Indivisibles,

Once again, an AR-15 style rifle has been used in a mass shooting. 

Yesterday, at least five people were killed and eight more injured at a bank in Louisville, Kentucky. 

This was at least the 145th mass shooting this year, up from the 130 we reported to you just two weeks ago. More than 11,519 people have died from gun violence this year in total. 

It is only April. 

In an echo of nearly every other occasion of gun violence in this country, MAGA Republicans are signaling their ‘devastation’ while refusing to act. President Biden said:

And he’s right -- the primary barriers to action are Republicans bowing to their donors in the gun lobby and blocking common-sense reforms for the safety of the American people.

Public pressure is working…slowly. But we can continue to hold those MAGA officials accountable.

Indivisible Action will hold Republicans accountable for their unacceptable and destructive positions this cycle through our Unrepresentatives campaign. These 18 Republican representatives currently serve in Biden-won districts from 2020, and they are the Achilles' heel of the MAGA Majority. They vote with extremists like Marjorie Taylor Greene 95% of the time, are a major roadblock in moving forward any substantive Democratic legislation, and are the most vulnerable Republicans in 2024.

We can push them to act. We can hold them accountable when they don’t. And ultimately, we can vote them out.

Visit Indivisible Action's Unrepresentatives campaign website and take the fight directly to the MAGA Republicans who are ensuring that no progress on common-sense gun reform will ever happen while they are empowered.

 Indivisible Unpacked April Recess

The House is in recess this week which means it’s a great chance to catch your Republican representative and get them on the record about their unpopular stances. 

Whether it’s MAGA Republicans supporting Trump dodging accountability, an extremist judge attempting to force the FDA to revoke access to safe abortions, or attacks on Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security, Republicans are doubling down on deeply unpopular and dangerous positions meant to undermine our freedoms and line their pockets. 

Use this April 23 MAGA House recess birddogging guide to strategize the best way to hold your Republican representative accountable.

 Your 5 Indivisible Project weekly to-dos 

1. RSVP for our National Activist Call: The MAGA Default Crisis tomorrow, Wednesday, April 12 at 8pm ET/5pm PT. We know the Republican majority in Congress is promising to hold the economy hostage in an attempt to cut critical programs like Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Join us to learn how we plan to fight back and send a clear message that House Democrats will not allow American lives and livelihoods to be used as bargaining chips. 
2. Read and share our MAGA Default Crisis page. This page is the new home for everything concerning the MAGA effort to throw our nation into chaos by forcing our government to default on our debts in order to cut Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Our current focus is on getting Democratic members of the House of Representatives to sign on to the Boyle, Jayapal, Kuster letter opposing the MAGA Default Crisis and refusing to cut vital services. Check here to see if your representative has signed on.
3. If your Democratic representative has not yet signed on, call and tell them to add their name to the Boyle, Jayapal, Kuster letter opposing any cuts to Social Security and Medicare. Republicans are threatening to hold the world economy hostage. Democrats need to stand strong and join President Biden in saying we’re not negotiating with hostage-takers. Every Democratic member who signs onto this letter makes it clearer to Republicans that Dems won’t cave, and clearer to all Americans that the Democratic Party can be counted on to protect Medicare and Social Security. Once you’ve called, write a letter to the editor (LTE) encouraging your MoC not to negotiate with MAGA hostage-takers and then tweet at your MoC demanding they sign on.
4. If your Democratic representative has already signed on, call your representative and thank them for signing on to the letter. Our representatives need to know when we’re in support of their actions, there’s no better way to let them know than to call them directly. The stronger we show our support, the more likely they will work for the people in the future. When you’re finished calling, write an LTE thanking your representative for signing on. Don’t just support your MoC in private, submit an LTE thanking your representative so that your community, and other MoCs paying attention, know that your representative is doing the right thing and supported by their constituents. Public praise helps put the pressure on the remaining MoCs to sign on too. 
5. If you have a Republican representative, call and tell them you oppose the MAGA default scheme. Republicans on the House Ways and Means Committee have advanced a scheme to “prevent a default” that would essentially give congressional MAGA extremists the power to decide which bills get paid (and potentially put critical payments to hospitals, schools, and social safety net programs at the back of the line). Call your Republican representative and tell them you oppose the “debt prioritization” scheme. 

