plan of action - may 31, 2017

Trouble in Texas


The Texas House has passed an infamous piece of legislation known as SB4. SB 4 is sometimes known as the “anti-sanctuary” bill; it basically requires local police to assume the role of enforcer for I.C.E. and punishes cities who refuse to cooperate. Texas police chiefs are opposed to the bill - they want to be free to decide how to allocate police resources, and they are alarmed at the drop in crime reporting in the Latino community due to fear of I.C.E. There was a huge protest in Austin on Memorial Day.

Texas State Rep. Rinaldi called I.C.E. officials on protesters who were present in the State Capitol. He said they were carrying signs proclaiming that they were illegal and here to stay. Heck, I have a t-shirt that says that. And even if they were illegal - NOT the time to call ICE!!! And THEN Rinaldi threatened to shoot another state representative who was complaining about his treatment of the protestors.

ACTION:

1. Write a postcard to Rinaldi, saying that his behavior is unAmerican and contrary to our deeply cherished belief in the right to free speech.

Rep. Matt Rinaldi, Room E2.508, P.O. Box 2910, Austin, TX 78768

2. Write to the Governor of Texas saying that SB 4 would turn Texas into a police state, and we don’t want this virus to spread to the rest of the union.

Gov. Greg Abbott, Office of the Governor, P.O. Box 12428, Austin, TX 78711

BUT - some good news from Texas: lawmakers recently rejected a slate of dangerous gun bills, including one that would have allowed hidden, loaded guns in public without a license to carry and another that would have allowed guns at school-sponsored activities. (Yes, they were really considering it.)

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