THANK YOU DONORS and ACTIVISTS!

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Many THANKS to the generous DONORS whose support helps us continue working for the issues you care about.

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CONGRATULATIONS to ACTIVISTS who helped get Liberal Janet Protasiewicz elected to the Wisconsin Supreme Court!

NewtownAction.org ([link removed])
YOU CAN HELP END GUN VIOLENCE

Newtown Action Alliance Lunch & Lobby Toolkit to #EndGunViolence links:
Please find today's Newtown Action Alliance toolkit links below and kindly register for April Lunch & Lobby events HERE ([link removed]) so we have record of your participation.

Link to this toolkit:

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Link to the call list spreadsheet:

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** Thank you to our Lunch & Lobby Partners
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Grandmothers Against Gun Violence WA [link removed]

Advocates for Change [link removed]

Grandparents for Gun Safety grandparentsforgunsafety.org

March for Our Lives [link removed]

HP Strong [link removed]

Change the Ref [link removed]

Grandmothers Against Gun Violence MA [link removed]

Vision Quilt: Together We Can Prevent Gun Violence www.visionquilt.org
CALENDAR

Monday, April 10, 2023

12:00 - 4:00 p.m. - SDIRC Superintendents Workshop. J.A.Thompson Administrative Center, 6500 57th St., Vero Beach 32967

Wednesday, April 12, 2023

[link removed] ([link removed])

Tuesday, April 18, 2023

9:00 a.m. – Vero Beach City Council Meeting, Council Chambers, City Hall, 1053 20^th Place, Vero Beach 32960 : For agenda and meeting information go to
[link removed] You can watch here: [link removed]


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Saturday, April 22, 2023

9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. - Earth Day Celebration, Sebastian Riverview Park. Volunteers needed to help provide voter information and sell Democrats of Indian River Merchandise. Contact Caryl at [email protected] or call (772)226-5267

Monday, April 24, 2023

5:30 p.m. - SDIRC School Board Meeting.
J.A.Thompson Administrative Center, 6500 57th St., Vero Beach 32967

Wednesday, April 26

[link removed] ([link removed])

SAVE THE DATE

Saturday and Sunday, May 6 & 7, 2023
9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. - Annual Treasure Coast Seafood Festival, Indian River Fairgrounds. Volunteers needed to help provide voter information and sell Democrats of Indian River Merchandise.
Democrats of Indian River

Saturday, April 15, 2023

11:30 a.m. - Democratic Women's Club Scholarship Luncheon at Bent Pine Clubhouse at 6001 Clubhouse Dr 32967. Dr Terri A. Graham, President of IRSC Mueller Campus, to speak. Five deserving students will be awarded
Scholarships for $1500.
Meal choices include Lemon Pepper Chicken or Vegetarian Entree.
Guests are welcome.
Please RSVP to Julie Barone at [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) or (718) 916-0682.

Thursday, April 20, 2023

6:00 p.m. - The Democratic Club monthly Potluck Dinner meeting at the Irish American Club at 1314 20th St Vero Beach 32960. Guests are always welcome.

6:00 p.m. - The Democratic Executive Committee ZOOM meeting.

Friday, April 28, 2023

2:00 - 4:00 p.m. - Democratic Women's Club Book Group will meet at the Brackett Library on the IRSC Mueller campus and discuss “THE ROSE CODE” by Kate Quinn. Any questions about the Book Group should be sent to
[email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) .

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Paper version of our newsletter is now available in the office and in all Indian River County public libraries.

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR


Grace Linn, 100, of Jensen Beach, waves to an applauding crowd after she spoke about the 80 books that were removed last month from district school media centers during the Martin County School Board meeting, Tuesday, March 21, 2023, at 500 SE Ocean Blvd in Stuart. "My husband, Robert Nicoll, was killed in action in World War II, at a young age, defending our democracy, Constitution and freedoms," said Linn. "One of the freedoms the Nazis crushed was the freedom to read the books they banned. They stopped the free press, banned and burned books. The freedom to read, which is protected by the First Amendment is our essential right and duty of our democracy. Even so, it is continually under attack by both public and private groups who think they hold the truth." Pulitzer Prize winner Toni Morrison and best-selling young-adult novelist Jodi Picoult are some of the writers whose works were removed from the Martin County School District's middle and high schools last month.

Residents should organize to battle book bans in schools

I'm writing in response to the recent book bans at Martin County schools. These book removals raise a simple yet essential question: What price do we pay when our community bans books? As a retired college professor and Martin County resident since 1952, I support the rights of our students to access library books without political interference.

Readers Digest, hardly a left-wing publication, stated that the national campaign to censor school library books is a “crusade to oppress already marginalized voices.” The problem is growing, and according to the Guardian, 2,500 book bans were enacted in U.S. schools from 2021 through 2022.

Our students will be better prepared to face a diversifying society if their First Amendment rights are returned. According to the Guardian: “Banned books are some of the best books for people to read because they offer new perspectives and insights from people with life experiences different from their own.”

