March 17, 2023
National Day of Action, opioid treatment changes, bill tracking, plus more ways to work for progress!
Contact all members of Congress:
By phone: (202) 224-3121
By email: democracy.io
By US mail: Representatives / Senators
By fax: Representatives / Senators
By Resistbot: Resist.bot
Contact White House or other federal agencies:
NATIONAL DAY OF ACTION
The African American Policy Forum invites us to participate in "a National Day of Action on May 3, 2023 to defend the truth and to protect the freedom to learn. ... Through collective actions across the country, we will resist restrictions on the freedom to learn, fight the right’s anti-woke disinformation campaigns, and demonstrate majoritarian support for equity in our schools, campuses, and workplaces." We can sign up here.
TRACKING BILLS FOR COMMUNITY ACTION
The Indivisible Colorado Legislative Team has set up a simple spreadsheet of bills that they "recommend for unified action." They give suggestions for how to take action, including how to testify in support of a bill. Let’s check this out and try to replicate it in our own state.
COMMENT ON REGULATION CHANGES FOR SUBOXONE
Suboxone (Buprenorphine), one of the main drugs for treating opioid addiction, is under scrutiny by the DEA. The DEA wants to require people who are prescribed suboxone via telehealth to have to have an in-person visit with a provider within 30 days. That's rolling back a flexibility put in place during the pandemic that has actually made it easier for people to get treatment for opioid use disorder . . . it IS too hard for a lot of people - especially those in rural America and the very addicts that suboxone treats (who often lack financial resources, transportation, and are on very thin emotional ice). “The additional 30-day-in-person requirement provides no benefit. Because all of the prescribers already require drug tests and screening, the additional hurdle of an in-person visit is just that. A hurdle. Except this one will kill people.” Let’s comment here. Comment period ends in 14 days.
STANDING AGAINST ANTI-TRANS LEGISLATION
For the past three weeks, Nebraska state senator Machaela Cavanaugh (D) has been filibustering every bill that has come to the floor, stalling the passage of the Let Them Grow Act (LB574), which would outlaw gender-affirming care for people 18 and under. Senator Cavanaugh plans to continue using the filibuster through the end of the 90-day session, stating “It [the Let Them Grow Act] is legislating hate. It is legislating meanness. The children of Nebraska deserve to have somebody stand up and fight for them.” Let's send Senator Cavanaugh a huge "Thank you!" for using her position and power to stand up for trans youth in Nebraska. We can give her a shout out on Twitter @CavanaughforLeg, or contact her office: (402) 471-2714, mcavanaugh@leg.ne.gov Then, let's check out ACLU's anti-LGBTQ bill tracker and contact our own state legislators to ask them to follow Senator Cavanaugh's lead.
TELL AXIOS TO STAND BY THEIR REPORTERS
The executive editor of AxiosLocal fired Axios Tampa Bay reporter Ben Montgomery, a Pulitzer Prize finalist, for telling a DeSantis press staffer a press release he had been sent was propaganda in a private email. This decision came after the DeSantis communications team, as part of their continuing efforts to muzzle journalistic accountability, chose to publicize this private interaction on Twitter. Axios management told Montgomery his reputation has been “irreparably damaged” by the incident. Let’s contact Axios (editor-in-chief Sara Kehaulani Goo at sara.goo@axios.com, general inbox at info@axios.com) and let them know we believe Axios’ reputation has been irreparably damaged.
STATE-SPECIFIC ACTIONS
OH - HELP SECURE ABORTION RIGHTS IN OHIO THIS NOVEMBER
Abortion advocates in Ohio cleared a critical hurdle to getting a constitutional amendment guaranteeing the right to choose on the ballot in November, and can now move on to the next step: gathering enough signatures to qualify. The amendment would secure abortion rights in Ohio up to fetal viability, and could be one of the biggest votes of the off year. Let’s get engaged by signing up to volunteer with, following on social media, and considering donations to Ohioans for Reproductive Freedom and the #ProtectChoiceOhio Coalition as they lead this fight.