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Aurora Police traumatize black family – demand action

5 August, 2020 – Aurora, Colorado – after a visit to a nail bar, children and women were surrounded by guns, police barking orders to get on the ground and be handcuffed face down.  Their crime?  Having the licence plate number they had.

Police want us to think that they mistook a SUV filled with innocent people for a stolen motorcycle – from a different state – that allegedly had the same plate number.  Few people are actually buying this flimsy excuse; it is appalling police would even admit to a blunder a schoolchild would not have  made.

This as we know is not the first time Aurora Police have targeted black people;  with their guns drawn, someone could have lost their life.

There is an apology offered.  Police Chief Vanessa Wilson made it; but do the police actually mean it?

The victims of this police brutality and the community have had enough apologies: they deserve justice.

Negating the value of any apology, the Aurora Police Association have a Facebook page which has not a word of remorse except from outside people making protests about the event on the page’s other posts.  One post marks the anniversary of the infamous cinema shooting.  Another post is a complaint that some of the police force were actually disciplined – over what appears to have been a racism incident.

This is also the police force that were responsible for the death of Elijah McLean.

ACTION:

Please contact Governor Jared Polis of Colorado through one of the channels below and give them the following message, personalized to your liking:

 

Governor, as I see it the amount of incompetence and racism shown by Aurora police shows no signs of remotely abating, and you have to act.  I am sure Police Chief Wilson meant her apology – but the rank and file need to be disciplined.

There is a culture on display of arrogance and self-preservation displayed in the force’s facebook page, which lacks any kind of regret over traumatizing little children – by police would could not tell a motorcycle from an SUV or the plate of one state over another. On the Police Association’s facebook page they seem far more concerned with how one of their number was disciplined over what looks like a racist incident concerning the Elijah McClain memorial.  The police demand their rights, and want Vanessa Wilson fired – but when it comes to the rights of others – especially black members of the community – they are silent.

If you can’t get this force in order, I feel it might be time for the FBI to investigate it for racism, which to me looks like a huge part of the problem, and racism on such a scale as seems to exist here would fall under its remit.  in any event, there has to be more than an  ‘I’m sorry’ over racism and terrifying obviously innocent little girls and honest women.  Take action – and tell me what you are doing.

Phone:  (303) 866-2471

Email:  Governorpolis@state.co.us

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/jaredpolis/

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/GovofCO

 

Once you have made contact, fill out the three fields below and click the orange banner to report taking action!

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Thank NY AG James for Challenging NRA!

6 August, 2020, New York – The State Attorney General filed a lawsuit to dissolve the National Rifle Association.

Ms James tweeted concerning the NRA’s self-dealing and illegal conduct.

While this may not get the desired outcome, this is a crucial, brave challenge to the NRA.

ACTION:

 

Please contact _Attorney General James through one of the channels below and give them the following message, personalized to your liking:

 

As a member of One Pulse for America, and as someone who cares about the lives of those who die because of out-of-control gun violence, I welcome your lawsuit against the NRA.

I am well aware a Senate subcommittee determined that the NRA is a Russian Asset – and I think this has not yet been acted on with the severity required.  I sincerely thank you for taking them to task.

-or- send this tweet:

As one of the 81,000 members of gun law reform group One Pulse For America, thank you for this move. The NRA is a Russian asset as a Senate subcommittee concluded – and we are glad you are addressing its illegal conduct.

Email:  nyag.pressoffice@ag.ny.gov

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/newyorkstateag/

Twitter:    https://twitter.com/NewYorkStateAG/status/1291397976200548353

 

Once you have made contact, fill out the three fields below and click the orange banner to report taking action!

 

 

 

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Call out AG Barr for misleading Congress over shootings

One of the hardest things to fight these days is misinformation.  How much harder it becomes when  The US Attorney General William Barr misleads Congress over crucial facts about America’s gun statistics.

In a New York Times article fact checking Barr’s recent testimony to Congress, some glaring pieces of misinformation stand out which need to be countered.

1 “He is correct that about 88.9 percent of Black murder victims were killed by Black perpetrators in 2018.

