There have already been at least 265 mass shootings in the US this year, including Buffalo and Uvalde, according to the Gun Violence Archive. In 2020, guns became the leading cause of death among American children and teens, according to the CDC. In response to these grim realities, March for Our Lives called for more demonstrations for gun safety legislation on Saturday, June 11, 2022. There were 450 rallies across the country, including one at Civic Center Plaza.
Caption: A photo of demonstrators at the March for our Lives on June 11 at San Francisco’s Civic Center Plaza
“We hear a lot about prayer and prayer is wonderful. But prayer requires action. You pray and then you get up and walk,” declared Garnell Whitfield Jr., whose mother was killed at the mass shooting in Buffalo, to the 40,000 people who attended the Washington D.C. rally.
Less than 24 hours later, Senator Chris Murphy announced that ten Democratic and ten Republican Senators had reached an agreement that includes:
- Funding for crisis intervention orders (red flag laws)
- Billions in new funding for mental health and school safety, including for the national build out of community mental health clinics
- Closing the “dating partner loophole,” so that no convicted domestic abuser can buy a gun
- The first-ever federal law against gun trafficking and straw purchasing (buying a gun for someone who isn’t allowed to purchase one or who doesn’t want to be associated with the purchase)
- Enhanced background checks for under-21 gun buyers
- Clarification of the laws regarding who needs to register as a licensed gun dealer
We all know this package is not perfect, but it’s a major step forward and the first comprehensive gun reform package likely to pass both chambers of Congress in 30 years. Tell our Senators to keep the pressure on to pass these reforms right away.
Tell our Senators: We Marched for Our Lives—Pass Gun Reform Now!
Protect Reproductive Rights with Executive Action
Based on a draft opinion leaked last month, the reactionary majority on the Supreme Court is likely to destroy half a century of reproductive justice this month when it issues its ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Center—an event even more earthshaking than the historic House hearings into January 6 that are taking place this week. If the court overturns Roe v. Wade, 26 states are expected to ban abortion entirely, with “trigger bans” in 13 of those states that will make abortion illegal within days. This is blatantly contrary to the will of the people. The majority of Americans who support the right to abortion is at its largest in almost 20 years.
These bans and attacks on abortion access fall hardest on the most marginalized, including people of color, LGBTQ people, people with low incomes, and those in rural communities. Meanwhile, Republican legislators have suggested that they will continue efforts to further restrict reproductive freedom by attacking Griswold v. Connecticut, the 1965 decision protecting the right to use contraception.
We support our Senators in demanding that President Biden take executive action to protect reproductive freedom. As Senator Booker said recently: “As extremist judges and Republican politicians intensify their efforts to strip Americans of their basic reproductive freedoms, you can demonstrate to the country and women everywhere that you will do everything in your power to fight back.”
Tell President Biden: use your executive power to protect reproductive rights, as our Senators have asked you to do. And thank your Senators for their letter to President Biden urging him to take executive action.
The January 6 Select Committee Hearings
The January 6 Committee has been doing an excellent job recording and telling the history of the attempts by Trump and other MAGA Republicans to throw out Americans' votes and cling to presidential power despite losing the 2020 election—attempts that led to armed Trump supporters invading the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
The first two hearings are available for viewing on the Committee's YouTube channel, both in full and in abridged “recap” form. The next hearing, which is on Thursday, will focus on Trump's attempt to get Mike Pence to defy the will of the voters and throw out the election results.
Our website has the full schedule, which we’ll update as the Committee’s official hearing schedule changes.
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If you’re interested in participating in activities like drafting letters to our Members of Congress and developing our strategy for influencing them, the Indivisible SF Federal Working Group is where it happens. Our next meeting is on Thursday, June 23. Details on how to register below.
Moral March on Washington and To The Polls watch party with Indivisible East Bay: Saturday, June 18. Join our friends at Indivisible East Bay for a virtual watch party of the Moral March on Washington by the Poor People’s Campaign. RSVP here.
Electrify Your City: Renewable Energy Planning for Climate Action: Tuesday, June 21, 10–12 AM. Share your input on CleanPowerSF’s roadmap to 100% renewable energy in their series of community workshops. RSVP for the first workshop via Zoom here.
ISF Federal Working Group meeting: Thursday, June 23, 7:30–9 PM. Register here to join our regular Zoom meeting, where we work together to develop strategies for influencing our Members of Congress and the Biden administration to support a progressive agenda. All are welcome to participate and contribute, even if you’ve never attended an ISF meeting before.
Bay Area Coalition Phone Banks: Wednesdays and Saturdays. Our friends at Swing Left need your help talking to voters about the upcoming primaries and midterms. Join Swing Left and the Bay Area Coalition on Wednesday evenings and Saturday mornings to make calls to voters in California and around the nation. Sign up for a shift:
- TODAY, Wednesday, June 15, 5–7 PM
- Saturday, June 18, 10 AM–12 PM
- Wednesday, June 22, 5–7 PM
Voter registration drive in the California Central Valley with Swing Left: Saturdays. Swing Left needs your help registering voters in Central Valley CD-13 and CD-22, from Modesto to Bakersfield. They will conduct door-to-door and COVID-safe canvassing to register voters every weekend until November 8. Sign up here:
- Saturday, June 25, 9 AM–3:30 PM
- Saturday, July 2, 9 AM–3:30 PM
- Saturday, July 9, 9 AM–3:30 PM
About this week’s photo
If you’ve seen our newsletter posts on Twitter and Facebook, you might have noticed that we include a photo or graphic with each issue. Today’s photo is of the rally against gun violence held at Civic Center Plaza on Saturday, June 11.
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Keep Fighting,
The Indivisible SF Team
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