#514 George Floyd, Referendums June 5, 2020
Lethal Racism, Yet Again: The Murder of George Floyd
We once again grieve the brutal murder of an African-American by police. We have released an official statement decrying the lethal racism. Among our member groups that have also done so:
Pax Christi USA Feminists for Life Democrats for Life PLAGAL+ – Pro-Life Alliance of Gays and Lesbians
Several supporters in Valparaiso, Indiana (top picture below) got excellent local news coverage. Lisa Stiller (pictured above right) was near Portland, Oregon. Rachel MacNair (bottom left) joined thousands in Kansas City, Missouri. Julia Smucker (bottom right) joined the City Hall protest in Portland, Maine.
The world-wide upsurge of protest shows the community doesn’t tolerate this police brutality. This is one hopeful sign for ending this centuries-long violence – virulent racism combined with military-minded approaches to policing. We encourage individuals with smartphones to download an app to record police violence we come across, which sends the video to helpful places. Nonviolent protesters on any issue would do well to have this app, to document misbehavior by police or opponents, or defend ourselves against false accusations.
Home page with list of referendums we’re monitoring:
Addressing poverty while also reducing abortions and discouraging euthanasia, two states have succeeded in putting Medicaid Expansion on their ballots. This just happened in Missouri, which will vote August 4. In Oklahoma, it’s been ready to go for a while, and they’ll vote June 30.
In Kansas, unfortunately, the legislative session ended without getting a state constitutional amendment on the ballot to overturn their state court’s pro-abortion ruling – they were 4 votes shy of the 2/3 needed. Proponents will try again next year, so this has been moved to the page on future referendum possibilities.
In Colorado, the governor extended the deadline for getting signatures on all other referendum petitions to August 3, because of Covid-19 restrictions. He explicitly excluded those initiatives needing a “cure” period for added signatures after turning in almost enough. That applies to just one: to ban late-term abortions. An initiative he’s against. It doesn’t matter. They needed around 10,000 signatures in two weeks, and have now turned in about 30,000.
Welcome to the Board of Directors! We are honored to welcome two new members to the Consistent Life Network Board, Lois Kerschen and Christy Yao.
Lois is an author and retired educator who has been engaged for 40 years in pro-life and other activism. She co-founded and was a long-time board member of Democrats for Life of America. Lois is also a supporter of Feminists for Life and involved with church charities.
Christy is a graduate student in professional writing at Towson University, Maryland. She belongs to the National and Maryland committees of member group the American Solidarity Party. Christy also has been a long-time contributor to the blog of member group Rehumanize International.
Our Latest Blog Post Voices on Police Brutality in the Aftermath of the Murder of George Floyd is a compilation of more information from news sources, especially on nonviolent approaches. This includes policy proposals, immediate care for the highly stressed, and a sheriff who took off his helmet to join the protests.
Pope Francis Easter Vigil, 2020 Let us silence the cries of death, no more wars! May we stop the production and trade of weapons, since we need bread, not guns. Let the abortion and killing of innocent lives end. May the hearts of those who have enough be open to filling the empty hands of those who do not have the bare necessities.
Responses/News Tips/Questions to share are all welcome.
Send to weekly@consistent-life.org.