But left unsaid was the fact that murder victims and their perpetrators are overwhelmingly of the same race or ethnicity: 80.7 percent of white murder victims were killed by white perpetrators”

2. Barr said: “According to statistics compiled by The Washington Post, the number of unarmed Black men killed by police so far this year is eight. The number of unarmed white men killed by police over the same time period is 11.” – Barr used the WaPo database of shootings, Looking at the Database, the NYT wrote: “When factoring in population size, Black Americans are killed by the police at more than twice the rate as white Americans, according to the database. Research has also shown that in the United States, on average, the probability of being shot by a police officer for someone who is Black and unarmed is higher than for someone who is white and armed.”

ACTION:

Please contact the Department of Justice through one of the channels below and give them the following message, personalized to your liking:

 

In a Congressional hearing this Tuesday Attorney General  William Barr made some seriously misleading statements on gun-related facts.  We want the Department of Justice to acknowledge that Congress was mislead, as proven in this New York Times article:  https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/29/us/politics/barr-trump-factcheck-congressional-testimony.html?auth=login-facebook

As a member of One Pulse for America, it is a constant struggle to combat misinformation – it is a scandal that the AG’s testimony should not pass a basic fact check.

To talk about gun death statistics concerning black people without mentioning their percentage of the country’s population is unacceptable.  As one example from the Times piece, Barr quoted from a Washington Post database at one point – but neglected to mention the clear conclusion:  that black unarmed people are more likely to be shot by police than armed white people.

With such statements made to Congress it is little wonder people are being misled – it is unacceptable.   I demand higher standards from those in the office of Attorney General, and I expect to see a clarification made to Congress.

 or this tweet:

I’m absolutely dismayed at Barr’s misleading testimony before the House – his mangling police shooting statistics needs to be addressed. The Department of Justice needs to act https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/29/us/politics/barr-trump-factcheck-congressional-testimony.html?auth=login-facebook 

Phone:  202-353-1555

Email: (form) https://www.justice.gov/doj/webform/your-message-department-justice 

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/DOJ/

Twitter:  (here is the DoJ bragging about Barr’s testimony – good place to comment) https://twitter.com/TheJusticeDept/status/1289279682303623175

 

Once you have made contact, fill out the three fields below and click the orange banner to report taking action!

 

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Three year old shot dead – charges should be brought

22 July 2020 – Columbia, South Carolina:  another child has lost their life in another wholly avoidable gun death.

Three year-old Liam Myers was at the home of a family friend when he was shot; he was pronounced dead on arrival at hospital.

Police are now saying that he shot himself, and they have impounded the car that took him to the hospital for examination.

For some bizarre reason a woman at the scene then took the lethal weapon and put it under a mattress after the shooting.

No one has been charged:  It seems absolutely obvious that whoever owned this gun failed to keep out safely stored and away from children.

How exactly a little boy gets shot with a 45 Glock is the question we need answered, but whoever owned that gun was responsible for how it was used.

ACTION

We have two recommended actions:

  1.  Write to the Richland County Sheriff’s Department and demand charges are made against whomever allowed the child to gain access to the gun;
  2. We will share an article on social media about having that all-important conversation parents need to have with friends and relatives before their child visits:  ‘Do you keep a gun in the house?’ If I had a child and had asked that question, and got the answer, ‘Oh sure, there’s a loaded Glock we keep where children can reach it easily’ – I’d never visit such a place with or without my children.  Let’s make people less afraid to ask this crucial question.

1  Write to demand the owner is arrested and charged

Please contact Richland County Sheriff’s Department through one of the channels below and give them the following message, personalized to your liking:

 

I am dismayed that yet another child has lost their life due to negligence of a gun owner.  I am shocked you have not made any charges yet over the death Liam Myer, and ask that whoever is responsible for him finding the gun and shooting himself be charged accordingly.

I am angry that South Carolina laws do not seem to require that guns in a home be locked away from children, but surely there is negligence here.  This issue should be taken seriously.  Charging those responsible will reinforce that message and maybe save another young person’s life.

