Congressman Bishop Statement on Supreme Court Decision Destroying the Voting Rights Act

WASHINGTON - Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02) issued the following statement in response to today's U.S. Supreme Court decision in Louisiana v. Callais, which erodes Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965:

"The price of freedom is truly eternal vigilance. Today's U.S. Supreme Court decision is the latest in a line of decisions which has decimated the Voting Rights Act and left it a shell of the landmark legislative achievement of the Civil Rights Movement. This decision ignores our country's history of racism and reopens the door to Jim Crow era, undemocratic tactics that suppressed and denied power to minority voters and communities.

"Nonetheless, we shall not be moved, and I will not be deterred. I will continue to use the democratic process to fight for free and fair elections and do all I can to strengthen democratic safeguards.

"Congress should pass the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, forthwith. As John Lewis, my dear friend and colleague, once said, 'the right to vote is precious, almost sacred. It is the most powerful nonviolent tool or instrument in a democratic society. We must use it.'"

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