The JUUstice Washington Board of Directors and the Social and Environmental Justice Committee of the Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship have voted to to become signatories on an interfaith amicus brief to be filed on behalf of the youth in Aji P. v. State of Washington. This case has been brought by Washington youth to demand the State take action on climate change and to treat climate change as an issue that belongs within the Public Trust. It was dismissed by the lower courts and is now going through the appeals process and will be filed in either the WA Supreme Court or in the WA Court of Appeals (if the WA Supreme Court declines to hear the case). We will be encouraging and working with WA UU congregations to prepare for and join future briefs in this case. More information can be found at Our Children’s Trust.
In similar news, Juliana v. US heard arguments on June 4th before the Ninth Circuit (Federal) Court of Appeals in Portland, Oregon on June 4th, 2019. In this case, Levi Draheim, an eleven year old UU from Florida, is a plaintiff. “Their complaint asserts that, through the government’s affirmative actions that cause climate change, it has violated the youngest generation’s constitutional rights to life, liberty, and property, as well as failed to protect essential public trust resources.” Oregon Voices for Justice signed onto the amicus brief for this case. More
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