It's hard to have conversations with anyone right now that don't drift in the direction of the state of the nation and our new President. Last week was a terrifying week for many people, for many reasons. However, good things are happening this week in our state and our work on police reform is more important than it's ever been for reasons that are very obvious.
We have two bills that are getting hearings this week. They are twin bills, a house version and a senate version. If you can attending these hearings in person we need bodies at the hearing to show support. It makes a huge difference. If you can come, please wear a purple tie, ribbon, or scarf to show solidarity.
Whether you can come or not, please contact the committee members and let them know you support these bills.
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We are also preparing for our Lobby Day February 6. You can get more information and register HERE. Lobby Day's are fun. It's a great way to meet people and get involved. It's also a unique opportunity to meet legislators who will be key in moving our effort forward.
Our lobbying effort is critical. This legislative session is proving to be a traffic jam of policing related bills. Aside from these two bills, pro-police advocates are pushing their own bills in the legislature this session. Some we support. Others we are strongly opposed to. We support legislation that would make it easier to collect data about police shootings, improve training for officers, and provide officers with more non-lethal alternative to deadly force. We strongly oppose any of the "blue lives matter" bills that would put police officers in a protected class.
We need your support in person, on the phones, via email, and we need your financial support. We are raising money to pay for our lobbying efforts to ensure we end up getting where we need to be in this flurry of bills and the highly emotionally charged atmosphere that surrounds them.
We have work to do in Washington. We are getting it done. You've never been more important in this process than you are this week.