Phone:  803-576-3000

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/RichlandCountySheriffsDepartment/ 

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/RCSD

 

 

2.   Share this article:

Here is a good article on how parents should bring up the subject of whether there is a gun in a house their child is going to visit.  Please share it on your social media, explaining why it is important; mention Liam Myers if you wish.  https://www.parents.com/kids/teens/violence/is-there-a-gun-in-the-house/ 

Once you have made contact and/or shared the article, fill out the three fields below and click the orange banner to report taking action!

 

 

 

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Amy McGrath- help her defeat McConnell in Kentucky

July  2020 – For over two years Mitch McConnell blocked crucial gun law reform bills which the House of Representatives passed. With him as Senate Majority Leader, we have a drastically-reduced chance of meaningful gun law change.  His challenger, veteran Amy McGrath, wants gun law change; we want her in office.

HR8 is a bipartisan bill which would require background checks in person-to-person gun transfers.   HR1112 would make firearms sellers wait at least ten days instead of three before making a sale if they haven’t heard from the background check system.  If McConnell weren’t afraid of democracy in action, he would allow the bills to be voted on in the Senate. 

How anyone who cares about America’s gun epidemic can oppose either of those bills is a mystery.  A mystery which points to the NRA, Russian influence over the NRA and the last election, money and greed.

McConnell took some $1.2 million from the NRA – which was taking money from Russia.

McConnell likes to call himself ‘The Grim Reaper‘ vowing to thwart any democrat-proposed legislation – an insensitive moniker which insults the approximately 690 gun deaths Kentucky averages annually, and all who have died or lost loved ones to gun violence.  He is proud of this sick nickname he gave himself, (which anyone else would be ashamed to have) – and considering the number of lives lost while those bills linger, he’s earned this Grim Reaper title too.

Support McGrath by following her on social media; sharing her messages, contacting McConnell (no, he won’t give in, but he will see people want him to go).  If you can and wish to donate time or money to her campaign; click here for further information and to read her gun law reform statement.

If you are a Kentucky voter, please let your friends and family know you support her.  Share her posters, flyers, and vote.

Getting McConnell out of his position of power is one of the most important things that will pave the way for real gun law change for the better.  Let’s make it so.

ACTION

Please contact Amy McGrath through one of the channels below (and please follow her) and give her the following message, personalized to your liking:

 

I am a member of  One Pulse for America, the gun law reform group founded  by George Takei after the Pulse nightclub shooting.  I want you to know how much I hope you will succeed in your bid to oust Mitch McConnell.  He is blocking gun law reform bills and this is costing American lives. 

 

McConnell brazenly refers to himself as The Grim Reaper while Americans are losing their lives to gun violence.   I have read your statement on gun law reform and I’m with you. We want change, not an @NRA stooge. 

 

or – tweet:

@AmyMcGrathKY as a member of @1Pulse4America I wish you victory over @senatemajldr . Mitch McConnell likes to call himself ‘The Grim Reaper’ for blocking gun reform bills that would have saved many lives since they passed the House years ago. We want change, not an @NRA stooge. 

Contact Amy McGrath

Phone:  (859) 402-3959

Email:  press@AmyMcGrath.com

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/AmyMcGrathKY/

Twitter:  @AmyMcGrathKY

 

Once you have made contact, fill out the three fields below and click the orange banner to report taking action!

 

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Lobby Congress, McConnell to make Postal Voting easier during Pandemic

30 June 2020 – Carl Reiner – writer, director, entertainer, social activist, beloved family member and friend passed away today; he is mourned by many in the entertainment world and by many for his wise words on our government.

One of his most recent projects was a video which also features One Pulse for America’s George Takei, Rita Moreno and a host of  stars:  all wanting Congress to release funds to help people vote by post.

We have a serious pandemic on our hands; we have an election looming.  No one who  is isolating for their health should be robbed of their right to vote; no one should be forced to physically go to a polling station and risk their health – their lives in fact – and potentially the lives of others.

It’s the 21st Century:  the least we can do is mobilize a postal vote.  This will take funds – and Congress can do this.

Unfortunately Mitch McConnell seems unwilling to protect the health of Americans with this intelligent, compassionate postal vote roll-out.