 Mifepristone Rulings 

On Friday, a Trump-appointed judge in Texas, Matthew Kacsmaryk, ruled to invalidate the FDA’s approval of mifepristone for medication abortion. Less than an hour later, a judge in Washington state ruled that the FDA must continue to make mifepristone available. These two opposing rulings will almost certainly ensure that the FDA’s approval of mifepristone will go to the Supreme Court.

As of right now, mifepristone, and medication abortion in general, is still federally legal in the United States.

Judge Kacsmaryk’s ruling has widely been denounced as the work of an anti-abortion activist rather than the unbiased opinion of a federal judge. It’s also important to note that this has never happened before: This ruling is the first time ever that a judge has sought to overrule the decision of the FDA on a safe and effective use of medicine and to remove it from pharmacy shelves. 

The Texas decision is so extreme that, in a rare unifying moment, over 250 executives at drug companies sent a scathing rebuke of the ruling stating, “judicial activism will not stop here. If courts can overturn drug approvals without regard for science or evidence, or for the complexity required to fully vet the safety and efficacy of new drugs, any medicine is at risk for the same outcome as mifepristone.”  

That’s right -- even the usually MAGA-aligned drug lobby is speaking out against this ruling.

SCOTUS will now have an opportunity to issue a stay, pending their review of the case, and could do so while upholding either the Washington or Texas ruling in the meantime. We do not believe the FDA needs to comply with this unscientific, activist ruling out of Texas. Regardless, if SCOTUS does issue a stay that revokes FDA approval, medication abortion will still be available through a solo-regimen of misoprostol. 

In the meantime, here’s what you can do:

• Continue to give to partners like the National Network of Abortion Funds who are leading the way on the fight for abortion access across the country. There are incredible organizations doing the deep work of fighting for the future of abortion access nationwide, they need our support. Donate to the National Network of Abortion Funds to help support many of the local organizations across the country doing this work.
• If you have a Democratic senator, call and tell them to ditch the “blue slip” and confirm as many of President Biden’s judicial nominees as possible. We’ve seen the impact that federal judges can have on national policy -- if this case had not been brought to a Trump-appointed judge, you wouldn’t be reading this right now. Biden has been nominating judges at a historic pace, but Senate Democrats are still handing significant power to Republicans to block confirmations through an archaic Senate rule called the “blue slip.” Unsurprisingly, Republicans did not follow this rule very strictly when they controlled the Senate under Trump. Democrats cannot continue to follow this rule now, and they have the power to get rid of it immediately. They are allowing Republicans to block confirmations on a purely partisan basis. Tell your Democratic senator to support ditching the “blue slip” today (and if mailboxes are full, call back Monday). 
• If you have Republican senators or do not have Senate representation at all, submit a letter to the editor on MAGA’s terrifying attempt to control our medicine cabinets. MAGA Republicans have not stopped at trying to outlaw abortion, they are now attempting to overrule medical professionals for purely ideological reasons. This is an extreme violation of our reproductive freedoms by a hyper-partisan judge. Republicans should not be in our bedrooms and Republicans should not be in our medicine cabinets. Submit a letter to the editor to make it clear that their position is unacceptable and directly counter to the will of the constituents who elected them. 
• Learn how to hold your representative accountable with this abortion-specific birddogging resource. One of the most important steps to holding your representatives accountable is to first get them on the record. This resource provides guidance on what’s at stake, key questions to ask your rep, and what sort of events provide opportunities for this type of action. Brush up on birddogging today. 

One more time for good measure -- Medication abortion is still currently available in spite of Friday’s ruling. But, we need to put in the work to ensure that it stays that way and that our country continues to be ruled by science and not MAGA extremism. 

 Tennessee

On Thursday, two state representatives, Rep. Justin Jones (HD-52, Nashville) and Rep. Justin Pearson (HD-86, Memphis), were expelled from the Tennessee House of Representatives a week after they, along with Rep. Gloria Johnson (HD-90, Knoxville), led a gun reform protest following a school shooting in Nashville that killed six people. 

