A filibuster is a political procedure in which one or more members of a legislative body prolong debate on proposed legislation so as to delay or entirely prevent a decision. It is sometimes referred to as "talking a bill to death" or "talking out a bill", and is characterized as a form of obstruction in a legislature or other decision-making body.
Michael Dennis Rogers is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. representative for Alabama's 3rd congressional district since 2003. He is a member of the Republican Party of Alabama. Rogers is the Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee where he served as the Ranking Member from 2021 to 2023 and as the Ranking Member of the House Homeland Security Committee from 2019 to 2021.
Robert Brown Aderholt is an American politician and attorney serving as the U.S. representative for Alabama's 4th congressional district since 1997. He is a member of the Republican Party. The district includes most of Tuscaloosa County north of the Black Warrior River, as well as Birmingham's far northern suburbs in Walker County and the southern suburbs of Huntsville and Decatur.
The Rohrabacher–Farr amendment is legislation introduced by U.S. Representative Maurice Hinchey in 2001, prohibiting the Justice Department from spending funds to interfere with the implementation of state medical cannabis laws. It passed the House in May 2014 after six previously failed attempts, becoming law in December 2014 as part of an omnibus spending bill. The passage of the amendment was the first time either chamber of Congress had voted to protect medical cannabis patients, and is viewed as a historic victory for cannabis reform advocates at the federal level. The amendment does not change the legal status of cannabis, however, and must be renewed each fiscal year in order to remain in effect.
Kay Ellen Ivey is an American politician who is the 54th governor of Alabama, serving since 2017. Originally a conservative Southern Democrat, Ivey became a member of the Republican Party in 2002. She was the 38th Alabama state treasurer from 2003 to 2011 and the 30th lieutenant governor of Alabama from 2011 to 2017.
Jay K. Love, Jr. is a Republican former member of the Alabama House of Representatives, representing the 74th District from November 2002 until his resignation in August 2013. He represented part of Montgomery.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) individuals in the U.S. state of Alabama have federal protections, but still face legal challenges and discrimination on the state level that is not experienced by non-LGBTQ residents. LGBTQ rights in Alabama—a Republican Party stronghold located in both the Deep South and greater Bible Belt—are severely limited in comparison to other states. As one of the most socially conservative states in the U.S., Alabama is one of the only two states along with neighboring Mississippi where opposition to same-sex marriage outnumbers support.
Martha Kehres Roby is an American lawyer and politician who served as the U.S. representative for Alabama's 2nd congressional district from 2011 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, she defeated the incumbent Democratic U.S. Representative Bobby Bright in 2010. That year, Roby and Terri Sewell became the first women elected to Congress from Alabama in regular elections. On July 26, 2019, Roby announced she would retire from Congress at the end of her fifth term, which ended in 2021.
In the United States, cannabis is legal in 38 of 50 states for medical use and 24 states for recreational use. At the federal level, cannabis is classified as a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act, determined to have a high potential for abuse and no accepted medical use, prohibiting its use for any purpose. Despite this prohibition, federal law is generally not enforced against the possession, cultivation, or intrastate distribution of cannabis in states where such activity has been legalized. Beginning in 2024, the Drug Enforcement Administration has initiated a review to potentially move cannabis to the less-restrictive Schedule III.
Gary James Palmer is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for Alabama's 6th congressional district since 2015. His district includes the wealthier parts of Birmingham, as well as most of its suburbs. Before becoming an elected official, Palmer co-founded and served as the longtime president of the Alabama Policy Institute, a conservative think tank.
Dimitrios Gus Polizos was an American politician. He was a member of the Alabama House of Representatives from the 74th District, serving from November 2013 until his death. He served on the Montgomery County commission and was a member of the Republican party.
Cannabis in Alabama is illegal for recreational use. First-time possession of personal amounts is a misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in prison, a fine of up to $6000, and a mandatory six months driver's license suspension. Repeat offenses and possession with intent to sell are felonies.
The 2018 Alabama gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 2018, to elect the governor of Alabama. Incumbent Governor Kay Ivey (R), who took office on April 10, 2017, upon the resignation of Robert Bentley (R) ran for election to a full term and won over Tuscaloosa mayor Walt Maddox. Ivey was sworn in for her first full term on January 14, 2019. This was the first time since 1966 that a woman was elected Governor of Alabama.
Timothy Ivan Melson is an American politician and physician. A member of the Republican Party, he serves in the Alabama State Senate, representing its 1st district since 2014.
The 2020 United States presidential election in Alabama took place on Tuesday, November 3, 2020, as part of the 2020 United States presidential election in which all 50 states and the District of Columbia participated. Alabama voters chose nine electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote pitting incumbent Republican President Donald Trump and his running mate, incumbent Vice President Mike Pence, against Democratic challenger and former Vice President Joe Biden and his running mate, United States Senator Kamala Harris of California. Also on the ballot was the Libertarian nominee, psychology lecturer Jo Jorgensen and her running mate, entrepreneur and podcaster Spike Cohen. Write-in candidates were permitted without registration, and their results were not individually counted.
The 2020 United States House of Representatives elections in Alabama were held on November 3, 2020, to elect the seven U.S. representatives from the state of Alabama, one from each of the state's seven congressional districts. The elections coincided with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate, and various state and local elections.
Felix Barry Moore is an American politician who is the U.S. representative for Alabama's 2nd congressional district since 2021. The district is based in the state capital, Montgomery, and stretches into the Wiregrass. He represented the 91st district in the Alabama House of Representatives from 2010 to 2018.
Justin Andrew Sorrell is an American politician who is the incumbent State Auditor of Alabama, serving since 2023. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served in the Alabama House of Representatives from 2018 to 2022, representing the 3rd district, which includes the northwestern counties of Colbert and Lawrence.
The Human Life Protection Act, also known as House Bill 314 and the Alabama abortion ban, is an Alabama statute enacted on May 15, 2019, that imposes a near-total ban on abortion in the state. Originally set to go into effect in November 2019, a legal challenge against the bill delayed implementation until 2022. The bill was passed in both chambers of the Alabama Legislature in a party-line vote and signed by Republican governor Kay Ivey. Under the Human Life Protection Act, a doctor who performs a banned abortion in the state of Alabama is guilty of a Class A felony, and could be sentenced to life imprisonment. Several proposed amendments that would have allowed abortions in cases of rape and incest were rejected.
The 2022 Alabama House of Representatives elections were held on November 8, 2022. The Republican and Democratic primaries were held on May 24, 2022, and any races in which no candidate exceeded one-half plus one of the total votes advanced to a runoff on June 21, 2022. This was the first election cycle since 2002 in which the Libertarian Party of Alabama was on the ballot, as they exceeded the threshold for petition signatures needed to gain ballot access in Alabama. Libertarian candidates were nominated by party convention. All 105 of Alabama's state representatives were up for reelection. In Alabama, members of both the House of Representatives and the Senate serve four-year terms, running in years corresponding with presidential midterm elections.