More can be learned from Defending Democracy Together  – click here to watch the video. 

 

ACTION:

Watch the video here:  and then contact your Congressional Representatives and Mitch McConnell through one of the channels below and give them the following message, personalized to your liking:

I want every American to be able to vote without risking their lives in these days of the Covid-19 pandemic.

I support Defending Democracy Together and agree with them when they say “Congress must help states prepare for this unprecedented election and give states the resources they need to ensure the election is safe and secure. Americans—especially the most vulnerable among us—should not have to choose between their right to vote and their health.”

I want funds released now to fund postal voting – McConnell must do the right thing and release funds to ensure everyone can vote.

-OR- send this tweet:  @McConnellPress We have a pandemic; you have a responsibility to make sure every eligible American gets to cast their vote: free up funds to roll out more postal voting NOW. No one should lose their vote; no one should risk their life to vote https://www.defendingdemocracytogether.org/voting-options/

Find your congressperson here:  https://www.conginst.org/contact-congress/

Mitch McConnell
Phone:  (270) 781-1673
Email:  (form) https://www.mcconnell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contactform
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/mitchmcconnell/
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/McConnellPress

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Show the press you support and value them

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!

 

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No Trump, you cannot threaten to shoot people

29 May 2020 – Following the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police, peaceful protests as well as riots have broken out.  Trump subsequently tweeted he wants to shoot looters.  So much for upholding the constitution as his oath binds him to do.

Police knelt on Mr Floyd’s neck, asphyxiating him.  The white officers at the scene gave him no help and did nothing stop their colleague’s fatal, illegal assault.  They lost their jobs – but no arrests were made and no charges brought.  Understandably this has caused outrage and protest.

Peaceful protests turned ugly – with vandalism, arson and allegedly looting.  In some video footage purporting to be from the scene, heavily-disguised white men are seen breaking windows and assembling materials that may have been used in arson.  There does not seem to be any record of police looking for, or arresting them.  It certainly looks at the moment as if they sought to discredit the peaceful protest and further inflame racial tensions:  they need to be found, identified, charged.

Police have today shockingly arrested CNN personnel who were legally, safely covering the scene.  In a video CNN’s crew repeatedly ask the police where they should stand.  Police say nothing to the reporters until for no discernible, legal reason they start arresting the team.  This was wholly illegal and is all embarrassingly for them caught on camera.

Our action concerns the president of the country calling for looters to be shot.

As much as Trump might like the country to become a rights-free dictatorship, we will not allow this to happen.

His hate speech has been proven to have inflamed racial tensions and led to violence since even before he took office.

We are drawing a line.

 

ACTION

Either add your name and home city to the Facebook post about this action alert and your details will be added to the message One Pulse sends to Trump and Governor Walz – or send your own message:

Please contact Donald Trump, cc Governor Walz   through one of the channels below and give them the following message, personalized to your liking:

 

The police in Minneapolis are out of control, witness the death of George Floyd.  We at One Pulse for America demand the arrest, charging and trial of all involved in this killing, and a comprehensive, independent investigation of what certainly looks like institutionalized racism in the force.  We expect to see resignations of those at the top too.

We understand why people are furious; we are too.  We have watched peaceful protests – and have seen proof that these have been hijacked by a tiny number of people who turned them violent:  people who are caught on video, some of whom are white males.  We demand that police find, arrest and charge these suspects. 

We believe that Trump’s tweet ‘when the looting starts the shooting starts’ violates his oath to uphold the constitution and is an attack on all our rights.  The shooting threat is designed to cow those who want to exercise their right to peaceful protest.  If white men can take automatic rifles into state capitals to protest life-saving measures, then those who want to protest peacefully  against injustice must see their rights upheld too.  By tweeting that it is OK to shoot looting suspects Trump is also by implication giving his permission for police to shoot/kill other crime suspects.  Of all the disgraceful things Trump has done or said in office, this is among the worst.

