“Remember, the gun doesn’t pull the trigger” – President Donald Trump
Well that didn’t take long. Less than 3 weeks after President Trump signaled his support for “very meaningful background checks” in the wake of two horrific mass shootings, he’s already started to walk things back.
It’s hard to stay outraged, and yet impossible not to be. But we’ve been here before. And before that. And, well you know. It’s the song that never ends.
The vast majority of Americans, including Republicans want changes. In a recently released Fox News poll 90 percent of voters surveyed favor universal background checks. 81 percent support “red flag” laws to remove guns from people identified as dangerous to themselves or others. What’s more, 67 percent, nearly two thirds of voters surveyed favor banning assault style rifles and other semi-automatic weapons.
Read the entire poll here: Fox News poll results
With numbers like that, it’s time to put the pressure on our elected officials. Call your senators today and let them hear your frustration! Also, Moms Demand groups are expanding all over the country. There were demonstrations last weekend in every state in the country. You don’t have to be a mom to join. Let’s continue to raise our voices and awareness around this national crisis of gun violence.
https://momsdemandaction.org/act/
“I need my dad. He’s not a criminal.”
Just days after Mexicans were targeted in the El Paso massacre, nearly 700 migrant workers were rounded up by ICE agents in Mississippi. Worse still, it was the first day of school. Who could forget the sobs coming from the 11 year-old girl begging for her father’s release.
Top members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus are demanding an investigation. The lawmakers sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security blasting the raids and looking for answers. They said the timing of the raids left the community in chaos and put children at risk by not notifying the school district.
Led by Chairman Joaquin Castro, the group is demanding details of how much the raids cost and the source of funding for them.
“Let’s be clear: ICE raids of this scale are not conducted for the purpose of immigration enforcement, they’re to strike fear in our communities in a time when Latinos are already living in terror. These workplace raids decimate communities and target law-abiding immigrants who are just trying to earn an honest living, Castro said.
There is also the matter of the businesses who employed those workers. To date no charges have been filed against them.
“A major step in the wrong direction.”
It brought back the bald eagle and the grizzly bear, but now the Trump administration is making sweeping changes to weaken the Endangered Species Act.
At a time when climate change has already put millions of species on a path to extinction environmental groups say this will put even more animal and plant species in danger. In Florida, the Key Deer is one of the species experts say will be at risk with the new rules.
The changes have been pushed by the fossil fuel industry for years. Additionally, climate change will not be allowed to be used as criteria for protection. The Sierra Club is among groups who promise to sue to stop the new rules.
“Undermining this popular and successful law is a major step in the wrong direction as we face the increasing challenges of climate change and its effects on wildlife. The Endangered Species Act works; our communities– both natural and human– have reaped the benefits. This safety net must be preserved.” — Lena Moffitt, Our Wild America Campaign Senior Director, Sierra Club
“We are in the midst of an unprecedented extinction crisis, yet the Trump Administration is steamrolling our most effective wildlife protection law. This Administration seems set on damaging fragile ecosystems by prioritizing industry interests over science. We intend to fight these regulatory rollbacks so that we can preserve the natural world for generations to come.” — Rebecca Riley, Legal Director of the Nature Program, Natural Resources Defense Council
What can be done? On so many of these issues, it’s critically important to call your representatives and let them know how you feel. Ultimately we have to put people in office who care about the values the majority of Floridians hold dear.
Please consider joining our efforts at Bring It Home Florida to register and engage a million new voters before the 2020 election.
Let us hear from you!
Upcoming Events
The Longest Table – Educational Session for Lawmakers, Attorneys, and Law Students (Orlando, FL)
Partners: Latino Justice, VoteRiders
On September 25, 2019
Orlando, FL
El Summit (Orlando, FL)
Partners: For Our Future, VoteRiders, Alianza For Progress, Puerto Rico Diaspora, Latino Justice, Hispanic Federation, La Mesa Boricua, PoderLatinx, Mission Boricua, and Faith In Florida.
On October 19, 2019 from 9 AM to 5 PM
Location: The Hispanic Federation, 1650 Sand Lake Rd, Orlando, FL