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02/21/22 - Missouri Mondays - Keep fighting MO GOP attacks on init petitions and Medicaid Expansion!



Welcome to another Missouri Mondays and another busy week of important actions! Thanks for all you do to make a difference!

TELL YOUR STATE SENATOR TO REJECT MO GOP ATTACK ON INITIATIVE PETITIONS!

HJR 79 was passed in the House and is now in the Senate. “This bill attacks the citizen initiative process in Missouri by making it harder to place proposed amendments on the ballot, and increasing the threshold for passage to near impossible levels.” -Missouri Voter Protection Coalition For example, the minimum signatures needed for a proposed constitutional amendment would skyrocket from about 172,000 under current law to roughly 434,000.

CALL TO ACTION!

TELL YOUR STATE SENATOR TO VOTE NO HJR 79! Leave the Initiative Petition Process alone and not to support any changes to the Initiative Petition Process.

The MO GOP should not be trying to silence the people’s voice by making the initiative petition process harder.

Find your senator using the Legislator Lookup here: https://www.senate.mo.gov/LegisLookup/Default.aspx

TELL YOUR STATE REPRESENTATIVE TO SAY NO! TO OVERTURNING MEDICAID EXPANSION

Rep. Cody Smith-R sponsored HJR 117, a constitutional amendment that would give Republicans the ability to overturn Medicaid expansion in Missouri. If passed HJR 117 says in any given fiscal year, any eligible population for HealthNet (MO Medicaid) services shall be eligible only if an appropriation for that population is made in that fiscal year.

In 2020 Missouri voters passed Medicaid expansion and the Missouri Supreme Court upheld our vote to make 275,000 Missourians eligible for affordable healthcare. Now Rep. Smith and the MO GOP majority want to overturn the will of the people and take away the promise of healthcare to over a quarter of a million Missourians.

CALL TO ACTION!

HJR 117 is moving quickly in the House and was perfected last week.

TELL YOUR REPRESENTATIVE TO VOTE NO ON HJR 117! The MO GOP must respect the will of Missourians and ensure that all Missourians continue to be eligible for affordable healthcare.

Find your representative using the Legislator Lookup here: https://www.senate.mo.gov/LegisLookup/Default.aspx

TELL YOUR STATE SENATOR TO PASS THE EMERGENCY SUPPLEMENTAL BUDGET AND GIVE STATE WORKERS $15/HR RAISES PROMISED BY GOVERNOR

Appropriations bill HB 3014 (Sponsor Rep. Cody Smith-R)

House Democrats fought to give our state workers the raises Governor Parson promised: a $15/hour pay increase for ALL of our state workers. Now that it’s in the Senate, the $15/hour provision is back in the bill- but Senators need to know that Missourians are in support!

We need your help. The far-right “Conservative Caucus” in the Senate, the same ones who have been making a mockery of our government by ensuring nothing passes the Senate unless they can gerrymander their way through Missouri, could jeopardize over $2 BILLION in federal money being injected back into our state if they continue their games.

TAKE ACTION!

TELL YOUR MO SENATOR ALL MISSOURI STATE EMPLOYEES DESERVE $15/hr! Our understaffed agencies desperately need competitive wages to hire, train, and retain quality employees that make our departments function.

Find your state senator using the Legislator Lookup here: https://www.senate.mo.gov/LegisLookup/Default.aspx


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MISSOURI IN THE NEWS

U.S. Department of Justice sues Missouri over “Second Amendment Preservation Act” law nullifying federal gun statutes

“The U.S. DOJ sued Missouri on Wednesday over the state's 2021 law that attempts to invalidate certain federal firearms measures. Federal attorneys argue the law, billed as the Second Amendment Preservation Act, undermines the government's authority, harms law enforcement operations and violates the U.S. Constitution's supremacy clause, asking for it to be blocked. The law is currently under evaluation by the Missouri Supreme Court after several counties in the state asked the bench to block it. "The United States will work to ensure that our state and local law enforcement partners are not penalized for doing their jobs to keep our communities safe," U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement. The law, which was sponsored by southwest Missouri Republican lawmakers and signed into law by Gov. Mike Parson, has prompted police to withdraw from federal task forces focused on violent crime and refuse to provide certain information to federal authorities. It also allows citizens to sue for up to $50,000 if they believe police violate the law.” https://news.yahoo.com/u-department-justice-sues-missouri-002624499.html?fr=yhssrp_catchall - Springfield News-Leader

https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/missouri-gun-law-justice-department-lawsuit/#app - CBS News

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“Fellow Missouri conservatives, we must keep petition power in the hands of the people”

“The initiative process is a power and freedom that we the people have reserved to ourselves to check and be independent of the General Assembly. Elected lawmakers and wealthy special interests want to rig this system, preferring instead to keep all the power to themselves by making it harder for Missourians to place important reforms on the ballot. They even want to make it easier to overturn the public’s vote. The General Assembly and Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft should listen to our former Gov. John Ashcroft’s statement when he vetoed efforts to suppress the use of the ballot initiative: “It is through the initiative process that those who have no influence with elective representatives may take their cause directly to the people. The General Assembly should be reluctant, therefore, to enact legislation which places any impediments on the initiative power which are inconsistent with the reservation found in the constitution.”

