Action Alert Digest - June 22, 2022

June 22, 2022

Action Alert Digest

Why Gun Control Laws Don’t Pass Congress, Despite Majority Public Support and Repeated Outrage Over Mass Shootings

Since the 2012 massacre of 20 children and four staff members at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, legislation introduced in response to mass killings has consistently failed to pass the Senate. Political scientists Monika McDermott and David Jones explain why further restrictions never pass, despite a majority of Americans supporting tighter gun control laws. MORE

Community Peace Builders Initiative Starts in Minnesota

Community peacebuilding is most effective and most likely to succeed when local voices, particularly those most targeted by violence, are at the helm. In North Minneapolis, a new group is addressing community conflict and violence. The focus of their work will be on gun violence and community violence, as well as adapting unarmed civilian protection training to resonate with the needs and strengths of area residents. MORE

TAKE ACTION: Urge Congress to Pass the Nuclear Weapons Abolition and Economic and Energy Conversion Act

The Nuclear Weapons Abolition and Economic and Energy Conversion Act bill calls on the United States to ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, and use the $1.7 trillion taxpayer dollars currently budgeted for nuclear weapons to address climate change and provide other pressing human needs. World Beyond War urges us to tell our Representatives to pass this important legislation. TAKE ACTION

How Russia’s War in Ukraine Could Derail Its Nuclear Modernization

Putin’s war in Ukraine may have profound long-term consequences for Russia’s nuclear arsenal––specifically, its ability to complete its modernization program in the face of overwhelming sanctions. Russia is in the midst of a decades-long nuclear modernization campaign to replace all of its Soviet-era weapons by the mid-2020s. But several big-ticket systems have been plagued by multi-year delays and even abrupt cancellations. MORE

TAKE ACTION: Tell State & Local Elected Leaders to Sign on In Support of Refugees

Now is the time for state and local elected officials to lead and urge the President to rebuild the refugee resettlement program so that we can truly meet our commitments to being a country of refuge. Amnesty International provides an opportunity to reach out directly to our mayor, city council members, state legislators, and governors to ensure that the voices of state and local communities are heard. TAKE ACTION

Counties That Provided 'Sanctuary' to Undocumented Immigrants Saw Falling Crime Rates, Study Finds

Counties that adopted certain sanctuary policies — such as not detaining and reporting immigrants subject to deportation to immigration officials — saw a drop in property and violent crime, according to a new study analyzing data from 2013 to 2016. During that time, sanctuary counties increased from two to 123. MORE

The U.S. Is Rejecting over 90 Percent of Afghans Seeking to Enter the Country on Humanitarian Grounds

Since July 2021, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has received more than 46,000 applications for humanitarian parole from Afghans seeking protection from the Taliban. The majority of parole requests are still undecided. Of the 5,000 humanitarian parole requests that have been resolved, more than 90 percent have been denied, with only 297 requests approved to date. MORE

EU Lawmakers Support Banning Gasoline Car Sales By 2035 In Key Vote

The European Parliament approved legislation that is poised to become one of the world’s strongest laws to phase out gasoline-powered cars. The ban on new gasoline cars after 2035 must still be approved by the European Council and signed into law. Meanwhile, lawmakers rejected other climate policies up for consideration, including a reform of the bloc’s carbon market. MORE

Clean Air Act Standards Aid 'Significant' Reduction in Air Pollution, Says New Study

A Georgetown University study finds that enforcement of EPA air quality standards implemented in 2005 contributed to a 3% reduction in fine particulate matter concentrations nationwide within its first five years. Experts say that outcome is "significant and substantial." Fine particulate matter, or PM 2.5, is a specific type of air pollution responsible for causing asthma and other adverse health effects in humans. MORE

Interior Department to Phase Out Single-Use Plastics on All Public Lands

In January, a poll showed that 82 percent of Americans would support a ban on single-use plastics by the National Park Service. Now, that vision will become a reality. The Department of the Interior has announced a phaseout of single-use plastics — not only in national parks but across the hundreds of millions of acres of public lands that the department manages. Agencies including the National Park Service will have until 2032 to eliminate them. MORE

Undercover Operation Nets 32 For Crimes Against Children in Kansas and Missouri

An undercover operation in Kansas and Missouri netted 32 individuals who have been taken into custody for crimes against children. From May 17 through May 19, the campaign targeted adults that would travel for the sexual exploitation of children. That operation led to the arrest of 17 individuals for crimes including aggravated human trafficking, promoting the sale of sex, and the purchase of commercial sex acts. MORE

UN Expert Denounces Worrying Prevalence of Trafficking in Agricultural Sector

Trafficking in persons is a grave concern in the agricultural sector that affects both adults and children, resulting from high levels of informality and a lack of oversight and protection within the industry, a UN expert said this week. “The growth of agribusiness and the power of corporations, combined with the rapid pace of climate change have further exacerbated risks of trafficking in persons,” said Siobhán Mullally, UN Special Rapporteur. MORE

Critics Say Campus Sex Assault Rules Fall Short and Need an Overhaul

Polarizing regulations finalized under former President Donald Trump have discouraged college students from coming forward with sexual abuse allegations. Those who do face a live hearing and cross-examination by a person of their alleged attacker's choosing. The rules also narrowed the definition of sexual harassment and allowed colleges to ignore most cases arising off-campus. Biden is expected to announce new rules as soon as this month. MORE

Women in Illinois Prisons Who Allege They Were Victims of Domestic Violence See Their Struggle in Film

The average prison sentence for men who kill their female partners is 2 to 6 years. The average sentence for women who kill their male partners is 15 years, even though most women kill their abusive partners in self-defense. A new film documenting efforts to pass a law that allows survivors of gender-based violence to present the abuse they suffered as consideration for shorter sentences debuted recently to women convicted of crimes they say were related to abuse. MORE

TAKE ACTION: Demand an End to Outrageous CEO Pay

A new analysis of low-wage corporations finds that the gaps between CEO and typical worker pay increased from 604 to 1 in 2020 to a staggering 670 to 1 in 2021. Even more disturbing is that forty percent of these firms are federal contractors, meaning that ordinary taxpayers are enabling these extreme pay gaps. The Institute for Policy Studies urges us to tell President Biden to make it harder for companies with huge pay gaps to get lucrative federal contracts. TAKE ACTION

Poor People's Campaign Rallies in Washington to Mobilize Low-Income Voters

In 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. organized low-income Americans in a march on Washington known as the "Poor People's Campaign." Over 50 years later, thousands of protesters gathered last weekend in the capital to deliver that same message. The rally urged low-income voters to participate in the upcoming midterm elections and featured religious organizations, pro-democracy groups, labor unions, and climate activists from across the country. MORE

DOJ Opens Investigation at Thomson Prison

The U.S. Department of Justice Inspector General's Office has opened an investigation into Thomson Federal Prison amid ongoing allegations of abuse, the overuse of solitary confinement, and the deaths of seven inmates over a two-year period. U.S. Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth, along with U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, requested a federal investigation following the publication of reports of serious abuse of inmates by correctional officers. MORE

Joe James, Jr. is scheduled to be executed on July 28 by the state of Alabama for the murder of Faith Hall. Please hold Joe, Faith, their families, and the people of Alabama in prayer. TAKE ACTION

Kosoul Chanthakoummane is scheduled to be executed on August 17 by the state of Texas for the murder of Sarah Walker. Please hold Kosoul, Sarah, their families, and the people of Texas in prayer. TAKE ACTION