep Senate Influence, Winning Nevada

Reelection

Donald McEachin won reelection earlier this month after defeating Republican opposition figure Leon Benjamin.

The Democrat, whose constituency is based in the state capital of Richmond, won 64% of the vote.

Additionally, McEachin was first elected to Congress in 2016 after services in the Virginia Senate and House of Delegates.

“We don’t do this for glory or fame,” the Democrat said on election night in early November.

“We do this because we like service.”

Donald McEachin was one of 213 Democrats elected to the next Congress to 220 Republicans.

However, two races are yet to be defined.

Special elections will decide McEachin’s replacement in the heavily Democratic district.

Furthermore, Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, has not yet set a date for the special election.

Cancer discussion

Donald McEachin opened up about his battle with cancer during a screening of “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” two weeks ago.

“I can’t stress to you enough the importance of early detection,” said McEachin.

“I know many of you have watched my journey, and I’ve had a number of health issues.”

Read also: Student loan blocked by Republicans

Tributes

Aston Donald McEachin was born in Nuremberg, Germany, on October 10, 1961.

McEachin’s father served in the military.

In his adulthood, Donald McEachin was a lawyer who graduated from the University of Virginia Law School.

In addition, he received his Master of Divinity from Virginia Union University.

Many paid their respects as news of Donald McEachin’s death began to spread.

Senator Mark Warner wrote a tribute to McEachin on Twitter, saying:

“Up until the very end, Don McEachin was a fighter. Even though he battled cancer and faced trials in recent years, he never lost focus on social and environmental justice.”

“Tonight, Virginia has lost a great leader and I have lost a great friend.”

Meanwhile, Senator Tim Kaine reminisced about his connection to McEachin.

“I met Donald McEachin in 1985 and we became fast friends,” he wrote in a statement.

“He was a gentle giant, a compassionate champion for underdogs, a climate warrior, a Christian example, an understanding dad, a proud husband, a loyal brother.”

McEachin’s congressional colleague from Virginia, Gerry Connolly, joined the tribute, describing him as “a noble friend, husband and father.”

“There was no better ally to have,” said Connolly. “I will miss him terribly.”

Reference:

Virginia Rep. Donald McEachin dies at 61

New rule restricts sex change on birth certificates in Montana

Nicholas Alexander Nicholas Alexander on September 19, 2022

Image source: KRTV

On Friday, Montana health officials approved a proposed rule change to change gender identification on state-issued birth certificates.

Birth certificates now exclude changes after sex confirmation surgeries.

The change

The Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services made the rule change on Saturday.

The change makes it impossible for transgender people to change the sex on their birth certificate.

Changes are only allowed in very limited cases.

The new rule also states that the sex on a birth certificate can only be changed if it was incorrectly stated on the original certificate “as a result of a scrivener’s error or a data entry.”

Another exception to the rule is when “the sex of the individual was misidentified on the original certificate and the department receives a correction affidavit and support documents, … including a copy of the results of chromosomal, molecular, karyotypic, DNA, or genetic testing that identify the sex of the individual.”

Building up to the change

The decision by Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte’s administration comes days before a court will hear arguments on the legality of a similar rule, which has been in effect for emergencies since May.

The ACLU of Montana asked State Judge Michael Moses to lift the state of emergency.

In April, Moses temporarily blocked a 2021 Montana law that made it difficult for transgender people to change their birth certificates.

The law required people to undergo “surgical procedure” before they could change the sex listed on their birth certificates.

Meanwhile, Gianforte’s administration continued, blocking changes to birth certificates even after surgery.

Response to the change

In recent years, conservative lawmakers in many states have campaigned to curtail the rights of transgenders.

According to transgender rights advocates, Tennessee, Oklahoma, and West Virginia have similar bans on changing birth certificates.

Meanwhile, the bans in Idaho and Ohio were lifted in 2020.

Transgender prosecutors, represented by the ACLU of Montana, have said that a birth certificate that doesn’t match their gender identity embarrasses, discriminates, harasses, or constitutes violence if asked to prove a birth certificate.

ACLU attorney Akilah Lane said Friday’s rule was “further evidence of the state’s non-compliance” with Moses’ order in April.

The judge will hear the case on Thursday at a hearing in Billings.

The difference between the changes in the past and the present

Before the new law, transgender people who wanted to change their birth certificates in Montana only needed to file an affidavit with the state health department.

With the new rule, the Department of Health and Human Services said it will no longer list the “gender” category on birth certificates.

Instead, they would replace it with a “sex” entry, which can only be changed in rare cases.

Moses said the law passed by the 2021 legislature was unconstitutionally vague, as it did not specify which surgical procedures were needed.

State health officials said the court’s ruling left them in “an ambiguous and uncertain situation” weeks later.

He also approved changes to the rules to clarify when a gender designation on a birth certificate might change.

