‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌George Floyd. Eric Garner. Sandra Bland. Breonna Taylor. Andrew Kearse. Stephon Clark.
We say their names because they can’t. We say their names because they should be alive. So should countless more black men and women whose lives have been lost to our country’s failed criminal justice system.
Institutional and systemic racism have been devastating black communities in America since before it was a country. We can’t come close to repairing the damage done, or the pain and harm caused. We can’t make families whole again.
But we can—and we must—seek to heal the wounds as best we can, and to be allies in this fight. And to work so that no more families suffer.
As a white woman of extraordinary privilege, I know that the work ahead of us should not—and cannot—fall solely on the shoulders of survivors and communities who already have too many burdens to bear. We all have to fight until each other’s humanity is recognized.
Right now, there is no federal law prohibiting law enforcement from using chokeholds and maneuvers that restrict oxygen, like the ones that ended George Floyd and Eric Garner’s lives. There is also no national standard on what constitutes excessive force. That’s unacceptable.
In the coming days, I will be introducing a bill called the Excessive Force Prevention Act in the Senate to change that. The bill, originally introduced in the House by Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, will make police chokeholds illegal under federal civil rights law.
I will fight my hardest alongside him and my colleagues in the Senate to institute the kind of meaningful change that we need.
We cannot wait. We must act now, because we are all we’ve got. Each of us needs to recognize the power and responsibility we have to make change.
Please, call your senators and your representatives. Ask them to support this bill, and ask your friends and family to do the same. This is not the solution to every problem, but it is a start. And I promise to keep going.
Sincerely,
Kirsten

Paid for by Gillibrand for Senate


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