Hey, corporations! Do you want to be considered “people?”
(theskimm) “Nine years after the 1969 Stonewall riots in New York City, gay rights activist Gilbert Baker created and paraded the first rainbow flag. Fast forward to June 2021: corporations (think: Walmart, CVS, AT&T) started adding rainbow colors to their logos on social media. The move is an attempt to show their support for the LGBTQ+ community during Pride Month. But LGBTQ+ activists say this show of solidarity by some companies is just a front since their corporate policies show a different side to their supposed activism. And are accusing them of rainbow-washing.“
Citizens United turned soulless corporations into “people” who can support things, like Pride Month and Juneteenth. Well, it’s time to remind a bunch of CEO’s that there are social rules to being “real people” – like defending and protecting their friends. Every kid knows that Pinocchio only became a “real” boy after he risked everything to save his father. Need a more grownup example? How about this – if you say you’re a supporter of the LGBTQ+ community, don’t give political donations to homophobes. So easy!
(Note: If you and your family/friend circle haven’t started calling your senators on passing the Equality Act, go here.)
Action #2: Tell your legislators to support H.R. 1201/S.424 – International Human Rights Defense Act
Action #3: Call the chairs of the Congressional Foreign Affairs Committees directly.
Action #1: Call your senators, and make sure your friends and family members call theirs. 75% of Americans say ‘Yes” to S.393 – The Equality Act.
As we near the end of another great Pride month, it’s easy to forget how very recent some of our LBGTQ+ rights are – the U.S. Supreme Court declared same-sex marriage legal in all 50 states in Obergefell v. Hodges just six years ago, on June 26, 2015, making us one of 29 countries with marriage equality. Then the Trump administration showed us how fragile some of our progress was, banning transgender personnel from serving in the military and excusing those claiming religious beliefs from treating fellow Americans with dignity and fairness. (List here.) Even with Trump removed, our LBGTQI+ community still faces harrassment and discrimination that effect their mental, physical and economic wellbeing. Just this year, GOP-controlled legislatures, ignoring the will of 75% of Americans, passed the largest number of repressive anti-LGBTQ+ bills since 2015. As a result, CA’s attorney general just added five more states to the state-funded travel ban list.
But what about that recent Supreme Court decision that employers can’t discriminate against workers based on their sexual orientation or gender identity? It doesn’t apply to small businesses that employ as many as one in six Americans. Plus, it doesn’t protect access to housing, prevent denial of services or settle the question of who can use which restroom. (link to tweet here)
The H.R.5/S.393 – the Equality Act would amend existing federal civil rights laws – including the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964 – to extend protections for LGBTQ Americans, extending protections on the basis of sex, sexual orientation and gender identity. It would also protect those with special needs. 48 out of 50 Democratic senators are already on board. If you have one, thank them. For those with friends and family in red states, you need to get your friends and family on the phone, every day, giving a piece of their mind to their GOP senators. Every day.
Minimal script for cosponsoring senators: I’m calling from [zip code] and I want to thank Sen.[___] for supporting S.393 – the Equality Act. It’s past time to recognize the essential humanity of all our citizens and remove this last bar to equal treatment of our LGBTQI+ community.
Action #1. SURJ – Tell your state senator that you support the VISION Act (AB937) Deadline – Friday!
Send an email of support for the VISION Act (AB937). (Text here.) It’s passed through the Assembly, and now needs a boost through the Senate.
Human Rights Watch has endorsed the VISION Act, as it would enact the following reforms:
build on recent criminal legal system reforms by prohibiting local and state agencies from conducting immigration arrests and from assisting or facilitating immigration arrests, which includes prohibiting ICE transfers;
prohibit California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) parole agents and county probation officers from collaborating with ICE to funnel individuals who are on parole into immigration detention; and
ensure that refugees and immigrants are treated equally by prohibiting state agencies, local agencies, and courts from using immigration status as a factor to deny or to recommend denial of placement in a diversion program, rehabilitation program, credit-earning program or class, or mental health program.
Here is a sample letter you can cut and paste to create your email. Try to use your own voice as much as possible.
SURJ VC works in solidarity with the ICE Out of Ventura County Coalition and the VISION Act aligns with our demands locally for the Sheriff to stop voluntarily cooperating with ICE. If you are interested in joining SURJ and their work around immigrant justice, email them at surjvc@gmail.com.