References:

Montana adopts permanent block birth certificate changes

Montana health department adopts rule severely restricting changes of sex on birth certificates

Middle Aged Man Shoots Young Adult After Feeling Threatened By What He Calls a Deadly Weapon – a Water Gun

Edward Anderson Edward Anderson on August 1, 2022

Image source: David Dee Delgado/POOL

The rising level of gun violence in 2022 has caused widespread concern among citizens, and New York has once again witnessed yet another murder, this time at the hands of an officer.

Last week, an 18-year-old man was killed by a correctional officer in New York.

The reason for the shooting? A water gun.

The shooting

According to police reports, 18-year-old Raymond Chaluisant shot a car with a toy water gun. Officer Dion Middleton, 45, off duty, shot Chaluisant with his own gun.

Sources say Middleton has shot more than once.

Police say it is unclear who Chaluisant was referring to.

He was shot in the face around 01:30 am while sitting on the passenger side of an Acura.

After the shooting

Raymond Chaluisant was taken to hospital and later pronounced dead. Meanwhile, according to the Attorney General’s Office, Middleton showed up for work hours later and was arrested.

The prosecution is pursuing the case over Middleton’s employment as a law enforcement agent.

Police found a grenade at the scene but determined that Chaluisant was shot almost half a mile away on Morris Avenue and the Cross Bronx Expressway.

The “lethal” weapon

Police found a toy gun shooting water-filled gel beads near the shooting.

Additionally, police sources claimed that Chaluisant fired an “Orbeez” pistol, which looks like a pistol, and fired gel water beads with a spring-loaded air pump.

Read also: Gun Violence is Turning America Into “Killing Fields,” Says President Joe Biden

 On Friday, police tweeted that BB guns are now considered airguns and are illegal in New York.

“Bead blasters shoot gel water bears propelled by a spring-loaded air pump, making them an air rifle. Air rifles are a violation in NYC and are unlawful to possess,” tweeted NYPD News.

“Violators found in possession of these will be issued a criminal summon & the weapon will be confiscated.”

Dion Middleton

Middleton works in training at the NYPD Rodman’s Neck shooting range, where he reportedly went to work after filming.

Police located him through surveillance, investigation and surveillance of his vehicle.

Middleton was arrested on Friday while working at Rodman’s Neck.

Middleton’s case

A New York union attorney said Middleton saw a passenger in the car shake his hand after being stabbed with what he described as “looks like glass.”

“I’m trying to provide context,” attorney Joey Jackson explained over Middleton’s initial court appearance.

“That context would suggest to the court at the time my client discharged a single round, he was doing so under the belief that he was in immediate fear of death of his life.”

The killer was charged with murder, manslaughter and possession of criminal weapons.

Read also: Drive-By Shooting Outside a Church in the Southside of Chicago Left Three Wounded

Prosecutors said Dion Middleton told investigators he hadn’t seen anyone hold a gun or heard gunfire.

“He also stated that was not injured and was not hurt and he was not shot,” said Justin Siebel of the state attorney general’s office.

“The defendant then continued walking on his regular course and did not at any point stop and call the police or inform anybody.”

The Chaluisant family

Jiraida Esquilin, 29, Chaluisant’s older sister, said her brother was involved in a shootout with neighborhood friends on a hot summer night.

“I can’t believe a corrections officer killed my brother,” said Esquilin. “Everything nowadays is a rage thing.”

“They were just having fun. It’s a nerf gun that shoots water,” she added. “The whole neighborhood was having a water gun fight. It was 90 degrees.”

Jiraida Esquilin said her family is still mourning her father, who died five months ago.

She also said that her mother could not identify her mortally wounded son and that he was shot in the chin at close range.

“My brother was well-known and well-loved by everyone in that neighborhood,” Esquilin said.

“He was just hanging out and having a good time.”

Although the family doesn’t know who Chaluisant was with, she had previously told her mother that he was going to McDonald’s.

Raymond Chaluisant’s body was found half a mile from the crime scene. He was unconscious in the passenger seat of a silver Acura when the police arrived.

Police did not release the name of the driver, a 22-year-old acquaintance of Chaluisant’s Yonkers.

“I can’t believe they just drove him and left him there,” Esquilin said of the Acura driver.

Chaluisant’s family was surprised to see Middleton return to work after the young man was shot.

“He did not deserve this, especially from a whole correction officer that was off duty,” said Esquilin.

“And then for him to go to work, as if nothing happened – it’s mind blowing. He basically had no remorse because you’re going into work the next day knowing you shot an 18-year-old little boy.”

References:

Off-duty NYC correction cop charged in killing of 18-year-old with toy water gun

Bronx teen playing with toy water gun fatally shot by correction officer: NYPD

Off-duty correction officer charged in fatal shooting of Bronx 18-year-old who was wielding water gun says he was in ‘immediate fear of death of his life,’ headed to work after incident