Letter from the Chair - May 29, 2022
A couple of days ago, on Thursday, both Jennifer Rubin of the Washington Post and Heather Cox Richardson of “Letters from an American” wrote about our gun epidemic as a symptom of our broken democracy.
Rubin: “The Constitution allocates two senators to the most sparsely populated red states (but none to the District of Columbia), and the filibuster provides gun absolutists with veto over reforms.”
And, “The rigid GOP parlays the anti-democratic Senate and filibuster into an iron grip of minority rule.”
And, “The Republican obsession with controlling women, unlimited gun ownership, white grievance and other deadly ideologies must be identified, denounced and defeated.”
Richardson writes, “How have we arrived at a place where 90% of Americans want to protect our children from gun violence, and yet those who are supposed to represent us in government are unable, or unwilling to do so? There is a central problem not just for the issue of gun control, but for our democracy itself.”
Rubin: “When legislation on nearly every critical issue can be thwarted by an extreme minority, we have ‘democracy’ in name only.”
And, finally, “Democrats should be clear about the choices: white nationalism or tolerance; gun massacres or reasonable gun restrictions; control of women’t bodies or respect for women’s autonomy.”
The reasons to vote for Democrats are numerous and clear. Our choices this fall could not be more stark.
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Silencing Mallory McMorrow
On Wednesday and Thursday of this week, the Michigan GOP ended their legislative sessions early to prevent Democrats from speaking on the floor of the legislature about the slaughter of children in Texas.
Just last fall, there was a mass school shooting in Oxford, Michigan - population 20,000. Four students were killed and seven injured, including a teacher.
This was the event where the shooter’s parents were charged with involuntary manslaughter for failing to secure the handgun used in the shooting. The parents fled to avoid arrest. They were caught and subsequently arrested on December 4th.
Apparently, the Michigan GOP did not wish to be reminded of Oxford by Mallory McMorrow or any other Democrat in the Michigan legislature and the GOP certainly didn’t want to hear about the events in Uvalde.
Here is what Mallory McMorrow would have said, had she been given the chance:
Would you like to see Mallory McMorrow live? Well, you can - on June 5th. Our friends over at Civic Engagement Beyond Voting (CEBV) will be featuring McMorrow at their virtual Sunday Happy Hour at 4 pm on June 5th. You can register for the June 5th Zoom event here.
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How can anyone describe the news of the past couple of weeks?
Let me speak for myself, for just a moment.
The range of emotions I feel about these shootings is particularly challenging because I’m normally objective and rational. This week’s mass shooting makes me feel anything but - objective and rational, that is. I want to avert my eyes and make it all go away but, obviously, that isn’t an option.
There are victims and families who are experiencing unspeakable pain - whose wails of grief cannot be and should not be silenced. We cannot look away from this. These aren’t just tragedies in Buffalo, NY and Uvalde, TX.
These are American tragedies and they are ours.
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That’s it for this week. Thanks for hanging in there. Thanks for keeping your chin up and digging in even harder than before. Despair and inaction are not options if we expect to win down ballot races.
Our resolve needs to be unwavering. We must soldier on…
Victoria Kauzlarich
Chair, LD3 Dems