Daily Yopp! 3.29.17 - State-Based Resistance to Trump Agenda

As the spines of our GOP legislators move towards extinction and the power of the Democrats in Congress erodes, we need to look to one of our separate and (still) Constitutionally-protected government checks and balances -- the states.

Here in California, our Senate and Assembly leaders threw their lot in with the Resistance early on with this joint statement that released the day after the election. It's a powerful read. Our governor Jerry Brown and other CA state officials continue to step up and lead our nation both as a role model and in active resistance to Trump and GOP actions. There's lots going on that we Californians can be proud of:

Newsweek: CALIFORNIA V. TRUMP: THE FIGHT BEGINS FOR HEALTH CARE, IMMIGRATION AND THE FUTURE OF AMERICA

Alternet: State of Resistance - California in the Age of Trump

Sacramento Bee: Battling Trump is ‘team sport,’ California’s attorney general says

Speaking of state-level resistance, here's some happenings in other parts of the country courtesy of the always fabulous Kate Schatz of Solidarity Sundays (and for those paying attention, you'll note that this sentence includes a link to Kate's author website as well as to an activist organization):

In STATE news... 

*On Wed 3/15, the Nevada State Legislature ratified the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)...35 years after the deadline. The chief sponsor was Rep. Pat Spearman, a former Army lieutenant colonel and one of two openly gay senators in the Legislature. Why is this significant? Because the ERA remains just three states shorts of becoming a constitutional amendment that "equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex." Now that Nevada has made this move, the door is open for states like Virginia and Illinois, who have both come close to ratification. http://www.npr.org/…/nevada-on-cusp-of-ratifying-equal-righ… 

*The Maryland Legislature has voted to BAN FRACKING, and the bill is headed to the Gov, who's promised to sign it.

If you're in Nevada, Virginia, Illinois, or Maryland, be sure to call your local legislators and/or governors to either thank them or encourage them to do the right thing. Towards that, please take a moment to add these contact numbers into your phone or whatever centralized list you keep. Most states have a bicameral legislature that is modeled on the US Congress, so you most likely have a senator representing you in your state senate and someone else in the other house (here in California, it's called the Assembly). A good website for tracking down your state representatives is Open States.

Also from Kate, but more about actions we can take:

And HEY! Speaking of states, that leads to our first #ACTION... 

1) "AS WE WORK TO BLOCK TRUMP'S AGENDA IN CONGRESS, HIS AGENDA IS ALREADY BEING IMPLEMENTED IN MANY STATES." 

Boom. That is some TRUTH. How to see all that pending legislation?! BEHOLD: www.ourstates.org! This interactive map is the best tool I've seen to quickly and clearly track legislation on a state-by-state basis. It just launched yesterday from the folks behind Stay Woke, who also brought us The Resistance Manual, which we've posted about several times before. If you haven't checked it out already, it's a must. 

https://www.resistancemanual.org/Resistance_Manual_Homehttps://www.ourstates.org/#ourstates 

Your first #ACTION today is to explore your own state on the OurStates map. What legislation is happening in your state? Anything you think your SolSun chapter should address? Anything you want to take action on?

From the Our States guide:

You have more power to influence your state legislator than your member of Congress. The average state representative’s district is 12 times smaller than a Congressional district. Most are not lifelong politicians, or even full-time politicians. They are not always focused on reelection because many of them run unopposed. And state legislators have the power to decide many of the most important issues impacting communities. However, since state legislators have fewer resources than members of Congress, it is harder for them to take ideas and turn them into legislation. That’s where you come in.

And finally, for those who want a very specific action, please use those numbers you just tracked down and call your STATE representatives to ask that your state become a sanctuary state. Basically what that means is that your state (or city) would adopt policies preventing state and local law enforcement from helping ICE and other federal agencies from enforcing immigration laws. USA Today has an article about what it means in California.

Keep up the good fight! Remember, every call you make is like one more puff of air in that balloon. The pressure is building. We WILL win eventually. We just need to Resist Insist Persist and Enlist!

Yours in Solidarity!