Chop Wood, Carry Water 10/6

A deeply hopeful meeting.

Hi, all, and happy Friday!

I just attended a Zoom meeting with the leaders of the new White House Office for Gun Violence Prevention. And folks, I’m feeling a strange feeling—I believe they call it “hope.”

During several Republican administrations, of course, the NRA might as well have had an office in the West Wing. In fact, they joked that they would, indeed, have one under George Bush. So to think that we have come so far and elected such a magnificent President that we now have an office dedicated instead to preventing gun violence is just profoundly moving and encouraging.

The office will be run by three chief players: Stef Feldman, the director, who worked for then Vice-President Biden when he helped pass the original Assault Weapons Ban, Greg Jackson, a gun violence survivor and longtime violence intervention organizer, and Rob Wilcox, who lost a cousin in a shooting when he was young and went on to work for Everytown.

This incredible leadership team has been given four mandates by President Biden and VP Harris, (the latter of whom will technically be in charge of the department.) They are:

1. To ensure the full implementation and maximize the benefits of President Biden’s Safer Communities Act and his forty (!!) gun-violence-related Executive Orders.

2. To “get creative” in coming up with new Executive Actions that can make a dent in the gun violence problem.

3. To enhance partnerships with cities and states —looking for states, for example, who have taken successful action and facilitating partnerships between them and states that would like to emulate such action.

4. To help communities who have been impacted by gun violence. Right now there is no office to coordinate a response across agencies and provide mental and physical health and /or economic support for victims of gun violence. There is no FEMA for gun violence disasters, as it were. This office will change that.

All of these mandates are thrilling and wildly important. But number four is especially critical. Consider the shooting in Buffalo—the store where it happened was the only grocery store in the area; shutting it down even temporarily had an enormous negative impact on people who depended on it for food. The USDA had to be called in. It took longer than it should have to get assistance up and running. The Office of Gun Violence Prevention will have a task force with members from all the relevant agencies who will work together to coordinate responses to ALL aspects of a gun violence event.

There was so much more, but I can’t fit it all here. Just a few more highlights, though: did you know that since the enhanced background checks for purchasers under 21 policy went into effect—this was part of Biden’s Safer Communities Act—over 200 youths have been prevented from purchasing a firearm? These are young people who weren’t qualified to own a gun due to either a criminal record or a mental health flag, but who would have been able to buy one until this law took effect. Think of how many mass shootings this alone may have prevented! Or suicides! Or crimes!

This is the kind of win we don’t hear nearly enough about: good policy preventing catastrophes and saving lives. Please, please, help me spread the word.

One last thing I want to share. Towards the end of the meeting one of our speakers reminded us how much the national conversation about gun violence has changed in the last ten years.

“Right after Sandy Hook,” he said, “you may remember that the Obama administration tried to pass an expanded background checks bill. And we couldn’t even get all the Democrats on board. I remember one Democratic Senator telling me that she wanted to vote yes, but she was getting seven phone calls against the bill for every one in favor.”

He went on: “Fast forward to 2022, when Joe Biden and the Democrats introduce the Safer Communities Act. And we hear from a Republican Senator that she wanted to vote against it, but that she got ten calls in favor for every one opposed. So she supported the bill.”

It passed, by the way, with fifteen Republican votes. FIFTEEN!

There were many such anecdotes shared. It was incredibly heartening.

At the end of the meeting the speakers asked us simply to convey this hope to you. To tell you that last week, quietly and without fanfare, the Justice Department gave out over 4 billion dollars in grants to prevent gun violence across the country. That President Biden is hellbent on doing more. That THEY are hellbent on doing more.

They asked you to keep calling your representatives and demanding more legislation. To talk to your friends and family about safe storage and Extreme Risk Prevention laws. To keep the conversation going!

They told us: “The President believes that no one should live in fear of gun violence.”

I agree. And I’ll add one more thing to all of the above:

Elections matter.

Because NONE of this would be happening under a Republican administration, and none of it will continue should Republicans take back the White House. As it is we’ll have a hell of a time preventing House Republicans from defunding this office if they possibly can.

So never stop believing that your calls, your advocacy, and your work to elect Democrats matters. It’s not just moving the needle—it’s literally saving lives.

Does that make you feel proud? Because it should.

Now let’s get back to work.

Call Your Senators (find yours here) 📲

Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is ______.

I’m calling to find out if the Senator is yet a co-sponsor on S. 25 the Assault Weapons ban Act of 2023, or S. 173 Ethan’s Law—a common-sense safe storage bill—or S. 494, the Background Check Expansion Act. Gun violence is an epidemic in this country and we know how to address it. All of these bills will have a measurable impact and it’s malpractice to not pass them. I’d like the Senator to make them a top priority, please. [Feel free to share a personal way gun violence—or the fear of it—has affected you.] Thanks.

Call Your House Rep (find yours here) 📲

Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is _______.

I’m calling to find out if the Representative is yet a co-sponsor on HR 698, the Assault Weapons ban Act of 2023, or HR 660 Ethan’s Law—a common-sense safe storage bill—or H.R. 715, the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2023. Gun violence is an epidemic in this country and we know how to address it. All of these bills will have a measurable impact and it’s malpractice to not pass them. I’d like the Congressmember to make them a top priority, please. [Feel free to share a personal way gun violence—or the fear of it—has affected you.] Thanks.

