Chop Wood, Carry Water 5/26

Hi, all.

I won’t say happy Thursday—I’m not there, yet. But I am happy to see you here with me.

Last night I spoke at an impromptu Momtivist meeting—its leadership thought their members might want a place to come mourn, commiserate, and strategize. They were right; almost 100 women showed up with just a few hours notice. The conversation was frank and raw—there were tears, there were curses, and there were, of course, promises.

Promises to not forget.

Promises to not let it go.

Promises to hold Republicans accountable.

When it was my turn to speak, I reminded the attendees that, after an event like this, these kinds of promises are common. The problem is that, human nature being what it is, we DO tend to forget. We DO let it go. We DON’T hold those responsible accountable. And this is normal! Because life moves on. And no one wants to sit in this kind of grief and rage forever.

But that doesn’t mean we have to stop working. In fact, we can’t, if we want to prevail.

So how do we keep ourselves moving when this grisly, terrifying event starts to fade from our thoughts?

By making our activism a discipline. A habit. A routine that becomes so grooved it’s impossible to stop.

Sort of like tooth brushing: we do it daily, regardless of how inconvenient or annoying. We don’t wait and do it when we get a cavity. We make it a habit. To prevent future harm.

This newsletter, these few actions, the electoral work I am pushing you so hard to do?

It’s to address pain in the moment, but also to help prevent future, worse, pain.

So let’s do the actions here habitually. Whether we feel like it or not. I promise, as you develop the routine it will become second nature. And with enough of us patiently plodding away at this work even when our rawest emotions have cooled?

We’ll win.

Call Your Senators (find yours here)

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

I’m calling once again, with more urgency, to ask the Senator to push to pass H.R. 1446, the Enhanced Background Checks Act of 2021, and H.R. 8, the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2021. Inaction on guns is absolutely not an option at this point. I also want the Senator to vote to confirm Steve Dettlebach to lead the ATF. I know his confirmation vote is this week. The fact that we haven’t had a leader for the department in charge of enforcing gun laws in this country is totally unacceptable. Thanks.

Call Your House Rep (find yours here)

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

I’m calling to ask the Congressmember to sign on as a co-sponsor and vocally support H.R.1808 - the Assault Weapons Ban of 2021. Assault weapons do not belong on America’s streets, and they certainly don’t belong in our nation’s schools being used to murder innocent children and teachers. I’ve had it. Pass this bill now. Thanks.

Extra Credit ✅

Y’all, there’s a great bill called Ethan’s Law, HR 748, that would basically require that gun owners would need to store their guns safely when young people might be able to access them. Advocates have been working for months to get enough co-sponsors on it to guarantee passage in the House, and they finally have (all Democrats, of course)!

BUT Rep. Nadler, who is the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, through which all gun bills must go, is refusing to bring it for a vote. So the bill is stalled. I have been given the OK to drive calls to him, so let’s do this.

Call the House Judiciary Committee office: 202-225-3951 AND Rep. Nadler’s Congressional office directly at 718-373-3198 and say:

I’m calling as an American who is desperately worried about gun violence in our country to ask Representative Nadler, as the chair of the House Judiciary Committee, to bring Ethan’s Law, HR 748, up for a vote in that committee as soon as possible. We have the votes to pass it in the House, but we can’t do that until it gets through his committee. And we are done waiting. We need to start passing common sense gun laws NOW. Thanks.

Extra Extra Credit ✅

Let’s send a letter to David Mincberg, the chairman of the board of the venue which is supposed to host the NRA convention this weekend, and ask him to cancel the convention.

Write him at dmincberg@flagshipco.com or click on https://tinyurl.com/canceltheconvention.

Just make sure to personalize and sign.

I said:

Dear Mr. Mincberg,

I'm writing as someone who was devastated by the massacre of children in Uvalde, Texas this week, and by the many massacres that came before. The idea that the NRA will be holding a convention celebrating guns right after this event is truly sickening. Imagine the pain it will inflict on an already shattered community, and on already devastated parents. It's sick. It can't happen.

I'm asking you, as the chairman of the board that owns the convention center in which this event is scheduled to happen, to cancel it. Now. Please. By allowing it to occur you will be endorsing the NRA's agenda, which just led directly to the deaths of 19 young kids. Children. It's ghastly.

You will remember what you do now for the rest of your life, and so will we.

Cancel this sickening convention.

Thanks,

Get Smart! 📚

It just so happens that I have an Activism 101 scheduled for tonight, for a group of newly motivated moms. I’ve been told I can open it up to others, so if you’re looking for ideas for easy ways to get involved in winning in November, which we MUST if we are to have any hope of passing gun legislation, please come! It’s one-hour and free.

8:30 PM PT. Hop onto the zoom here.

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

[to your Senators] [H/T] [Quick send text SIGN PVAKOV to 50409]

Assault weapons do not belong on America’s streets, and they certainly don’t belong in our nation’s schools being used to murder innocent children and teachers.

Assault weapons with high-capacity magazines, pistol grips, flash suppressors, barrel shrouds do not belong in the hands of an 18 year old who isn’t even legally able to drink or gamble. Yet, the 18 year old gunmen in both Texas and Buffalo purchased their weapons of war legally.

This must stop immediately and you can make it happen.

I call on you to reinstate the assault weapons ban now. And I want to hear from you exactly what else you plan to do to protect our children from all forms of gun violence. Thanks.

---

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

Talk tomorrow.

Jess