This is an appalling attack on democracy in Tennessee carried out on a partisan basis. 

The Republican supermajority in the Tennessee House of Representatives have tried to tie this peaceful protest to the January 6th insurrection, showing a complete inability to distinguish between an attempted coup by MAGA extremists and a foundational freedom granted to all Americans. In a further illustration of this point, when Tennessee Republican Rep. Terri Lynn Weaver attended January 6th and when State Sen. Mark Pody paid for a group of people to attend the riot (here’s more on Pody and Weaver’s responses), Tennessee Republicans made no effort to remove them from office. 

The difference is striking if not surprising. When asked why the other two representatives were expelled and she wasn’t, Rep. Johnson was unequivocable, “well, I think it’s pretty clear. I’m a 60-year-old white woman and they are two young Black men.”

Tennessee deserves better than a state legislature that acts based upon partisan racism. These reps did not commit acts of aggression, they participated in the legacy of peaceful protest that we Americans hold so dear; you can even hear the echoes of MLK Jr. in Rep. Pearson’s refusal to give in to this charade.

The Nashville Metropolitan Council reappointed Rep. Jones yesterday evening while the Shelby County Board of Commissioners also appear to be leaning towards reappointing Rep. Pearson. These are necessary steps in addressing this gross misconduct by Tennessee Republicans, but the damage has already been done as the Tennessee legislature’s racism has been put on full display leaving around 130,000 Tennesseans without representation over the weekend. 

Here’s how you can help:

Call your senator and tell them they must condemn these anti-democratic expulsions in the strongest of terms. These actions go further than just Tennessee, they are a blueprint for you MAGA majorities across the country can disenfranchise voters to achieve their unpopular goals. Contact your senator to make sure they are speaking out today! When you’re finished, call your representative and make sure they too condemn the actions of the Tennessee House.

Rep. Jones said in an interview with Democracy Now, “I’m tired of the injustice that rules the state capitol…but they have not won the moral narrative as we go forward.” When politicians disenfranchise voters for selfish gain, all Americans lose. We know the “moral arc of the universe is long,” let’s bend it towards justice for the two Justins.

President Joe Biden

President Biden committed to veto a Republican-backed bill to overturn police reforms in D.C. In December, the D.C. Council unanimously passed the Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Amendment introduced in response to the murder of George Floyd and subsequent protests in 2020. Unfortunately, Congress has exclusive jurisdiction over D.C., notably including the power to overturn local laws despite the will of the people who actually live here. MAGA Republicans are continuing to attempt to exert control over D.C. in defiance of its local population and locally-elected lawmakers. 

President Biden’s commitment to veto this bill is exactly what we want to see out of him. It is a win for D.C. home rule and legislative autonomy, and it is a sound rejection of the House GOP’s bad faith attempts to force bad policy through Congress using ‘gotcha’ votes. In a split Congress, Democrats need to fight back against the GOP’s framing of hot-button issues, and present a clear vision about what we're for and what we're against. This sets the tone for how Democrats should respond to Republican nonsense. Read about President Biden’s commitment to veto here.

 National Events 

RSVP for our Press and Media Training on Tuesday, April 18 at 8pm ET/5pm PT. One of the core principles of Indivisible activism is holding our representatives accountable. Whether that’s through birddogging them for bad votes at their events or celebrating their accomplishments, accountability is key to advancing our agenda. One of the best tools of accountability is earned media coverage. Join us on Tuesday, April 18 to learn more about how to establish relationships with local press, build events that get media coverage, and take advantage of high-visibility news moments with your groups.

 IndivisiWin of the Week 

Last Tuesday, Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth, co-founder of Indivisible Illinois, won the runoff election for Alderperson of Chicago’s 48th ward.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to keep up on the latest information, and text “INDIVISIBLE” to 59798 to opt-in to our text messaging program where we send rapid response actions a few times a month.

Last week was one of the most eventful weeks of 2023 so far. Now is the time to stay engaged. We must continue to fight for the safety and freedom of Americans all across the country. We are stronger when we work together.

In solidarity,
Indivisible Team