June 2020 – peaceful protests called in the wake of the murder of George Floyd have experienced attempts to hijack them by a number of extremists, racists, and police. Over 100 members of the press have been attacked by police wholly against Constitutional rights: journalists have been arrested, beaten, even shot with rubber/plastic bullets – designed not to kill but to inflict serious injury. Several peaceful protesters have been assaulted by police; several have been shot. These peoples’ constitutional rights have been unduly taken from them. The reason we know about these grave assaults on people and on all of our liberties is because of journalists and the media.
It is not so long ago that crowds of anti-lockdown protestors, in many cases heavily-armed men in quasi-military garb held aggressive protests and stormed a state capital. They screamed at people trying to perform their jobs; they endangered public safety because they refuse to believe in the Covid-19 virus, and threatened violence if their rights were ‘removed’- which was only ever a temporary measure for the good of public health. The vast majority of these people were never met with police brutality or arrests.
This is the most crucial turning point in our country’s and our society’s future many of us will ever see. In order to stay informed, receive facts and avoid propaganda, we 100% need a free, unhampered press – as the Constitution guarantees.
There are those who have distorted the Second Amendment past all reason, morality and logic. A ‘well-regulated militia’ for some means any disgruntled person can get a deadly, rapid-fire weapon – and kill innocent adults and children. Yet the same people who will not brook any criticism of their interpretation of the 2nd Amendment do not remotely want to see other amendments upheld when these rights pertain to freedom of the press or indeed the basic human rights of equality, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
While a nation mourns George Floyd and the many victims who have gone before him, for instance two innocent black people who were shot to death, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor (it is her birthday; she should be blowing out 27 candles as I write), we have a White House hostile to black people, women, ethnic minorities, LGBT people, veterans and asylum seekers. The horrors this administration has created include caging asylum-seekers and taking their children, hampering LGBT people who had careers in the military, removing womens’ rights, the creation of ICE, and more. These injustices are brought to our attention by a free press – and that is why, using language of dictators past, Donald Trump calls the press ‘the enemy of the people.’
We need every citizen to vote, however hard those opposed to this try to disenfranchise voters; votes should be informed with access to accurate, full, timely news reporting.
We need everyone to uphold the rights of the press – and by the press we mean those news outlets large and little that are looking to report and record the truth of what is going on so we may make informed choices: not those who bombard us with lies to support tyranny and their owners’ self-interests.
ACTION:
You can add your name, town and state to the post this Action Alert appears in, and your name will be added to our One Pulse letter which will be sent to various news outlets. You can also contact one of the major news networks (I have only chosen a few – please find your own favourites) and/or your regional news sources through one of the channels below and give them the following message, personalized to your liking:
I am a member of One Pulse for America, a gun-law reform group started by George Takei. I wanted to let you know that I greatly appreciate the news you bring us and the sacrifices and dangers your news crews increasingly face to bring us accurate reporting. Only a dictator would call the responsible press ‘enemies of the people’; only a coward with much to hide would try to villify the press, and I am not buying it.
I want to see any police officer who impedes the constitutionally-protected rights you have to report brought to justice. No reporter should be arrested, threatened – let alone assaulted or shot.
My respect to all who bring us the truth, and my contempt to those who want to stop you, or those who want to deliver propaganda as news. Thank you.
MSNBC
Email:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/msnbc/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MSNBC
ABC
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ABCNews/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ABC
CBS
Facebook:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CBSNews
Once you have made contact, fill out the three fields below and click the orange banner to report taking action!