One Pulse for America campaigns on any and all gun-related issues.  As such, we are outraged that a sitting president of our country should take to Twitter to say ‘when the looting starts the shooting starts’.  This is still a democracy, despite the best efforts of Trump to inflame via hate speech, which has resulted in violence. We will not tolerate any threat of ex-judicial execution just as we will not tolerate the ex-judicial execution of George Floyd.  We will not tolerate the continuing epidemic of police executions across the country.  We will not tolerate the arrest of journalists who have a constitutionally-protected right  to report. 

No feeble excuses on any of these issues that have been offered will be entertained.  There is no excuse whatsoever for Mr Floyd’s death, for the president threatening to shoot any citizens whether breaking law or not, or for arresting news crews.

We expect to hear from Governor with  news that arrests are being made on the killing of Mr Floyd, confirmation the journalists have been released without charge, an independent investigation into the entire force is launched, and the police who arrested them to be charged with false arrest.  An apology from Trump is the least he should do, but we expect very little from him.

AND/OR Suggested tweet:
@GovTimWalz @realDonaldTrump Walz I demand arrest of those involved in #GeorgeFloydMurder : death demands action. Trump how dare u threaten to shoot any1 – your threats will not intimidate legal, just protests but they show you violated your oath to uphold constitution. Resign.

President Donald Trump
Phone:  202-456-1111
Email: (form) https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/POTUS/
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump

Governor Tim Walz
Phone:  651-201-3400

Email:  HSEM.PPP@state.mn.us

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/GovTimWalz/

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/GovTimWalz 

 

Once you have made contact, fill out the three fields below and click the orange banner to report taking action!

 

 

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Sleeping while black: demand justice for Breonna Taylor

Grieving parents of Breonna Taylor are suing police.  She was shot in a bungled raid on the wrong address – as police searched for a man they already had in custody.

As AOL News reports “Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old EMT worker in Louisville, Ky., was shot in her bed after midnight on March 13 by three police officers serving a “no-knock warrant,” becoming another statistic in the long list of African-Americans killed at the hands of police. What makes the case unusual is that Taylor was a woman.  And, of course, she was asleep.”

“The incident is still being investigated and Taylor’s family is suing Louisville Metro Police Department Officers Myles Cosgrove and Brett Hankinson and Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly alleging wrongful death, excessive force and gross negligence. According to the suit, the police fired more than 20 rounds in the apartment. Taylor was hit eight times and pronounced dead at the scene.”

“The officers were looking for a drug suspect who lived 10 miles away and was already in police custody, according to the Courier-Journal. Police said the suspect had used the address where Taylor lived with her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, to receive packages in the mail.

“No drugs were found in the apartment, and neither Taylor nor Walker has an arrest record.”

Mr Walker, thinking he was being raided and robbed, opened fire during the no-knock raid.  Police are attempting to use this as a feeble excuse for their ineptitude and shooting.

ACTION:

We will write to Governor Andy Beshear to demand the officers and those who ordered this raid be brought swiftly to trial, are immediately thrown off the force, their past use of firearms is examined, and their backgrounds investigated for any links to far right/racist groups.  We will demand the end of such raids;  Ms Taylor is the latest victim in a’ war on drugs’ that no one is winning.

Please contact Governor Andy Beshear through one of the channels below and give them the following message, personalized to your liking:

 

The reasons for Breonna Taylor’s death include negligence, bungling, gun culture in the police, the ‘war on drugs’ – and quite possibly institutionalized racism:  it’s up to you to ensure these angles are all investigated.  You need to end ‘no-knock’ raids, and armed raids on homes before more innocent people are hurt or killed.

The police involved were apparently looking for drugs – with fatal force:  and looking for a man already in custody.  No-knock raids combined with existing gun laws are a recipe for death.  People are allowed to arm themselves to protect their property – and yet armed police can storm into such property and shoot at will, killing people like Ms Taylor:  this makes no sense at all.  What would have happened if officers checked records and custody records?  She would be alive.  What would happen if police did not swarm into her home in the dead of night, making householders fear for their lives as if they were living in a third world country warzone?  She would still be alive.  What if police waited until a person exited a  house, checked their description to the wanted suspect and then calmly arrested them – only if warranted?  She would still be alive.  Is a drugs arrest worth rights violations and death?  NEVER.

