7 Things: Businesses and churches could stay open in health emergencies, coronavirus the third leading cause of death in the last year, Hoover family creates another soldier for ISIS and more …

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April 2, 2021

7. Faculty members call on University of South Alabama to make a statement of being anti-racist

In an open letter, about 275 faculty members at the University of South Alabama asked that the school make a statement of being anti-racist, but they also asked for changes such as term appointments for deans. This is in response to the Halloween costume controversy that was brought up in March.
The letter says that the way the university handled the situation demonstrated “a lack of integrity, transparency, and participation in decision-making,” and then goes on to say, “We believe that the message the University administration is sending to faculty, staff, and students of color is that they would rather protect White tenured faculty than maintain campus safety.”

6. Lifetime concealed carry permits bill passes

The Alabama Uniform Concealed Carry Permit Act has passed the Alabama State Senate. This would simplify the concealed carry process and create a lifetime concealed carry permit for $300.
The bill would also create a database for the whole state that would be available to law enforcement to show those prohibited from owning a firearm. The bill will now move to the House.

5. The Biden administration knows it is lying about Georgia

President Joe Biden made several false statements about voter laws passed in Georgia, and White House press secretary Jen Psaki has doubled down on those inaccuracies. This has been pointed out to the administration multiple times, even by friendly “journalists.”
Psaki said despite being corrected, “It just gives options. It gives options to expand it, right, but it standardized it at five. It also makes it so that outside groups can’t provide water or food to people in line, right?”

4. Kudos to Georgia for pushing back on woke businesses who allow themselves to be bullied

Hollywood, Major League Baseball, Coca-Cola and Delta have all spoken out on Georgia’s voter-integrity efforts, which the Biden administration continues to lie about, and the Georgia Legislature has made it clear that they are not going to continue being abused by the mob. They are now striking back by potentially rolling back tax cuts on jet fuel.
This is widely symbolic but could signal changes in the future as the State Senate did not pursue this legislation in the last hours of the session but it did pass the State House. If passed eventually, it will lead to higher costs for consumers because they will pass this cost on, like all taxes.

3. Another Hoover Jihadi

A Hoover family that already had one daughter join ISIS just had another try to do the same, but it didn’t work this time. The 29-year-old sister of three-time terrorist bride Hoda Muthana was arrested trying to board a cargo ship in New York headed to Yemen to fight the United States in the Middle East.
After being arrested, Arwa Muthana explained that she had plans to join ISIS, and if that had failed, she was planning on carrying out terrorist attacks in the United States. She specifically mentioned using a car to attack cadets at U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

2. Coronavirus was the third leading cause of death

In 2020, the coronavirus increased the death rate in the United States by 15.9%, making it the third leading cause of death, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
There were 377,883 coronavirus-related deaths in the year. The CDC also determined that heart disease and cancer were the only things deadlier than the coronavirus in 2020.

1. Keep businesses and churches open during pandemics

While the Alabama Senate Minority Leader calls for the state to limit religious services, arguing that worshippers can “have Jesus at their house,” legislation brought forward by State Representative Jamie Kiel (R-Russellville) that would limit how businesses and churches can be closed during a pandemic-caused state of emergency has passed the State Senate. It now goes back to the State House.
The bill has to be passed by the House again, since an amendment was added that requires the State House remain open, as well. This is to prevent situations seen early in the coronavirus pandemic that disproportionately impacted small and locally-owned businesses.