Action #2: SURJ – Vigil to Stop the SoCalGas Compressor Construction today! (4-6pm!)1550 N Olive St, Ventura
“States’ rights” was the political battle cry that maintained and expanded slavery, as our country itself expanded. It was heard again in the Senate yesterday to reject S.1 -“For the People Act,” in favor of a wave of new state laws being described as the return of Jim-Crow.
During a 1858 debate with Abraham Lincoln, Sen. Stephen A. Douglas (IL) stated: “I will stand by that great principle of states’ rights, no matter who may desert it. If each State will only agree to mind its own business, and let its neighbors alone, there will be peace forever between us. We in Illinois tried slavery when a Territory, and found it was not good for us in this climate, and with our surroundings, and hence we abolished it. We then adopted a free State Constitution, as we had a right to do. In this State we have declared that a Negro shall not be a citizen, and we have also declared that he shall not be a slave. We had a right to adopt that policy. Missouri has just as good a right to adopt the other policy…“
But here is comes…Susan Collins (R-ME): “S. 1 would take away the rights of people in each of the 50 states to determine which election rules work best for their citizens.”
We say “NO” (AGAIN!) to discrimination in UC health care, and “YES” to the high-quality, evidence-based care that all patients expect and deserve.
A mechanical voice but a good, short overview.
A little more than a year ago, we asked people to email the University of California Board of Regents, as they were planning to partner up the UC San Francisco Medical Center, one of the nation’s leading teaching hospitals, with Dignity Health, a Catholic hospital chain that uses religious directives to openly discriminate against women, disproportionately affecting women of color, LGBTQ patients, and those seeking end-of-life care, in order to help resolve a bedspace problem. We, the people who demand the separation of church and state in our health care, said “NO!,” and the Board backed off, then. But since then, the ACLU has discovered that every single UC Health center has contracts that impose harmful non-medical restrictions on care.
On Wednesday, the regents are going to vote on a policy which would allow UC Health, the university division that oversees six health centers 20 health professional schools, and the medical education more than fifty percent of our state’s doctors, to normalize the process of affiliating with Catholic or other entities with discriminatory religious restrictions, despite the fact that contracting with such organizations is in clear violation of CA’s constitution and state laws.
The Regent’s draft policy being voted on has guidelines that would prevent these affiliate hospitals from actually gagging UC professionals’ from counseling their patients and prescribing treatments they feel are in the patients’ best interest, at least for now… However, they are absolutely unable to ensure that those professionals can actually perform those treatments at these facilities, as hard experience shows that the Conference of Catholic Bishops will place their Ethical and Reigious Directives (ERDs) over doctor/patient decisions, even at the cost of human life.
Reading between the lines of Point #3 of the draft policy, the authors anticipate the bewilderment, humiliation and possible endangerment that people will face upon being denied legal health care on the grounds that what they need is considered “intrinsically evil.” This includes women seeking abortions, miscarriage treatment, contraception or sterilization, LGBTQ+ patients seeking gender-affirming surgeries and the terminally ill seeking euthanasia (legal since 2016).
Each University location contracting with healthcare organizations that have adopted policy-based restrictions on care must develop and implement a process to inform UC patients, faculty, staff, and trainees: (i) about such restrictions at sites to which they may be referred or assigned; (ii) that such referrals or assignments are voluntary; and (iii) and that information about alternative sites for care, practice, and training will be provided upon request.
The paragraph ends on how to relocate people who need such “restricted services,” resulting in a “stigma inconsistent with the history and dynamics of civil rights laws that ensure equal access to goods, services, and public accommodations.”
Each location must also develop a process to transfer patients who need restricted services to a UC or other location where the services can be provided.
It’s also a dry reminder of how dangerous their religious strictures are, as these facilities have to “relocate” women suffering from miscarriage emergencies, because the best practices to save their lives would be construed as an abortion by their ERD rules. The is modern “separate, but definitely not equal accommodation,” and we don’t accept it.
Action #1 – EMAIL the UC Board of Regents to oppose any UC-system health care affiliation with any religious, anti-choice, anti-LGBTQ hospital.
