Today’s civic actions:
Save the Okefenokee, Expiring SNAP Benefits, SB140 Criminalizing Medical Treatment for Transgender Children, The People’s CDC, and Public School Teachers and Social Security, and an additional to our C2A for SB140.
HB71 Save the Okefenokee From Mining Operations
Please send your comments here via Protect Georgia.
On March 14th, the House Natural Resources and Environment Committee took public testimony on the Okefenokee Protection Act (HB 71). Georgia Water Coalition members submitted letters and provided testimony. Georgians were well represented by many groups and concerned citizens.
You can watch the entire 2 hour hearing online. We recommend listening to this in bits and pieces to better understand the broad and bi-partisan support for protecting the Okefenokee. Most Georgians are proud of our natural resources and the Okefenokee is a treasure for our state, the state of Florida, and the country.
SNAP Benefits
Emergency SNAP benefits that started during the pandemic are expiring, leaving millions of people in need of additional assistance.
Families and seniors are already spending more on groceries due to high food prices. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is up for re-authorization in the 2023 Farm Bill! Participate in Feeding America’s quick letter writing campaign now.
From The People’s CDC
Tell Moderna once and for all: share the science with the Afrigen Hub and companies across the Global South to ensure access to medicines and guarantee the human right to public health.
Profiteering is always a problem—especially when it happens on the public dime. The US government invested billions in Moderna’s vaccine technology, but Moderna has not shared the benefits with the public. Demand they do so now by taking this quick action.
Also from The People’s CDC
White House COVID Response Coordinator Ashish Jha recently laid out a set of troubling, misleading and inaccurate statements minimizing the COVID-19 and Long COVID crisis – defending the Biden Administration’s ending of the COVID-19 public health emergency and other safeguards for care access.
Jha continues to minimize the risks of COVID infection as well as the numbers of people facing the effects of Long COVID. He also lies about the effect of vaccines on decreasing Long COVID rates, saying “you can reduce your risk of long COVID by 50%, 80%, 90%.”
As noted by Lisa McCorkell of Patient-Led Research Collaborative: “Studies vary on how much protection vaccination provides on the risk of developing Long COVID, with one study indicating no difference, and others showing partial protection with a reduced risk of 15–41%. There is more definitive evidence for vaccines reducing the risk of hospitalization and death from COVID, but for Long COVID, it must be made clear that people who are vaccinated can and still frequently do develop Long COVID.”
Send your note to President Biden to demand the truth be told.
From One of Our Members Regarding Teachers and Social Security
Please add your voice, let your legislators know, and share. Many of us paid into social security for years while working in the private sector, then worked for a government entity for a few years where we paid into a public retirement system instead. Our payments to the government retirement plan in no way reduced what we already paid into social security yet this penalty reduces our social security benefits by 20 percent or more. It’s stealing our money! Send your comments here.
Please see our list of C2A from yesterday with one amendment:
Today we are asking that you write to all of the following state legislators who will be voting on SB140. You may copy and paste the following list into your BCC field of your email.
john.albers@senate.ga.gov
jason.anavitarte@senate.ga.gov
lee.anderson@senate.ga.gov,
brandon.beach@senate.ga.gov
matt.brass@senate.ga.gov
max.burns@senate.ga.gov
bill.cowsert@senate.ga.gov
clint.dixon@senate.ga.gov
greg.dolezal@senate.ga.gov
mike.dugan@senate.ga.gov
shelly.echols@senate.ga.gov
frank.ginn@senate.ga.gov
steve.gooch@senate.ga.gov
russ.goodman@senate.ga.gov
marty.harbin@senate.ga.gov
bo.hatchett@senate.ga.gov
billy.hickman@senate.ga.gov
mike.hodges@senate.ga.gov
chuck.hufstetler@senate.ga.gov
john.kennedy@senate.ga.gov
kay.kirkpatrick@senate.ga.gov
colton.moore@senate.ga.gov
chuck.payne@senate.ga.gov
randy.robertson@senate.ga.gov
ed.setzler@senate.ga.gov
shawn.still@senate.ga.gov
brian.strickland@senate.ga.gov
carden.summers@senate.ga.gov
blake.tillery@senate.ga.gov
larry.walker@senate.ga.gov
Your Actions Strengthen Democracy
SB 233, School Vouchers = Your Tax Dollars Going to Private Schools
It’s quite simple really. Instead of moving tax dollars into our public school system, the system that built our county, there is a well-funded movement afoot to take your tax dollars, give it to “business” to run schools that have ZERO oversight, do not have to comply with ADA or civil rights protections, and more. Please take this action with Fund the Future Georgia
SB 44, A Dangerous Bill with Regressive Penalties Targeting Young People
SB 44 creates mandatory minimum sentences for every offense under Georgia’s Criminal Street Gang statute; a law already applied too broadly. Proponents claim that this bill is necessary to protect young people from gang violence, but we know it will only put more Black and brown youth behind bars. Lawmakers must not return to draconian and outdated sentencing schemes, like mandatory minimums, that are ineffective as deterrents. The state must give communities the resources they need to implement proven methods for preventing and disrupting gang violence.
Please contact your State Senator and urge them to vote NO on SB 44. You can find our script and talking points below. Send an email, make a phone call, and share this action alert on social media to help stop this costly and dangerous bill.
See the talking points that the Southern Center for Human Rights has pulled together.
SB 140 – Criminalizing the Medical Treatment of Transgender Children
We heard compelling testimony on Thursday. You can watch the entire floor discussion or fast forward to 1:32
Again, this will be brought up for a vote on Monday. We want to be in touch with our state senators, the governor, and lieutenant governor. We have two tools for you to use here from Georgia Equality. All weekend, we need to flood Gov. Kemp and Lt. Gov. Jones’ offices with emails and calls opposing SB 140.
First send your message here: The talking points are in this post and email toolkit.
Once you’ve sent your message, call:
Governor Kemp: (404) 656-1776
Lt. Gov. Jones: (404) 656-5030
THEN – Contact your senator as follows:
Send a note here, talking points are included.
Then call your STATE senator: you can find them here or here.
For a little more information on those who are behind the war against transgender people check out this article from Mother Jones. It’s not quick, so plan on sitting with it a few minutes.
