#GetInvolvedGetInformedTakeAction
#RedlandsDemsAct
Welcome to this week’s Call to Action, where you can find some of the latest events and news to help you take part in the issues that matter to our communities.
If you have a call to action that you would like us to highlight, email us at: [email protected]
ACTION ITEMS
For Thursday, December 15, 2022
- Join us at our Holiday Gathering and Potluck!
Join us this Saturday, December 17, 2022, at 11 am at Sylvan Park (on the University Street side) for a holiday gathering and potluck! It will be a chance to relax, talk about the midterms, share good food and hot drinks, and be in community with one another.
RSVP whether you plan to attend, along with what you will bring to the potluck, by emailing: [email protected] .
2. Now Is the Time to Vote for Your Rep to the California Democratic Party!
Ballots are now available for the ADEM elections.
To register to receive a ballot in the mail, go to: https://ademelections.com/register/mail
Registration is open from Dec. 12 at 12:00 pm to Dec. 31, 2022.
The website will also provide more information about the elections and the role of elected delegates to the California Democratic Party.
3. We Need to Tell Our Senators to Stay at Work Until the Job Is Done!
Indivisible.org has shared an action item for all of us to follow through with. While President Biden just signed the Respect for Marriage Act, there are several other pending pieces of legislation which need to be passed while Dems have control of the House, the Senate, and the White House.
Call 844-999-2786 now and request to speak with Senator Feinstein and with Senator Padilla. They need to stay in session until their job is done. *We need them to push to use every second over their governing trifecta to deliver* on as many promises as possible.
4. Actions for the Lame Duck Session
There are not many days left in the lame-duck session of the House and the Senate. Once the new Congress is sworn in, in January 2023, the House will flip to a narrow Republican majority and the Senate will remain a slim Democrat majority (thank you, Georgia!). Here are just a few items to contact our elected legislators about in Washington, D.C.:
a. The House has passed several bills which are sitting in the Senate. The Senate has finally (and with bipartisan support!) passed mandated federal recognition for same-sex and interracial marriage. President Biden signed that legislation on December 13, 2022. Send a note of appreciation.
Sample Text:
Dear Senator Feinstein/Padilla / Representative Aguilar:
Thank you for ensuring that mandated federal recognition for same-sex and interracial marriage has happened in this lame duck session in the form of the Respect for Marriage Act. In the current anti-LGBTQIA+ climate, with the recent ruling by SCOTUS, and in this time of increased hate crimes, standing up for this basic human right is so important. Love is love.
Once again, thank you.
NAME
ZIP
Senator Dianne Feinstein, 11111 Santa Monica Blvd., Suite 915, Los Angeles, CA 90025
Senator Alex Padilla, 11845 West Olympic Blvd., Suite 1250W, Los Angeles, CA 90064
Representative Pete Aguilar, https://aguilar.house.gov/email-me/ or 685 E. Carnegie Drive, Suite 100, San Bernardino, CA 92408 - (909) 890-4445
b. The US Supreme Court has no enforceable ethical oversight structure, along with no term limits. Please write to Senators Feinstein and Padilla to ask that they push to bring a bill that will address these deficiencies to the floor and pass it ASAP.
Sample Text:
Dear Senator Feinstein/Padilla:
The Supreme Court’s lack of ethical oversight has become an egregious issue which is undermining their claim to be the top of our judiciary. SCOTUS now answers to no one and there appears to be no self-monitoring or self-regulation taking place (beyond statements of: trust us, we’re the Supreme Court).
We need to pass legislation (such as that on offer by Senator Elizabeth Warren) as soon as possible establishing separate ethical oversight of SCOTUS into the law. No branch of government was ever meant to remain free from any check by any other branch. We need to restore that intended balance to further protect our democracy.
NAME
ZIP
c. We also need to write to our Senators and President Biden that action must be taken to stop this right wing, ideological activist court which is intent on rolling back decades of settled law. SCOTUS has become a threat to our democracy and civil rights and its ethical issues combined with its plainly political bent are rendering it increasingly illegitimate in the eyes of many. The response so far by these conservative justices has been to reject any criticism of their behavior or actions.
Sample Text:
Dear President Biden / Senator Feinstein/Padilla:
The current U.S. Supreme Court’s right wing, clearly political advocacy and the repeated overturning of decades of established legal precedent have turned it into an activist arm of our nation’s three branches of government which is continuing to erode civil rights, civil liberties, and even the core belief of one-person, one-vote.
The number of Justices has not been a constant over the years. At the very least, we should have one Justice per appellate court, meaning, 13 Justices. Or we should examine other options such as term limits and other models, along with robust ethical oversight, as the current system of self-regulation is clearly not working.
We need to move swiftly on this. We will be losing Democratic control of the House in 2023, and the option to do a number of things legislatively will be curtailed. Therefore, the Senate and the President need to act to reform SCOTUS as soon as possible.
NAME
ZIP
Here is how you send an electronic message to President Biden:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/
Here is how you leave a message on the White House switchboard for President Biden:
1-202-456-1111
STICK A PIN IN THIS
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Support Organizations Working to End Gun Violence in the U.S.
- Moms Demand Action: https://momsdemandaction.org/
- Brady United Against Gun Violence: https://www.bradyunited.org/
- Everytown for Gun Safety: https://www.everytown.org/Act
- Sandy Hook Promise: https://www.sandyhookpromise.org/
- Giffords: https://giffords.org/
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Support Organizations Assisting Women with Access to Abortion Services
- “The National Network of Abortion Funds builds power with members to remove financial and logistical barriers to abortion access by centering people who have abortions and organizing at the intersections of racial, economic, and reproductive justice.” https://abortionfunds.org
- “On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade shocked the nation. Here you can find resources for learning more about what it all means and how to engage.” https://nwlc.org/resource/resource-hub-the-supreme-court-and-roe-v-wade/
- Two organizations which help women with things like funding, travel, and child care while seeking an abortion:
- Whole Woman’s Health Wayfinder program, “built specifically to help people find their way from a state where they are denied an abortion to a state where they can get that abortion.” https://www.wholewomanshealth.com/abortion-wayfinder/
- Planned Parenthood Action Fund: https://www.plannedparenthoodaction.org
- NARAL: https://www.prochoiceamerica.org/fight-back-for-our-freedom/
- The January 6th Committee will be releasing its report. They will be holding a public meeting at 10 am Pacific on Monday, December 19, 2022 to discuss their final report. You can also check C-SPAN or PBS for recordings of past hearings, as well as the J6 site itself: https://january6th.house.gov/ The Committee will be publishing its report soon, perhaps even before Christmas.
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