KC Star Feb 20 - Full guest commentary here: https://www.kansascity.com/opinion/readers-opinion/guest-commentary/article258519943.html

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YOUR VOTE IS YOUR VOICE! MAKE SURE YOU ARE READY!


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MARK YOUR CALENDAR FOR THESE UPCOMING ACTIONS AND EVENTS


TAKE ACTION WITH THE MISSOURI VOTER PROTECTION COALITION (MOVPC)

TO PROTECT THE RIGHT TO VOTE

Join the next MOVPC meeting

MONDAY FEB 21 at 10 AM

Text “MOVPC” to 66866 or register HERE: https://wustl.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJYoceyuqTsqGN1NlXOMKb88rSExyr-kWjbt

Help protect the right to vote in Missouri with the Missouri Voter Protection Coalition! The Missouri Voter Protection Coalition (MOVPC) is a nonpartisan statewide network working to protect the right to vote in Missouri, promoting access to the ballot and working to remove barriers to voting.


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FEBRUARY IS BLACK HISTORY MONTH



Negro Leagues Baseball Museum

1616 E 18th St

Kansas City, MO 64108

Phone: 816.221.1920

Website: https://www.nlbm.com/

Throughout February – Visit the Negro Leagues Baseball museum for free all month long, as the Kansas City Royals and Royals Charities are covering admission for the month of February.

There are plenty of reasons to visit right now: A monumental day in December set the stage for a banner year at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum as Negro League legend and Kansas City leader Buck O’Neil was named to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. A first baseman and manager for the Kansas City Monarchs, the first African American coach in Major League Baseball, and founder and chairman of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, Buck’s legacy will be celebrated with a series of events planned by the NLBM throughout the year. Until then, get acquainted with his trailblazing history— as well as the stories of Negro Leaguer Minnie Miñoso and early Black baseball star Bud Fowler, also elected to the Hall of Fame in 2021— through the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum’s exhibits.

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Celebrate Black History Month through the Lens of Black Health & Wellness

National Museum of African American History & Culture

NMAAHC Museum website: https://nmaahc.si.edu

"Black History Month is a time to celebrate the fullness of African American history and culture, but that cannot be contained in one month alone. As the world's largest African American museum, we have a responsibility to humanize history and objects through the lives, tragedies, and triumphs of everyday people. This February, we celebrate the theme of Black health and wellness by creating a space that highlights Black pioneers' trailblazing contributions to Western medicine, addresses health disparities facing our communities, and encourages healing through education." Discover these Black pioneers and trailblazers online here: https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/initiatives/black-history-month

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Voting Rights Town Hall (Virtual)

Thurs Feb 24

3:00 PM - 4:00 PM CST

Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/voting-rights-town-hall-tickets-261936758897

Join the ERA Coalition and Fund for Women's Equality for a virtual discussion on the future of voting rights in the United States. We'll talk to leaders and advocates at the forefront of the fight to protect and expand access to the franchise, and learn more about what we can all do to protect our most basic building block of democracy.

Featured speakers:

  • Congresswoman Terri Sewell (D-AL), lead sponsor of the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act

  • Maria Teresa Kumar, CEO of Voto Latino\

  • Maya Rockeymoore Cummings, President and CEO, Global Policy Solutions, and former Chair, Maryland Democratic Party

  • Melanie L. Campbell, President and CEO, National Coalition on Black Civic Participation and Convener, Black Women's Roundtable

Our work to see the ERA as the 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is at the root of our commitment to equality, racial justice, reproductive rights and justice, equal pay, and other issues; and we think voting rights are critical to all of this. It is the most fundamental of all our rights, and really underscores everything else.

This town hall is supported by the Harnisch Foundation.

Donate to ERA Coalition here: https://www.eracoalition.org/donate2022

We have reached January 27, 2022: the day the Equal Rights Amendment became valid as the 28th amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The next phase of our campaign remains focused on the Department of Justice and Biden Administration clearing the way for the ERA to be published. We’re also keeping the pressure on Congress to recognize the ERA as the law of the land. Will you rush an emergency donation right now to support this critical outreach?

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MORE UPCOMING ACTIONS AND EVENTS

Find more upcoming actions and events here:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/19AZUdtRH5WXefOC4Q5D9u-HyuzhBEL8rYX9Ospn3n18/edit?usp=sharing

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MISSOURI COVID UPDATE

  • The Kansas City Beacon COVID Data Dashboard – A new dashboard for Covid data in the Kansas City Metro area has been developed by The Kansas City Beacon. The Beacon reports that they “decided to release our own data compilation after reporters found that certain critical metrics used to assess the omicron and delta surges were not readily available elsewhere for the Kansas City area.” You can check the Kansas City Beacon’s COVID Data dashboard here: https://thebeacon.media/stories/2022/02/02/kansas-city-beacon-covid-data-dashboard/


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Missourians Vaccinated - as of Sun Feb 20 The New York Times

  • 65% of Missourians have received at least one dose - (76% have received at least one dose in the U.S.)

  • 55% of Missourians are fully vaccinated - (65% are fully vaccinated in the U.S.)

Total COVID-19 Cases and Deaths in Missouri

THANK YOU! for answering the Missouri Mondays CALL TO ACTION!

Invite your friends and neighbors to join us and sign up for Missouri Action Alliance and this Missouri Mondays email at moactionalliance.com/signup

Follow us on Twitter at @MissouriAction, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/MOActionAlliance and check out our website at http://www.MOActionAlliance.com


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