How can we act?

Build a local network of citizens opposed to the book bans and appear in force at Martin County school board meetings. Bring students along and encourage them to talk about how school library books have made them more open minded and knowledgeable about controversial but essential subjects.

My family goes back to the founding of Martin County in 1925 when my great-uncle was appointed the first county judge by Gov. John Martin. My father served as Martin County’s school board architect in the 1950s and '60s during a boom in school building construction. All of us have contributed our blood, sweat and tears to make Martin County a better place for the next generation.

To that end, let’s stop the politically driven removal of books from our schools.

Don Armstrong, Stuart

Columnist right about lagoon's demise

For part of the 30 years I’ve lived in Vero Beach, we lived on the river behind the Environmental Learning Center.

I and the kids fished off our dock after work and school almost daily. I had three crab traps hanging off the dock.

I remember my daughter remarking when she was about 5 years old that we should open a seafood restaurant because of all the fish we pulled out of the river.

My son, now 21, turned to me while fishing in the river when he was about 14 or 15 years old and said: “Dad, it’s not like the old days.”

** Larry Reisman hit the nail on the head with his observations recently ([link removed])
on the Indian River Lagoon.

The influx of people and the desire for green lawns (not the good “green”) with toxic fertilizer runoff and septic tanks leaching into the river has sped up the lagoon's demise.

I fear the effort needed to really do what needs to done is not in the cards during my lifetime.

It may be too late already.

At least I have the memories.

Darryl Jacobs, Vero Beach

Thankful daughters grew up on living lagoon

Thanks to Larry Reisman for his insightful observations about his recent trip on the lagoon.

It breaks my heart when I remember back when my girls were “young’uns” and we had 10 to 20 manatees sunbathing in the backyard, a family of otters playing on the bank, a flock of white pelicans herding fish into the bay, and we could dig clams with our toes off the spoil island a canoe ride away.

I’m so thankful they had the opportunity to grow up appreciating that abundance.

Judy Orcutt, Vero Beach


To submit your letters to the Editor, go to:

** [link removed] ([link removed])


STATE

Florida Senate passes 6-week abortion ban backed by DeSantis


TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — The Florida Senate on Monday approved a bill to ban abortions after six weeks, a measure ** supported by Gov. Ron DeSantis ([link removed])
as the Republican prepares to launch his expected presidential candidacy.

The proposal must still be approved by the House before it reaches the governor’s desk. Florida currently prohibits abortions after 15 weeks.

A six-week ban would more closely align Florida with the abortion restrictions of other Republican-controlled states and give DeSantis a political win on an issue important with GOP primary voters ahead of his potential White House run.

The bill would have larger implications for abortion access throughout the South, as the nearby states of Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi prohibit the procedure at all stages of pregnancy and Georgia bans it after cardiac activity can be detected, which is around six weeks.

“Bodily autonomy should not give a person the permission to kill an innocent human being. We live in a time where the consequences of our actions are an afterthought and convenience has been substitution for responsibility, and this is unacceptable when it comes to the protection of the most vulnerable,” said Sen. Erin Grall, a Republican who sponsored the bill.

The proposal allows exceptions to save the life of the woman and exceptions in the case of pregnancy caused by rape or incest until 15 weeks of pregnancy. In those cases, a woman would have to provide documentation such as a medical record, restraining order or police report. DeSantis has called the rape and incest provisions sensible.

It would require that the drugs used in medication-induced abortions — which make up the majority of those provided nationally — could be dispensed only in person by a physician.

The new bill would only take effect if the state’s current 15-week ban is upheld in an ongoing legal challenge that is before the state Supreme Court.

Republicans control a supermajority in the Legislature and have largely focused on DeSantis priorities during the ongoing legislative session. DeSantis is expected to announce his presidential candidacy after the session ends in May, with his potential White House run in part buoyed by the conservative policies approved in the statehouse this year.

Democrats have conceded that they cannot stop the proposal from moving forward.

During debate on Monday, Democratic Sen. Lauren Book urged women to contact her office directly, reading her phone number aloud on the Senate floor, if they are considering getting an abortion and need to ** connect with healthcare providers ([link removed])
.

“Please don’t take matters into your own hands. Do not put your safety at risk. No back-alley abortions. There are people and funds that will help you. No matter where you live, no matter how desperate of a situation you are in, no matter how helpless it may seem. I promise, you are not alone. Call my office,” Book said.


** Anthony Izaguirre, Associated Press ([link removed])




Proud Democrats Merchandise

Artisan Glass Plates $12 (small) $15 (large)
Artisan Glass Pendants $12
T-Shirts $20
Tank Tops $15
Mug $10
Dog Bandana $5
Stainless Bottle $15

Available in the Democrats' office Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
VIDEO of the WEEK

That former guy sings "I'm so INDICTED."


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Office Hours

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday
10am to 3pm

2345 14^th Ave. Suite 7
Vero Beach 32960

(772) 226-5267

[email protected]


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