WMMN-AF Blog

Real stories. Bold action. Powering all women & their communities to dismantle oppression.

March for our Lives
Act Now! Heidi Ripplinger Act Now! Heidi Ripplinger

March for our Lives

March for our Lives is one week away! There are over 10 rallies in Minnesota, and 760 across the US and the world!

Join students and allies on March 24th to demand action from our leaders. We have had enough! Join the fight for an America that is free from gun violence. #NotOneMore #GunReformNow

March for Our Lives - Minnesota, starts at Harriet Island at 10am, arriving at the Capitol at 11am for a rally, and is organized by Students Demand Action MN, Moms Demand Action - MN and Protect Minnesota. For details, see - https://marchforourlivesmsp.weebly.com/
 

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Support DACA, TPS, and DED Recipients!
Act Now! Heidi Ripplinger Act Now! Heidi Ripplinger

Support DACA, TPS, and DED Recipients!

A chance for Congress to reach a legislative resolution for DACA, TPS and DED recipients!             

Congress has another chance THIS WEEK to pass legislation to protect Dreamers - by insisting a clean Dream Act be included in the must-pass gov. spending bill (by 23rd March). They should also include protections for TPS and DED recipients. Let's get the whole job done!

Call US Senators Tina Smith and Amy Klobuchar and urge them to fight with all their might for this to happen

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Two bills with hearings on 3/23 could do with some help to get them passed
Act Now! Heidi Ripplinger Act Now! Heidi Ripplinger

Two bills with hearings on 3/23 could do with some help to get them passed

As the first Mn Leg Committee deadline looms at the end of Thursday 23rd March, some bills need your support: 

HF3371 - establishes a Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women task force to report on the issue of violence against Indigenous women and girls.  For more information on the bill.
Gov. Ops Committee, Basement Hearing Rm, 10.15am.

HF951 - restores voting rights to 51,000 Minnesotans on probation or parole, who are living in the community, paying taxes, but are denied the right to vote. For more on the issue of vote restoration in Minnesota. Public Safety Committee, Rm 10, State Office Bldg, 10.15am.
 

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National School Walkout - An Update
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National School Walkout - An Update

“Never be afraid to raise your voice for honesty and truth and compassion against injustice and lying and greed. If people all over the world...would do this, it would change the earth.” - William Faulkner

To every student who participated in yesterday’s Walk Out:

We heard you.
We saw you.
We believe in you.
We will fight with you.
For you.
For all of us.
We will not give up.

We are so inspired and moved by the powerful protests across the country yesterday. To the students, our future leaders, thank you for your courage! You are making a difference!

And an additional thank you to the teachers and parents who supported the students yesterday and every day.

#Enough #NationalWalkoutDay #NeverAgain #NotOneMore

 

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Northside Students - March For Our Lives - March 24, 2018
Act Now! Heidi Ripplinger Act Now! Heidi Ripplinger

Northside Students - March For Our Lives - March 24, 2018

Students across the US are calling for sensible gun laws and an end to gun violence. In 2 weeks, March For Our Lives events will take place across the country and the world.

Young Black activists have been calling for an end to gun violence for decades without much media attention or mass support. Let’s make sure the concerns of our MN communities most impacted by gun violence are represented at the national event, that their voices get heard.

Did you know?

  • As many as 1/4 low-income urban youth have witnessed a murder, and 75% have heard gunshots.
  • Black kids are 3x more likely to be killed by guns than white kids.
  • Black kids are 10x more likely to die by gun homicides than white kids, but white kids are more likely to use guns for suicides.

Let's make that the concerns of the communities most impacted by gun violence are represented. Let's ensure their voices are heard. 

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Equal Rights Amendments Must Pass! HF189/313/3257 & SF224/101/2827
Act Now! Heidi Ripplinger Act Now! Heidi Ripplinger

Equal Rights Amendments Must Pass! HF189/313/3257 & SF224/101/2827

What do we want? The Equal Rights Amendment. 

When do we want it? NOW!

In the US, women still face inequality due to sexual harassment, inequitable pay and unequal treatment in the courts. Let’s change that and make women equal under the law. It is time! 

Let’s join the 24 other states who have added an Equal Rights Amendment to their State Constitution (including Texas)! Let’s get the ratification going again at the federal level!
 

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International Women's Day of Action - ERA Day at the Capitol - Thank You!
News Heidi Ripplinger News Heidi Ripplinger

International Women's Day of Action - ERA Day at the Capitol - Thank You!

Thank you to the many volunteers and the hundreds of attendees who spent their morning at the Capitol on International Women's Day for a DAY OF ACTION to get the Equal Rights Amendment on the Minnesota Ballot in 2018. The Rotunda was filled with Equal Rights Amendment supporters dressed in red letting legislators know the TIME FOR EQUALITY IS NOW! Click for photos..
 