Write them an email to tell them that this discussion of whether or not to allow this trojan horse of discrimination into our health system should be an easy “NO”. Use whatever of the attached sample script makes sense to you. Make it as personal as you can, by adding any stories how this type of discrimination could have or did affect you, family member or an acquaintance.
Sample email script:
(Put in “Subject” line):DRAFT Regents Policy on Affiliations with Healthcare Organizations that Have Adopted Policy-Based Restrictions on Care
Juneteenth celebrates freedom. But what is freedom to an American without the full rights of citizenship? The +700,000 residents of DC are still waiting for an answer.
Statement of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton on S. 475, the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, June 16, 2021
Juneteenth should remind Congress that it’s time for the first to be freed to finally become equal to other Americans. The House understands that with its passage of the D.C. statehood bill. So does the Senate, with a hearing on our D.C. statehood bill scheduled for next Tuesday, June 22.
With the President, the House, and the Senate all believing that the residents of their nation’s capital should in every way be equal to other Americans, we rejoice this Juneteenth knowing that we are close to adding the 51st star to the flag.”
“One result of the intense struggle over slavery was the DC Compensated Emancipation Act of 1862, passed by the Congress and signed by President Abraham Lincoln. The act ended slavery in Washington, DC, freed 3,100 individuals, reimbursed those who had legally owned them and offered the newly freed women and men money to emigrate. It is this legislation, and the courage and struggle of those who fought to make it a reality that we commemorate every April 16, DC Emancipation Day.
Though the Compensated Emancipation Act was an important legal and symbolic victory, it was part of a larger struggle over the meaning and practice of freedom and citizenship. These two words continue to be central to what it means to be a participating member of society. We invite you to think about what these concepts have meant in the past and what they mean to you today...”
Statement by then-Rep. Mike Pence in 2007:
“The fact that more than half a million Americans live in the District of Columbia and are denied a single voting representative in Congress is clearly a historic wrong, and justice demands that it be addressed.”
On Tuesday, June 22, the issue of DC statehood will appear before the Senate’s Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. During the House Oversight Committee hearingin April, GOP representatives presented such bizarre requirements for statehood on live TV, we despaired for the teaching of American civics. Assuming a repeat from the Senate’s own GOP fabulists, you may want to create your BINGO cards now with the help of “6 collossally Stupid Arguments against DC Statehood” and or other resources provided below. Or use ours.
Minimal script: I’m calling from [zip code] to [thank Rep./Sen. [___] for being/ask Rep./Sen. [___] to become] a cosponsor of Sen. – S.51 – Washington, D.C. Admission Act and ending this example of racial injustice in the very heart of our nation. Freedom without full rights, including taxation without representation, is not true citizenship. I’m joining Rep. Holmes, Mayor Bowser and 2007’s version of Mike Pence in recommending the immediate correction of this historic wrong.
Ventura County resisters – anti-LGBTQ+ groups and people are targeting this post by Supervisor LaVere because our County Supervisors approved the flying of the Pride flag last week.
Please don’t feed these trolls! Use your keyboards to support and thank our supervisors for doing the right thing! Knowing that we have their back encourages them to do more!
Put “June 22nd Item Not on the Agenda” in the SUBJECT line
Write a simple “thank you” message for the board unanimously supporting the LGBTQ+ Pride Month Proclamation and for raising the pride flag last week.
These messages go to all the supervisors and are read into the record at the next meeting. Please share with Ventura County friends and encourage them to do the same.
UPDATED: The Senate just passed S.475 on Tuesday to make Juneteenth a federal holiday. No lawmaker objected to passage of the legislation for commemorating the end of slavery, and it now goes to the House, which is expected to pass it today.
“Making Juneteenth a federal holiday is a major step forward to recognize the wrongs of the past — but we must continue to work to ensure equal justice and fulfill the promise of the Emancipation Proclamation and our Constitution,” stated Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.
Let’s take him at his word! Tell your senators to pass S.1 – For the People Act and stop all the Jim-Crow voter suppression laws taking place around the country! Then, let’s work on HR 40 – Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans Act and H.R. 55 – Emmet Till Antilynching Act.
Action #1: Let’s join Opal Lee in making Juneteenth a federal holiday! And then let’s ask for more!
