Lincoln issues Emancipation Proclamation On this day in 1862, President Abraham Lincoln issues a preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, which sets a date for the freedom of more than 3 million black slaves in the United States and recasts the Civil War as a fight against slavery.
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Juneteenth
On July 22, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln informs his chief advisors and cabinet that he will issue a proclamation to free enslaved people, but adds that he will wait until the Union Army has achieved a substantial military victory to make the announcement.
Attempting to stitch together a nation mired in a bloody civil war, Abraham Lincoln made a last-ditch, but carefully calculated, executive decision regarding the institution of slavery in America. At the time of the meeting with his cabinet, things were not looking good for the Union. The Confederate Army had overcome Union troops in significant battles and Britain and France were set to officially recognize the Confederacy as a separate nation.
WATCH: Emancipation Proclamation: How Lincoln Used War Powers Against Slavery
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** Senate Bill 5033, known as Kimberly Bender’s Law, imposes harsher penalties for sexually abusive jail and prison guards. It goes into effect July 23.
** A special session of the Washington State Legislature adjourned in a matter of hours Tuesday as Gov. Jay Inslee signed SB 5536 to settle the matter of appropriate sanction for drug possession in the state.
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** On May 15, Gov. Jay Inslee signed SB 5440 to overhaul the competency system and reduce an impossible volume of referrals. Since a 2015 decision in Trueblood v. DSHS, the state has invested significant effort to serve a rapidly-growing number of patients awaiting competency services. In his State of the State address this past January, Inslee called on legislators to help with further reforms to the broken system.
** HB 1002: Sam Martinez Stop Hazing Law
The “Sam Martinez Stop Hazing Law,” or House Bill 1002, increases penalties for the most serious types of hazing from a misdemeanor to a felony. It goes into effect July 23.
** HB 1020: Washington officially has its first state dinosaur, the Suciasaurus Rex.
Inslee signed the bill into law in May and goes into effect on July 23.
Following the bill signing, Inslee recognized eighth-grader Athena Tauscher as “Washingtonian of the Day” for her work on the bill. Tauscher repeatedly testified in favor of the bill, which came up as a result of a fourth-grade class project.
** HB 1177: Cold case unit for missing and murdered Indigenous women creates a cold case unit within the state Attorney General’s Office specifically aimed at tackling cases involving missing and murdered Indigenous women and people (MMIWP). The legislation goes into effect on July 23.
** HB 1051: Robocall Scam Protection Act
House Bill 1051, known as the Robocall Scam Protection Act, would make it illegal to disguise a caller’s identity by using a fake caller ID and would make it a violation for phone providers to enable illegal robocalls knowingly. It prohibits calls to residents on the federal Do Not Call Registry.
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In Memory
Be a Seed for Change 
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