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Really interesting evening and much ground was covered. What a privilege to have both Minority Leaders! With less than 4 weeks left of the 2018 MN Leg Session, these were our main takeaways:
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Women's March Minnesota strongly echoes the statement below by Women's March on the acquittal of the officers who killed Alton Sterling two years ago.
We also strongly protest the shooting death of Stephon Clark in Sacramento last week, yet another Black man killed by the police. This violence and injustice against Black and Brown people has to stop and we must do all we can to make this happen.
“White privilege is staging a walkout for gun control and having colleges and Universities say you will not be punished and your admission won’t be changed, when the same was not happening for Ferguson and Baltimore school walkouts...White privileged is not a curse word. It’s not meant to blame or shame anyone. It’s a lens to understand how race works in this country."
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Notes from Third Thursdays event in March - “The Fight for Equal Pay” - hosted by MSP NOW.
Facts:
- Women earn 81cents in the dollar compared to men. When compared with White men, Asian women earn 87 cents, White women earn 79 cents, Black women earn 63 cents and Latina women earn 54 cents.
- The wage gap increases with age, maxing at 55-64 years due to the Opportunity Gap (i.e. women are less likely to get promoted than men). As a result, men are 85% more likely to be in positions of senior leadership, and over 60% of women are individual contributors towards the end of their careers, compared to just 40% of men.
- Of all the Fortune 500 CEOs, just 5% are women, 0.4% are women of color, and there are no Black women Fortune 500 CEOs.
- Minnesota is ranked 12th in the country for gender pay equality, and 49th for racial inequality (above WI).
Watch Your Reps
For a good run-down of bills worth paying attention to straight away, see @WatchYourRepMn's weekly update. Choose the bills you care about and take action. Call, email, tweet the committee members and particularly the committee Chair. Attend the hearing. Testify at the hearing.
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Victims of sexually violent crimes should be able to come forward when they are ready.
Representative Ilhan Omar and Senator Sandy Pappas have introduced a bill (HF3434/SF3206) to remove time limits for charging sexually violent crimes. If this passes, victims of these crimes, including sex trafficking, could report a crime against them when they feel ready.
This bill needs your support. Here's how you can help:
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Congress is on recess, U.S. Reps and Senators are home. It's a good time to get in touch with your Congresspeople on issues that concern you….gun control, DACA, tax bill…. Find out if they have a Town Hall planned, arrange to visit them at their office, call them or email them.
MN Legislature still has a week to go and they're busy. For a list of bills that need some noise made about them, see Watch Your Reps MN's weekly update. (Warning: it's long.) Find bills on the issues you care about, call the appropriate legislators, write an email, tweet a message, attend a hearing.
This is a short session and things are moving fast. They are already starting to put together omnibus bills. If you feel strongly about a bill, get on it now.
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On Thursday March 29, Women’s March Minnesota is participating in Our Justice’s 25th Annual Bowl-A-Thon. Our Justice has always worked to provide people with the resources they need now, while also advocating for policy change that would make these resources more available and remove many of these challenges altogether. Founded in 1967 by a small group of doctors, clergy, and community members to assist Minnesota women in accessing abortion care, Our Justice continues to support people’s reproductive and sexual human rights.
Women’s March Minnesota created a team to raise money and we need your support! Donate to our team page and help us support Our Justice.
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Take Action on Anti-abortion bills
Here are 2 bills that are working their way through the legislative process. Although Governor Dayton will most likely veto them, they may well be used as a bargaining chip in later omnibus bills, and so it is better to make your position on these bills clear now. Contact your state representatives as well as the Governor and let them know why you oppose these bills. Try also to get your representative to go on record with their position on these bills and why.
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There’s still time to fight for gun control bills in Minnesota
Despite HUGE public support for sensible gun laws, there have been NO hearings in the MN Legislature of gun control legislation, apart from 15 minute hearings of 2 bills, forced on the Public Safety Committee by Rep. Dave Pinto. (The bills were then immediately tabled). However, the session is not over and there is slowly growing bi-partisan support for this issue. This is a subject where people in the suburbs should, in particular, take action.
Your legislators are listening and they know the tide is turning.
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Town Halls – great opportunities to get to know your representatives and vice versa.
It’s always useful to have face-to-face conversations with your reps. This way they will remember you when you call them or email them about bills that you care about. Here are some upcoming town halls with state representatives.
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In the words of the students; “Revolution is coming.”
Hundreds of thousands of students from across the country participated in a march for their lives on March 24. In Saint Paul they took to the streets 20,000 strong in order to have their voices heard on gun control.
The event, organized by students with guidance from organizations like Protect MN, Mom’s Demand Action, Students Demand Action, Women’s March Minnesota, and Black Lives Matter featured several local student speakers and a few surprise guests from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School who were in town for a national hockey tournament.
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Don’t give up on talking about gun control bills!
Congress is on Spring recess. Your US Senators and Representative should be home. Check to see if they have a Town Hall planned and if not, ask them for one or go to their office to talk about issues and legislation that concern you. Or simply call or email them.
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There are some bad environmental bills going through. Let’s take action!
HF3759/SF3510 proposes to grant Enbridge the right to immediately construct Line 3, completely eliminating the current Public Utilities Commission permit process. This means that Enbridge would be able to bypass any processes seeking to make sure that Line 3 would not have a negative impact on the environment or any of the communities who live in the areas the line will run through. For more on this see: Enbridge Fact Sheet
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Gov. Dayton just proclaimed March 24th 2018 as March For Our Lives Day in Minnesota. He also commended the current efforts for sensible gun laws and an end to gun violence. Thank you, Gov. Dayton!
As excitement builds for tomorrow’s events all across the country, let’s ensure this awe-inspiring wave of student-led activism around gun control is felt at the polls in November. Here’s one way to do it: Text P2P to RTVOTE (788-683) to register to vote. It’s simple and takes 2 minutes!
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/
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
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.