Things as they stand are rancid.  We need an investigation into the background of those involved:  are they competent? Racist?  Linked to racist organisations?  Have they killed before?  We need to get them off the force now – before they kill again.

I expect a reply from you and I expect a swift removal of everyone involved in this deadly raid.

or for Twitter: Governor:  Breonna Taylor’s death cannot go unanswered – remove all involved from the force today, have them investigated thoroughly – and put an end to deadly no-knock raids.  She’s dead – and the suspect was already in custody:  it is an outrage.

 

 

Phone: (502) 564-2611

Email (form):  https://governor.ky.gov/contact/contact-us 

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/AndyBeshearKY/

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/AndyBeshearKY

 

Once you have made contact, fill out the three fields below and click the orange banner to report taking action!

 

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Ahmaud Arbery – FBI must widen its investigation

Ahmaud Abrey ABC news

UPDATE:  in two days, 489 One Pulse for America members signed this letter, a further 109 One Pulse for America members have contacted the FBI directly, as recorded in our database, and a further 30 people approximately indicated they wished to sign, but did not supply a home town and state.  This makes a total of 628 people.

8 May 2010 – Ahmaud Arbery would have been 26 today, but he was executed by two gun-wielding white men in February.  They claim the unarmed black jogger must have been a burglary suspect – so they killed him.  Virtually nothing was done:  no arrests made, no plans to have any kind of legal action was taken.  The father and son duo, Gregory and Travis McMichael, claimed Mr Arbery somehow started it; this claim soon evaporated when a damning video showed up.  The footage seems to have led to a grand jury being convened.  As many are saying, the grand jury is being convened not because the authorities saw the video, it’s because WE saw the video.

Ahmaud Abrey ABC news
Glynn County police said on 28 April – nearly two months after the shooting – they were ‘gathering evidence’ – this excluded arresting and questioning the men.

It is not hard to imagine what would have happened instead if the jogger was white and the two shooters were black.

The tragic story also destroys some myths used by the pro-gun NRA and other factions.  They would have you believe that ‘good guys with guns’ need weapons to stay safe, and the people who get guns and have permits are all trained, professional, ‘good guys’.  It is likely the men who killed Mr Arbery had the correct registrations and permits (as loose as Georgia’s laws are):  the NRA would have you believe that gun-owners like them are law-abiding people who are very responsible.  These myths never held water and don’t hold any water going forward.   If the men in the truck had mobile phones and no guns, they could have called the police to report siting a possible suspect (how they think they recognized Mr Arbery needs to be examined, as does whether or not they placed any such call or just killed – it looks like they just killed).  It’s likely the police would have arrested Mr Arbery unlike their failure to arrest those who killed him.  Still, he would be alive.

Aside from the glaringly-obvious fact the public is supposed to telephone police if they think they see a possible suspect and not shoot the person dead, the shocking behavior, inaction, and procedural errors on the part of the state demand investigation.  It certainly looks like racism, conspiracy, and ignorance were why no one was arrested at the time.  The McMichaels enjoyed months of freedom, and had a long opportunity to work on their stories, tamper with evidence, while enjoying their lives while Mr Arbery was dead and his family mourned.

ACTION:

We will send the following open letter to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, copying in various other bodies.  After careful deliberation, looking at the behavior of Georgia’s Governor down to the law enforcement agencies involved here, it is pointless to ask these people to investigate their own serious problems.

Please contact the Federal Bureau of Investigation through one of the channels below and give them the following message, personalized to your liking:

 

TO: The Federal Bureau of Investigation

CC:  S Lee Merritt (attorney for Ahmaud Arbery’s family), ACLU, Black Lives Matter, Vic Reynolds – Georgia Bureau of Investigation, The Supreme Court of Georgia, Derrick Johnson – president of the NAACP

Sirs,

Is Georgia institutionally racist?  We believe the evidence speaks for itself and the answer sadly is ‘yes, definitely’.  

