Chop Wood, Carry Water 6/6
Hi, all, and happy Monday.
I hope you all had a fantastic, restful, serene weekend.
We’ll start our Monday out with some good news: President Biden is invoking the Defense Production Act to speed up the building of heat pumps and solar panels here in the U.S.! This is something we wrote him about many times— the fact that he’s doing it is in part due to YOU! Thank you for the efforts you made to get us to this point.
In the less good news, the gun bill Congress is negotiating is wholly inadequate, so we are going to dedicate a few more days to calling and demanding they do better. We may have to give up, resigning ourselves to the fact that nothing but voting Republicans out will solve this, but I’m not ready to do that yet.
I doubt you are either.
So let’s get to work. Because when we work hard…we win. It’s that simple.
Never forget it.
P.S. If you wrote a packet (or more) of Colorado postcards for me please mail them today!! But before you do, please remember to take a sharpie and black out the return address, per my earlier e-mail. Thanks again!
Call Your Senators (find yours here)
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is ______.
I understand the Senate is negotiating a so-called gun bill that doesn’t actually contain gun regulations. From what I’m hearing it focusses on mental health, on putting armed veterans in our schools, and on SUGGESTING that states enact red flag laws. This is absolutely not good enough. We want an assault weapons ban, expanded background checks, mandatory red flag laws, and safe storage laws as a bare minimum. And we know that “hardening our schools” doesn’t work. Robb Elementary had newly beefed up security plus armed officers. It didn’t stop the shooter. Nothing will work but reducing the number of guns people like him have access to.
[If Democrat add:] Democrats need to use their majority to pass the gun safety laws we know work—and that Americans support—with or without Republican help. Carve out a filibuster exception and get it done. Lives are at stake. No more compromise!
[If GOP add:] I am livid that the Republican party continues to block common sense gun laws and I will work to make sure every lawmaker who does so now is voted out when their term is up.
Call Your House Rep (find yours here)
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is _______.
I understand the Senate is negotiating a so-called gun bill that doesn’t actually contain gun regulations. From what I’m hearing it focusses on mental health, putting armed veterans in our schools, and SUGGESTING that states enact red flag laws. This is absolutely not good enough. We want an assault weapons ban, expanded background checks, mandatory red flag laws, and safe storage laws as a bare minimum. And we all know that “hardening our schools” won’t work. Robb Elementary had newly beefed up security plus armed officers. It didn’t stop the shooter. Nothing will work but reducing the number of guns people like him have access to. Congress needs to keep their eye on the ball and pass the laws Americans actually want, not the ones the NRA is willing to concede to. Thanks.
Extra Credit ✅
Unlike its counterparts in Europe and Asia, the US Highway Traffic Safety Administration doesn’t consider the safety of people outside a vehicle in a crash when assessing cars (that’s how you get SUVs that look like monster trucks and kill kids). They are considering changing that. Send a public comment by Weds!
Choose "submit a formal comment." When it asks “What is your comment about?” select “public comment.”
Write something like (feel free to change):
As SUVs get bigger, the damage they do to pedestrians and cyclists in a crash increases. Please implement rules to protect those outside vehicles in your New Car Assessment Program. Thanks!
Extra Extra Credit ✅✅
If you are attending a March For Our Lives march this Saturday—and I hope you are—please consider printing one of the below posters and carrying it. Whatever gun legislation we get out of our enfeebled Congress this week won’t be enough. Not by a long shot. We MUST flip Senate seats and hold the House. We need young people to register and vote!
Get Smart! 📚
On Tuesday, 6/7 at 12pm ET Big Tent is hosting Gabriella Cázares-Kelly, Pima County Recorder in the swing state of Arizona. She is apparently AMAZING!
Cázares-Kelly is the first Native American to hold an elected Pima County office and the third Native American to hold a county-level office in the State of Arizona. Cázares-Kelly leads an office that oversees voter registration, early voting, and document recording for Pima County.
We'll learn about the state of play in Arizona for the upcoming 2022 midterm elections and the important work Cázares-Kelly is doing to expand voting access.
See you tomorrow at Noon ET! I’ll be there!
Win Races! 🗳
Y’all, turnout in California is absolutely awful (13% so far!!), and E-Day is tomorrow. Please text or email the below to anyone you know in the state—particularly young people, who are only at 5% turnout:
Turnout for the CA elections is terrible—13% as of today. Just a friendly reminder to get your ballot back in. No stamp is required to mail it—it just needs to be in the mailbox or a dropbox by tomorrow at 7PM. If you prefer to vote in person you can find out where to do that here: https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/polling-place.
If you need a progressive voter guide there’s a google doc with a bunch of them for counties all over the state here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WIcYIxHHtx2tNheoCt6TvPBEbb9aujuDCOSwJW1v1os/edit
Thanks for being a voter! 🗳
Resistbot Text (new to Resistbot? Go here! And then here.)
[to your Senators] [Quick send: text SIGN PVIFTI to 50409]
I’m writing once again to demand that the Senate fast-track Steve Dettelbach’s confirmation to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. We are in a gun crisis and every day the ATF goes without leadership is another day people will die unnecessarily.
Break the logjam; do what you have to do. Get him confirmed now. Thanks!
OK, you did it again! You helped save democracy! You’re amazing.
Talk tomorrow.
Jess