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Urgent: Tell Your Senators to Oppose the JUSTICE ACT and demand meaningful policing reforms

The nationwide outcry for racial justice has only intensified with the recent uses of excessive force by police, like the horrific killing of Dijon Kizzee in Los Angeles, California, and the shooting of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin which caused him to become partially paralyzed. Earlier this year Senate Majority leader Mitch Mcconnell (R-KY) brought the JUSTICE Act, a bill led by North Carolina Senator Tim Scott (R- SC), up for a procedural vote that failed to advance the bill. The Just and Unifying Solutions To Invigorate Communities Everywhere Act of 2020 (or the JUSTICE Act) would make approximately $7 billion of grant funding available to law enforcement, yet offer nothing in the way of accountability if police violate people’s rights and break the law.

Congress has little time to legislate before it adjourns before the election. Tell the Senate to stop playing politics with people’s lives. We deserve a bill that would help end racist policing and violence at the hands of law enforcement, and the JUSTICE act isn’t that. Now, it’s up to the Senate — including the two senators from your state.

We MUST make enough noise right now in order to send a clear message that our lawmakers should vote against the JUSTICE act, and instead take up meaningful measures to help save lives.

When interacting with police we all have a right to be safe, be free from discrimination, be equally protected before the law, and survive the encounter. Let’s redefine public safety with solutions that work for all communities, no matter the color of one’s skin, who they worship or where they live.

Key policing reforms that must be included as a base line:

Limiting the use of force;
Prohibiting neck and chokeholds;
Ending racial and religious profiling;
Demilitarizing the police;
Prohibiting the use of no-knock warrants;
Allowing police to be held accountable for recklessly violating people’s rights;
Weeding out police officers with records of abusive behavior;
Eliminating qualified immunity that allows police to kill with impunity.

Act now: Help mobilize massive public pressure on every senator to oppose the JUSTICE Act. Your senators need to hear where their constituents stand on this critical piece of legislation. To make sure your letter gets read, we encourage you to customize the subject line and add a personal note in the letter!

⬇ Make Your Voice Heard ⬇

Dear Senator {contact_data~lastName},

As your constituent and an Amnesty International supporter, I am deeply alarmed about the continued excessive use of force by police towards Black people, even just since May when George Floyd was killed. Senator McConnell brought up the JUSTICE Act before, and he can do it again. I urge you to stop the JUSTICE Act in its tracks. We need meaningful reform which would help root out racism in our system of policing, stop violence at the hands of law enforcement officers and eliminate barriers to meaningful accountability.To do that, Congress must advance a bill that includes all eight of the following:

- Limiting the use of force;
- Prohibiting neck and chokeholds;
- Ending racial and religious profiling;
- Demilitarizing the police;
- Prohibiting the use of no-knock warrants;
- Allowing police to be held accountable for recklessly violating people’s rights;
- Weeding out police officers with records of abusive behavior;
- Eliminating qualified immunity for both state-based and federal actors.
- Across the country people are coming together to demand respect and honor for Black lives. The first step to ensuring that Black communities can thrive — and not just survive — is legislation that would help end violent policing and remove barriers to meaningful accountability.. 
 
Congress must also better meet community needs by ensuring no additional funding is allocated to law enforcement, which the bill does. Funds should be redirected to creating vibrant, safe and thriving communities. 
 
Senator, the time for applying band-aids and making excuses for a few “bad apples” has long passed. I will be monitoring where you stand on this bill. I know you want to see an end to these unnecessary killings, too, and even with more public attention, they have not ceased. We must take seriously all the changes needed to stop these killings.

Sincerely,

{user_data~First Name} {user_data~Last Name}

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