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A Restoration of Hope
News Heidi Ripplinger News Heidi Ripplinger

A Restoration of Hope

A wrench has been thrown into the cyclical experience of our post-school-shooting national mourning process and it’s being led by those most affected: the students have had enough.  

Students in high schools across the country are organizing themselves and taking to the streets so that their voices -- seemingly ignored for so long by the adults charged with protecting them -- will finally be heard. Minnesota youth, empowered and inspired by the actions and words of the survivors of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting on Feb. 14, are compounding the call for stronger gun control regulations. And they’re just getting started. 

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ERA Day of Action
Act Now! Heidi Ripplinger Act Now! Heidi Ripplinger

ERA Day of Action

Re-Sisters – Join us THIS THURSDAY for ERA Day of Action at the Capitol! Let’s pack those halls to demand Equal Rights for Women Guaranteed by the Constitution. MAKE EQUAL LEGAL! 
 
Last year MNLeg refused to hear the Equal Rights Amendment bills. Let’s send a message so loud they cannot ignore us this session. We need your voice! 
 
Join us March 8th in the Capitol Rotunda – please wear RED!

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Beyond DACA - Permanent Protection For All!
Act Now! Heidi Ripplinger Act Now! Heidi Ripplinger

Beyond DACA - Permanent Protection For All!

The March 5th DACA deadline is all but gone, with no legislative solution for Dreamers. Or TPS holders. Or DED holders. Meanwhile ICE detention and deportations are ripping families apart. Our legislators are failing our immigrant brothers and sisters. 
 
Beyond DACA” is a series of actions hosted by local immigrant rights groups THIS WEEK to hold our MN legislators to account for their in/action. Let’s join them in demanding permanent protection for all!

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Taskforce for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women in Minnesota
Act Now! Heidi Ripplinger Act Now! Heidi Ripplinger

Taskforce for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women in Minnesota

Indigenous women are 2 ½ times more likely to suffer violence than any other group in the US. In some parts of Minnesota, the murder rate of Indigenous women is over 10 times higher than anywhere else in the country. This must stop!

MN Reps Kunesh-Podein and Becker-Finn are calling for a taskforce to be set up to address the endemic crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women in Minnesota. Let's support this call!

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2 Gun Violence Protection Bills 'Tabled' in Committee
Act Now! Heidi Ripplinger Act Now! Heidi Ripplinger

2 Gun Violence Protection Bills 'Tabled' in Committee

Today, the Minnesota Legislature GOP-led Public Safety Committee tabled 2 Gun Control bills, rather than vote on them and go on record with where they stand on Gun Reform Now. This is cowardly!

But we are watching, and in November we will vote.

These 2 bills are now essentially dead, but more gun safety bills are being introduced. We must keep the pressure up!

If your MN Rep sits on the Public Safety committee, contact them and let them know what you think of them delaying sensible gun laws. 

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March: The Fight For Equal Pay
Third Thursdays Heidi Ripplinger Third Thursdays Heidi Ripplinger

March: The Fight For Equal Pay

March 26, 2018

On average, woman are paid 20% less than their male counterparts, and that ratio is even worse for woman of color. We "celebrate" Equal Pay Day on April 10, the day in 2018 where women will finally have made as much money as their male counterparts did during the 2017 calendar year. The wage gap is real, and it's time we do something about it.

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#MNLeg session has begun!
News Heidi Ripplinger News Heidi Ripplinger

#MNLeg session has begun!

The 2018 MN Legislative Session has begun and will run to mid-May. If you are interested in legislation, what is happening at the State Capitol and knowing what you can do about it, here are some good ways of keeping up.

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#NotOneMore - Weekly WMM Update - Demand Gun Legislation Change
News Heidi Ripplinger News Heidi Ripplinger

#NotOneMore - Weekly WMM Update - Demand Gun Legislation Change

"We know that gun control works, we know how to establish it. So why do we act as if it's a hypothetical fantasy attainable everywhere but here? Why are we surprised every time an assault rifle capable of firing 15 to 45 rounds a minute kills that many people? There's no ifs, butts, or maybes, we are done with excuses and BS." She went on to say that, "we are not just asking for shooters to stop shooting, we are asking our government to stop giving them the means to do so!" - Eva Goldfarb, (Member; Women's March Minnesota Youth Empower committee)

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Thank You Women's March MN Volunteers!!
News Heidi Ripplinger News Heidi Ripplinger

Thank You Women's March MN Volunteers!!

THANK YOU to the all of the Women’s March Volunteers who attended the first monthly All Volunteer Committee Meeting Day this past Saturday. It was an amazing turnout of talented, enthusiastic, and passionate people of all ages and backgrounds!

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