Dear friends,
Just over three years ago, the man who has been arrested for the Independence Day massacre in suburban Chicago was making alarming threats that led a family member to call the police. That was the second time that year that authorities were called to his home; the first was a reported suicide attempt.
The police did not find guns, but they found more than a dozen other weapons, including a dagger and a sword.
This year, he was able to legally purchase two high-powered rifles, one of which he used in the July 4 attack.
Red flag laws are insufficient.
[D]espite the gunman being flagged as a “clear and present danger” following the September 2019 incident and his history of threatening violence, state police closed the case because the gunman did not have a gun owner ID or a pending application to own a gun.
An additional barrier under Illinois law is that police, relatives, roommates or friends must also first ask a judge to seize a person’s guns.
In December 2019, the gunman successfully applied for a gun license when he was 19 years old, with his father sponsoring his application.
And presumably, his father was not concerned that Crimo had previously threatened to “kill everyone” in his family.
Republicans also said they refused to consider any mandatory waiting period for gun sales or a license requirement to purchase an assault weapon.
Sign this petition from Moms Rising calling for a ban on assault weapons and high capacity magazines.
This is the right moment to try to shame Republicans into dropping their hostility to children.
For a party that has long cast its priorities as pro-life, Republicans put in minimal effort in recent years to ensure children enjoy a basic standard of living once they're born.
The GOP lined up in fierce opposition to President Joe Biden's Build Back Better plan, which contained ambitious initiatives meant to establish affordable childcare, set up universal pre-K, and overhaul the child tax credit so it was paid out monthly.
An analysis by the People’s Policy Project, a social democratic think tank, shows that it would replace existing family tax credits — the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Credit for Other Dependents, along with the now-defunct Child Tax Credit with a system far less complicated to administer and thus more cost-effective.
The universal design, which eliminates the need for means-testing, would dramatically reduce child poverty. The main feature of the bill is a monthly child allowance of roughly $400, to be paid out by the Social Security administration. Because children would be enrolled at birth, there would be no annual paper work.
The other two features are
An annual $600 fully refundable credit for adult dependents. This replaces the current non-refundable $500 credit for adult dependents.
An annual $600/$1,200 fully refundable credit for single/married tax filers that phases out at $20,000/$40,000 of income.
The last feature replaces what the Earned Income Tax Credit does so that families do not end up with higher tax bills when EITC is replaced by this legislation.
The estimate is that passage of the bill would cut child poverty by two-thirds. Imagine if the package was renamed the Protect Every Child Act and included bans on assault weapons and required background checks as well as expanded SNAP benefits.
Call on Congress to protect every child. This is a ready-made action!
It seems that New York State’s cryptomining moratorium is not dead yet. Hochul signed three other environmental measures into law this week, including one that strengthens the state’s building code with regard to greenhouse-gas emissions and increases energy efficiency standards for new household appliances.
Governor Hochul seems to recognize that the moment calls for action. Give her another nudge.
Call on the Governor to sign the cryptomining moratorium! This action has been updated again!
The home care crisis in NYS and around the nation continues to mean that people who require home care because they are elderly or disabled are forced to rely on friends and family. Worse, some have no choice to move to institutional environments, which are also frequently understaffed. And many are simply struggling along, without adequate care.
This is a labor issue and a human rights issue and the campaign for Fair Pay for Home Care is not over.
Let your state representatives know that a living wage for home care workers is essential. This ready-made action is from NY Caring Majority.
Have a good day!
with love,
L