Extra Credit ✅

Hey I have LOTS of packets of postcards on my front steps right now. Like lots lots. I have postcards to Mecklenberg Cty North Carolina for a critical City Council election that need to be mailed exactly on 10/14. Postcards to Ohio for the pro-choice ballot measure that need to be mailed ASAP. Postcards to VA for Danica Roem. And lots and lots of postcards to VA for Postcards to Swing States that need to be mailed EXACTLY on October 27th. I am drowning in packets and although my local volunteers are cranking them out there are still many left. So…

1. If you know anyone in Northeast L.A. who can come pick some up please send them my way!

2. If you’re by some chance willing to pay for postage, let me know if you want me to send you a few packets.

Get Smart! 📚

Join Showing Up for Racial Justice for a community conversation on October 10 at 8 PM ET: “Beyond Book Bans: building power in public schools and libraries” to hear stories about how regular folks are building people power to make decisions about how the libraries and schools in their communities are run. 

Opening remarks by abolitionist organizer (and co-founder of For the People Leftist Library Project) Mariame Kaba. WOW! She’s amazing.

Tuesday, October 10, 2023 8:00 PM -  9:00 PM ET

Spread the Word! 📣

We just got a HUGELY GOOD jobs report. Make sure you help spread the word, please!

Washington Post: Economy adds 336,000 jobs in September, in a stunning gain

Associated Press: US employers added a surprisingly strong 336,000 jobs in September in a sign of economic resilience

Axios: U.S. economy adds staggering 336,000 jobs in September

Here are some talking points:

• Bidenomics in action: The most jobs ever created in one term.

  • 336,000 jobs created last month—nearly 14 million jobs created under President Biden.

  • Unemployment under 4% for 20 months in a row—the longest stretch in over 50 years!

  • The share of working-age Americans in the workforce hasn’t been higher in 20 years.

  • The share of working age women with jobs is at a record high.

• Bidenomics is delivering a manufacturing boom. Under President Biden:

  • More manufacturing jobs than at any point under the last Administration.

  • 815,000 manufacturing jobs created, and another 830,000 in construction and engineering.

  • Businesses have invested more than half a trillion in manufacturing and clean energy.

  • Investments in manufacturing construction hit an all-time high and have nearly doubled, after falling under the last President.

• Bidenomics is growing our economy from the middle out and bottom up, not the top-down.

  • Inflation has fallen by 60% since last summer.

  • Wages are rising—higher than last year and higher than before the pandemic, accounting for inflation

  • The U.S. has the strongest economy and lowest inflation of any leading economy.

Win Races—Help Interview Run For Something candidates! 🗳

RFS has a pipeline of over 130,000 candidates who have raised their hand and told them they want to run for office.

Volunteers make one-on-one introductory calls to help future candidates navigate their next steps. These calls are unbelievably inspiring. You'll be speaking to musicians, teachers, and dog walkers, all of whom have a sense of duty to their community and democracy. If you are ready to be inspired by and to inspire our future local leaders, join RFS on an upcoming Volunteer Training call— sign up here.

More than 50 candidates are waiting to hear from volunteers this week!

Win Races—Ohio School Boards! 🍎

Does the racism and homophobia of the so-called “parents’ rights” groups like Moms for Liberty make you seethe with rage and want to wrap queer kids and kids of color in a massive bear hug? Now’s your chance to deliver a few losses to their racist, homophobic agenda! Join SURJ to call into school districts in the Ohio suburbs where their members are running against M4L candidates for local school board seats. 

These local races can be decided by a matter of a few votes, so every conversation helps. You’ll be calling white voters to talk with them about why protecting queer kids and teaching honest history in schools is good for all of us.

• Wednesday, Oct 11,  6 ET: Voter contact

• Wednesday, Oct 18, 6 ET: Voter Contact 

• Wednesday, Oct 25, 6 ET: Voter Contact

Resistbot Letter (new to Resistbot? Go here! And then here.) 💻

[to all 3 reps] [H/T PIRG] [Text SIGN PAXAHG to Resistbot at 50409 or via Apple Messages / WHATSAPP / MESSENGER]

I strongly urge you to prevent food waste by supporting S. 1484 / HR 3159 the Food Date Labeling Act of 2023.

Confusing or unclear date labels mean many of us end up throwing away food that's still perfectly safe to eat -- and it adds up. The U.S. throws away about 35% of its total food supplies each year. This is a huge contributor to methane emissions and therefore the climate crisis.

To grow all the food that ended up going to waste last year, it took an area of farmland the size of California and New York State combined; 5.9 trillion gallons of fresh water; and enough energy to power over 50 million U.S. homes for a year. For the sake of our planet, we can't let resources go to waste like this.

Not to mention, the food we produce but don't end up using globally could feed 2 billion people. Improving labeling and reducing food waste -- in addition to the right distribution system -- could help end hunger. Please sponsor and support this bill. Thanks.

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OK, you did it again! You helped save democracy! You’re amazing.

Talk soon.

Jess