The murder of Ahmaud Arbery is one of the most outrageous cases that lead to that conclusion; sadly, it is not unique in Georgia’s history.  We are aware the FBI is investigating this case.  We write to ask the FBI to widen its scope and investigate more broadly how racism operates within the State of Georgia’s law enforcement agencies and governor’s office.  

How can the execution of an unarmed jogger who is black by two white men not even lead to an immediate arrest?  Institutionalized, entrenched racism seems to be the answer to that question, and the entire state needs to be part of an investigation by an independent external body.  We know the FBI prioritizes hate crime, and as we have no confidence in Georgia to investigate its own corruption, we call upon the FBI to act.

We write to demand justice for Ahmaud Arbery, his family, friends and community.   We are disgusted that months elapsed with no arrests, and we are only too aware of the opportunities the suspects have had to synchronize their stories, alter or destroy evidence, and/or influence the outcome of legal action.  We will be watching intently, and we expect to see justice done and expect long custodial sentences for anyone found guilty of executing an unarmed person, especially as race has clearly played a part throughout this situation.  We also feel such an outcome is not likely unless the investigation we ask for is held.

We want to see Georgia implement hate crime legislation; it is one of the few states that do not have any such provisions.  We demand Georgia upholds Federal hate crime legislation.  USA Today quotes Georgia Bureau of Investigations Director Vic Reynolds as saying:  “There’s no hate crime (law) in Georgia.”  I would remind Mr Reynolds, one of the parties on copy of this letter,  and the GBI that there are federal hate crime laws and these should be applied here, eg The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009.  No stone, no piece of relevant legislation can be ignored in this case.

S Lee Merritt, attorney for the deceased’s family, said and we agree: “Prosecutors will need a grand jury in order to formally indict these men, but that has nothing to do with actually going out and arresting the men seen on camera murdering a 25-year-old unarmed black man…  The prosecutors actually have the option, if they so choose to, to directly indictment [sic] and skip the entire grand jury process,” he added. “It’s something that happens all the time in our legal system, and this would certainly be an appropriate moment.”  We demand an explanation as to how the grand jury route was chosen, who was involved, and this too should be part of the broader, essential investigation.

 It speaks volumes that shooter Gregory McMichaels is a retired Glynn County police officer and investigator with Brunswick’s district attorney’s office.  We demand a re-examination of every case he was involved in, however long that may take.  If this retired ‘professional’ thinks he is at liberty to execute suspects, then the public needs to know what other wrongs he may have committed, and whether they were racially-motivated. 

We need to find out what hate groups the McMichael may be involved in:  are they Klan members, neo-Nazis, far-right violence advocates?  We demand that no one involved in a hate group be permitted to work in any aspect of law enforcement or indeed the entire public sector.

We write as members of gun law reform group One Pulse for America, and normally we would write to a state governor to appeal for intervention in such a situation.  However, we have seen photos of Governor Kemp posing happily with a white man wearing an anti-Islam t-shirt.  We are aware of black community leaders’ feelings about Mr Kemp re-opening the state during Covid19 situation, and how this is very likely to particularly harm black citizens.  Kemp is tied to voter suppression, and is linked to cancelling 1.4 million voter registrations.  Kemp is also an endorsed supporter of the discredited NRA, linked forever with Russian agents, Russian money and Russian election tampering.  We don’t want to appeal for his help:  we want to appeal for your investigation to examine him too.

Georgia’s gun laws are some of the loosest in the country; it is no wonder its shooting and gun death statistics are so appalling https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/congress/ga .

More lives will be lost, more injustices done and an independent, sweeping, thorough investigation into racism in Georgia’s law enforcement system must be conducted to try to correct this unacceptable status quo.  We demand this investigation be convened as soon as possible.  We also demand full transparency on the murder of Mr Arbery and want everyone culpable in mismanagement of the case investigated too.

To Mr Arbery’s family, friends, community we send our condolences, and One Pulse for America will be happy to take actions to demonstrate our support alongside you.  Please let us know how to help.

We want the FBI to reply to our letter.  We invite those on copy, whether they are  part of the problem or the community organizations we are reaching out to, to send us their thoughts too.  We will be only too happy to take other relevant actions to fight against Georgia’s out-of-control gun culture and racism.

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