June:
Gun Violence Awareness Month,
LGBTQ+ Pride Month & Reproductive Freedom
| |
‘This is on you’: Beto O’Rourke confronts Texas governor over mass shooting. Read Here. | Protesters chant outside NRA Convention in Houston after Uvalde School Shooting. Read more. | |
Crowds around the world parade in solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community. Read Here. | After narrowly losing the governor’s race in 2018, Democrat Stacey Abrams is running again in 2022 under a platform of “One Georgia.” Read Here. | |
“For our nation and for the world, Pride Month represents so much. It stands for courage — the courage of all those in previous generations and today who proudly live their truth. It stands for justice: both the steps we’ve taken and the steps we need to take. And above all, Pride Month stands for love — you know, being able to love yourself, love whomever you love, and love this country enough to make it more fair and more free and more just.” Full Remarks Here.
– President Joe Biden
| |
Reproductive Freedom is On the Line. | |
“Heather Booth has long believed that freedom is a constant struggle, so when she saw the leaked Supreme Court draft opinion potentially overturning long-standing abortion rights, she was “horrified but not surprised. Booth, 76, protested for abortion rights before they were engraved in the landmark Roe v. Wade case. She also founded an underground network as a college student out of Chicago in 1965 called “Jane” that helped women undergo abortions until they became legal eight years later. Today, she continues to lend her voice to the movement she feels is seriously under threat.”
This is about our freedom to decide whether, when, and with whom to have a family. The opposition believe politicians have the right to make our most personal decisions, based on their faith and values. We believe in the freedom to make our own decisions, based on our faith and values.
| | Heather Booth speaking with Julian Bond’s picture in the background. Julian Bond was a champion of civil rights and progressive causes. | |
New York City The Janes Premiere: Tia Lessin (co-producer), Sheila Smith (a Jane), Abby Pariser (a Jane), Heather Booth (Jane initiator), Emma Pildes (co-producer) The film will be streamed nationally by HBO on June 8. | |
“How about we treat every young man who wants to buy a gun like every woman who wants to get an abortion:
1. Mandatory 48-hour waiting period, parental permission, a note from his doctor proving he understands what he’s about to do, a video he has to watch about the effects of gun violence…
2. Close down all but one gun shop in every state and make him travel hundreds of miles, take time off work, stay overnight in a strange town to get a gun.
3. Make him walk through a gauntlet of people holding photos of loved ones who were shot to death, people who call him a murderer and beg him not to buy a gun.”
It means more sense to do this with young men and guns than with women and health care, right? I mean, no woman getting an abortion has killed a room full of people in seconds, right?
| |
America has a Gun Problem. Enough Is Enough. | |
Hate-fueled gun violence isn’t rare. And when hate comes armed with a gun, it’s deadly. This year, too many people have already become the victims of gun violence in America. We need Congress to take action to stop this senseless violence and prevent hateful people from arming themselves with guns. Right now, in most states, someone convicted of a violent hate crime can still legally buy a gun. This is unacceptable. Whether it’s racism, homophobia, misogyny, transphobia, xenophobia, religious intolerance or other bias — we demand to live in a country where we can be safe to be who we are, believe in what we want and love whomever we choose. Sign our petition asking Congress to disarm hatred and keep guns out of dangerous hands. | |
5 Facts About Guns in America. | |
-
There are more guns than people in the United States: The number of guns sold has increased dramatically in recent years. A record 39,695,315 guns were sold to civilians in 2020. By comparison, there were 15 million guns sold in 2011 and 9 million in 1999. 18.9 million guns were sold in 2021, the second-most annual gun sales on record.
-
More guns = more mass shootings: A 2018 study of 171 countries from 1966 to 2012 found “firearm ownership rates appeared to be a statistically significant predictor of the distribution of public mass shooters worldwide. Many of the nations in this study that ranked highest in firearm ownership rates also ranked highly in public mass shooters per capita.”
-
Policies to reduce the number of guns are very popular: A 2018 poll by Guns Down America, a gun-control advocacy group, found that 67% of Americans support stricter gun laws. More striking is that overwhelming majorities, including a majority of Republicans, support positions that are often described as out of the mainstream.
-
The federal government has safety standards for toy guns, but not real guns: Nearly every product — from toasters to lawnmowers to teddy bears — must comply with standards set by the government to ensure the item is safe for public use.
-
The gun industry received special legal protections in 2005: “Most people don’t realize, the only industry in America, billion-dollar industry, that can’t be sued, exempt from being sued, are gun manufacturers,” Biden said in April 2001.
| |
Supreme Court Update:
The extreme MAGA Republicans are dismantling our freedom to make the most personal decision of our lifetime–when, whether, or with whom we have a child. The great majority of the public supports keeping Roe. The 6 Extremist Right Wing members of the Supreme Court were each nominated by presidents who did not win the election with a majority of the popular vote. Democrats have won a majority of the popular Presidential vote in every election since 1988, except for 2004. We have to organize to build the power reflecting the popular will. This is a battle between Freedom and Tyranny. Read More.
| |
January 6 Commission Hearings to Begin On June 9th: | |
As more former Trump Officials Quit GOP saying the “Republican Party is Now a Threat to America,” the first hearing for the January 6th Commission, set for June 9, will be a broad overview of the panel’s 10-month investigation and set the stage for subsequent hearings, which are expected to cover certain topics or themes including what President Donald Trump was doing as the riot unfolded, the pushing of baseless election fraud claims that motivated rioters, how law enforcement responded to the attack, and the organizing and financing behind the January 6 rallies. Read More. | |
Higher education should be accessible to everyone, regardless of economic status or background. Unfortunately, that’s not the reality in the United States. The cost of higher education has grown exponentially in our country, placing it out of reach for most students and families unless they agree to take on huge amounts of debt. Over 44 million Americans carry more than $1.7 trillion of student debt. Recently, President Joe Biden has signaled he is open to cancelng student loans: Read Here.
| |
California High-Speed Rail is Happening!
The nation’s first high-speed line is being built in California, and it will transform travel throughout the state. The project will serve as the backbone of an integrated network of trains and buses, giving California the best public transit system in the country.
In order for this to happen, California lawmakers have to fully commit to completing the project. That means releasing $4.2 billion in funds that voters already approved in a referendum. This funding will go towards completing the initial Central Valley segment, setting the stage for federal funds to get the mountain crossings underway and modernize commuter rail in Los Angeles.
| |
|
When we organize, we can change the world.
| |
|
We are so glad to be your partner in this movement for democracy and justice for all.
– Heather Booth, Lilly Rivlin, and the Film Team
| | | | | |