Presentation and PowerPoint - Jeremy Gruber

Presentation and PowerPoint - Jeremy Gruber

 

The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA), which was signed into law in 2008, was the first civil rights law passed by Congress in over twenty years.  It is the only federal law directly regulating biotechnology in the public interest.  GINA, though, actually began in the states.  By 1995, when the first draft of GINA was introduced by Congresswoman Slaughter (D-NY), 15 states had already passed genetic nondiscrimination laws and many more were soon to follow.  Indeed this momentum at the state level is what continued to propel GINA throughout its journey from bill to law.

The speaker spoke about his experiences working on state “GINAS” as well as other state bills and campaigns.  The talk touched upon the promise and challenges of working at the state level and argued that an unbalanced focus on federal legislation and campaigns ignores the unique opportunites for progressive change at the state level.  It further expounded on ways that state level initiatives, both successful and unsuccessful, can impact activity at the national level.