“Juneteenth, also known as “Emancipation Day” or “Freedom Day,” is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States; however, it is not a national holiday. All of that will change if it has anything to do with the will of Opal Lee, a formidable 94-year-old who goes by the moniker Ms. Opal. If this indomitable nonagenarian has her way, Juneteenth (June 19) will become a federal holiday celebrated with all the pomp and circumstance of the Fourth of July because, as she reminds everyone, “We weren’t free in 1776!…Ms. Opal hopes that if she achieves her goal, the day will return to its original intent of educating, celebrating, informing, and bringing all people together. “I don’t mean just Black people,” she muses. “Nobody is free until we’re all free”
Over the past 40 years, 47 of 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia have come to recognize Juneteenth as a state holiday or a day of observance (exceptions are North Dakota, South Dakota and Hawaii) , but it’s not yet a federal holiday.
Let’s do our part. Call your legislators, even if this bill is passed before the day is out, and ask for more.
UPDATEDMinimal script for Representatives: I’m calling from [zip code] and I want to thank Rep. [___] for voting “YES” on H.R.1320 – Juneteenth National Independence Day Act. Now that our country has recognized the importance of Juneteenth, it’s time to address other justice issues long denied. We ask Rep. [___] to encourage their fellow legislators to vote “YES” on HR 40 – Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans Act and H.R. 55 – Emmet Till Antilynching Act, and H.R. 4, the John Lewis Voting Rights Act.
Join one of these four campaigns to help push through S.1- “For the People” Act.
“The S-1 For the People Act is an ambitious Democratic proposal that includes provisions like: making it easier to register to vote, expanding early voting nationwide, attempting to end political gerrymandering and supporting statehood for the District of Columbia. Some polls have found that a majority of Americans support many of the provisions currently in the bill.” (Here’s a quick primer on S.1 – For the People Act.)
Find a call campaign that fits your schedule and roll up your sleeves! Are you an introvert who really hates calling people? Well, that may actually be your super-power! Check this link out and find out why…
1 – FAIR FIGHT
Fair Fight Club founder Stacey Abrams: “Today I’m launching Hot Call Summer— because in order to pass the For The People Act, we need your help to make sure our Senators know how important this legislation is to you.
So far this year, 47 state legislatures have introduced at least 361 bills that would make it harder to vote. Fair Fight Action is launching nationwide advocacy efforts in support of urgently needed federal voting rights laws like the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and S.1, the For the People Act. We need your help to call voters in states across the country to hear their voting experiences. Through these stories you will help collect, Fair Fight Action and our partners will demonstrate to Congress the need for enhanced federal protections to ensure all eligible voters are able to cast their vote freely and make their voices heard, regardless of where they live.”
It’s time to fight Trump’s “Big Lie” with GOP facts and break out of this recurring trauma of voter suppression .
Action #1: Facts are fun! Create a meme and share it on your social media!
Action #2: “S.1 – For the People Act” – GOP-led states have proved that they can no longer be trusted to protect the right to vote.
Action #3: Censure all federal legislators who are complicit in pushing the “Big Lie.”
Action #4: Roll your sleeves up. We need to hammer Manchin with calls from his own constituents!
A brief overview of three Reconstructions.
(Graphic quote by Ricky L. Jones. Full video of Rep. Rafael Anchía interrogation here.)
Fighting back against the GOP’s “Big Lie” that reimagines America’s elections as dangerous quagmires of voter fraud committed by minorities and “antifa”, the Democratic state legislators of Texas walked out of their session to stop the passage of S.B. 7, one of the most restrictive and anti-democratic of the new voter restriction bills, risking the wrath of Governor Abbott and the possible sacrifice of their paycheck. “We did our part to stop S.B. 7.Now we need Congress to do their part by passing H.R. 1 and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act.” said Texas State Rep. Erin Zwiener (D-45).
So, is Texas a hotbed of duplicitous voters?According to the GOP’s own right-wing voter-fraud-myth promoter Heritage Foundation, who has created a database of wayward voters neatly organized by state, year and type of crime, Texas desperately needs S.B.7 because…wait a minute…they had exactlyZERO CASES OF VOTER FRAUD IN 2020-21! Georgia and Florida have already signed suppressive bills into law, because they had,…wait a minute… ZERO and ZERO cases respectively. Arizona, a relative hotbed of iniquity, is marked as having “ONE” for 2020. It seems that Attorney General Bill Barr was actually telling the truth.
INDIVISIBLE VENTURA 