Rolling Up Our Sleeves, Part 2: Enlisting Blue State Government

(a bit of encouragement)


Rolling Up Our Sleeves, Part 2: Enlisting Blue State Government
PUBLISHED 1/30/2025 by Carrie N. Baker

Democratic governors and attorneys general are moving to “Trump-proof” their states, fighting to protect abortion rights, LGBTQ+ protections and workplace equity.



New York Attorney General Letitia James speaks during a press conference on Jan. 8, 2025, in New York City. (Michael M. Santiago / Getty Images)

A fierce feminist resistance is ready to defend women’s rights at the federal level—and creatively expand equality protections in the states. This is the second in a four-part series on the steps activists are taking to fight for our rights amid Trump’s attacks on democracy. Part 1 covered the organization Democracy Forward and its new initiative Democracy 2025, which is working to counter the Trump administration’s antidemocratic acts with swift legal challenges and other strategic responses. Part 2 (below) discusses the Democratic governors and attorney generals who are working to “Trump-proof” their state’s existing laws and fight for legal protections for their residents. Next Wednesday and Thursday, Part 3 will tackle more specifics of state law and advocacy, while Part 4 will get into the issue of federal funding under Trump.

After a narrow political victory in November, a second Trump administration is now threatening to reverse decades of hard-fought gains for women and girls. The Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 calls for ending abortion; curtailing contraception; cutting programs supporting mothers and their children; eliminating Head Start childcare; rolling back women’s workplace rights and equal pay measures; undermining LGBTQ+ rights; gutting Title IX protections against sexual assault and harassment; investigating and prosecuting universities and other entities over the use of diversity, equity and inclusion policies; and so much more.


Blue States

Another bulwark against Trump extremism is the Democratic governors and attorneys general who have been readying legal arguments and building infrastructure for the second Trump term. The Democratic Attorneys General Association, which includes AGs from 23 states and D.C., filed more than 150 lawsuits against the first Trump administration and won 83 percent of those cases. California alone filed more than 120 lawsuits challenging the first Trump administration. Days after the November 2024 election, Gov. Gavin Newsom called an emergency legislative session to “Trump-proof” the state against the anticipated rollback of environmental protections and the rights of women and immigrants. Well before the election, California Attorney General Rob Bonta had already instructed his staff to draft a brief against a potential federal abortion ban. He said his office was preparing arguments on “almost every issue” that might arise—and even debating favorable litigation venues. “If he violates the law, as he has said he would, as Project 2025 says he will, then we are ready,” Bonta said in a November press conference. “We’ll continue to be a check on overreach and push back on abuse of power, be the antidote to dangerous, extremist, hateful vitriol, be the blueprint of progress for the nation to look to.”

In New York, Gov. Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James have pledged to protect against federal threats to reproductive, civil and LGBTQ+ rights; immigration; gun safety; the environment; and more. Hochul has created a new Empire State Freedom Initiative in an effort to develop comprehensive plans to address any policy and regulatory threats that may emerge, and James reports, “I am ready to do everything in my power to ensure our state and nation do not go backwards. We are ready to fight back again.”

In Massachusetts, Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell has pledged to use every tool available to defend and expand women’s rights, including litigation, policy-making and grant funding. “Across the country, attorneys general will be on the front lines to protect our fundamental rights and freedoms,” she told the press. “We will not shy away or back down from the critical work ahead.”



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Ms. magazine Winter 2025 issue cover.

https://msmagazine.com/2025/01/30/feminist-resistance-blue-states-trump-rights-california-new-york-massachusetts/