Shadow Politics, June 11, 2017
Our guest, Jessica Laycock, is a District woman firing a legal challenge to the ambiguous marijuana laws in the nation’s capital. As of Feb. 26, 2015 marijuana was made legal in D.C.—sort of. On April 20, an annual day of pro-pot advocacy, Laycock and seven other protesters were arrested during a demonstration in which activists gave joints to congressional staffers to push for marijuana-friendly federal laws. Possession of marijuana is illegal on federal land, but protesters say they strategically held the event on District land, where possession of up to two ounces of pot is legal and small amounts can be given away free. The circumstances of her case highlight the clash between federal pot laws and looser local regulations in a city where small amounts of marijuana are allowed. Let's hear what she has to say!
Guest, Jessica Laycock
I am a civically-impassioned public policy and public affairs practitioner and political strategist and analyst that aspires to be a lobbyist, work on political campaigns, work for legislators and ultimately run for office myself.
I am a 25 years old American citizen. I was born and raised in the Castro district of San Francisco, California, epicenter for the LGBT civil rights movement. From a very young age, I was exposed to a vastly diverse society. I began my academic career at a bilingual public elementary school called Alvarado and to this day, am completely fluent in Spanish. I was in part raised by a Peruvian babysitter who taught me Spanish at a very young age and enabled me to be the bilingual and multicultural individual I am today.
I developed an interest in law, government and politics during high school after seeing The West Wing, Aaron Sorkin’s television series. I excelled in my civics course that year, winning an honors award, and from then on I was completely hooked on public service. I went on to college and graduated from Whittier College in Southern California with a BA in both Political Science and Spanish, after completing my final semester abroad in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
After college, I moved to Washington D.C. to complete an internship with the International Conservation Caucus Foundation and from then I moved to Central New York and matriculated into the Public Diplomacy program at Syracuse University, which will earn me a MS in Public Relations and a MA in International Relations upon graduating in May of 2017.
Over the past summer, I completed a communications internship with the Human Rights Watch in Brussels, Belgium. I have served as a Legislative & Public Policy Intern for U.S. Senator of DC Paul Strauss. I am currently working as a lobbyist for Mintwood Strategies. I aspire to be a full time lobbyist, work on political campaigns and ultimately run for office as a liberal progressive myself.
Shadow Politics
Shadow Politics is a grass roots talk show giving a voice to the voiceless. For more than 200 years the people of the Nation's Capital have ironically been excluded from the national political conversation. With no voting member of either house of Congress, Washingtonians have lacked the representation they need to be equal and to have their voices heard. Shadow Politics will provide a platform for them, as well as the millions of others nationwide who feel politically disenfranchised and disconnected, to be included in a national dialog.
We need to start a new conversation in America, one that is more inclusive and diverse and one that will lead our great nation forward to meet the challenges of the 21st century. At Shadow Politics, we hope to get this conversation started by bringing Americans together to talk about issues important to them. We look forward to having you be part of the discussion so call in and join the conversation. America is calling and we're listening… Shadow Politics is about America hearing what you have to say. It's your chance to talk to an elected official who has spent more than 30 years in Washington politics. We believe that if we start a dialog and others add their voices we will create a chorus. Even if those other politicians in Washington don't hear you — Senator Brown will. He's on a mission to listen to what America has to say and use it to start a productive dialog to make our democracy stronger and more inclusive. If we are all part of the solution we can solve any problem.
