Springtime Solidarity: March 29th-April 10th

Hey Teen Resisters!
We hope that you've all had the chance to bask in the first few weeks of spring! Here are a few quick things you should be aware of before diving in:
- The Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota--one of the nation's poorest areas--has recently been the victim of heavy snow and severe, debilitating flooding. Read more about the situation here.
- Update on the Mueller report: Attorney General William Barr has promised to release the redacted version of the report to the public, and said in today in testimony before Congress that he hoped to release it next week. He also said that he would investigate spying on the Trump campaign.  
- Kirstjen Nielsen submitted her resignation as Dept. of Homeland Security Secretary on April 7th. CALL YOUR SENATOR now and tell them that the next DHS Secretary must end family separation and indefinite detention.
xx
TR

what went down

El Paso Bridge/Letter Campaign
In late March, news broke that hundreds of migrant families seeking asylum in the United States were being held in what was effectively a holding pen under a bridge in El Paso. Families were held for up to four days in the enclosure, where they reported verbal and physical abuse to top off what was already a grossly  inhumane environment for the migrants—children forc  ed to sleep outside on gravel, families spending the night in outdoors in the cold. The ACLU called the situation an “unprecedented and extreme violation,” but it is certainly not the first time that Customs and Border Protection has demonstrated a complete lack of regard for the well-being of migrants in its custody. This is just the latest—nonetheless completely sickening—example of how CBP (and ICE, for that matter) have violated the rights of asylum seekers.

While CBP cited an overwhelming number of migrants as cause for having to place certain asylum seekers under the El Paso Bridge, the agency already has greatly expanded funding and personnel; it’s clear that more money is the last thing the agency ought to get.  
​
El Paso is far from the only location that migrant families and children are being held. More than 1,700 migrants from the ages of 13-17 are being held at the Homestead Detention Center, in Homestead, Florida. These are children our age. Most have escaped poverty and violence in their places of birth and are now being put through yet another long ordeal at the hands of our government.

What can you do?

• Indivisible has a more comprehensive resource on defunding CBP and ICE—how it works, why it’s important, and how you can take action. Check it out here. The gist of it, of course, is to call your representatives and demand that they work to defund the agencies!
• Don’t Separate Families of Brooklyn is running a campaign right now to send 2,000 letters, postcards, and drawings of support and welcome to these teens. Please take some time to write one yourself. You can write the letters in English or Spanish.
  • Communicate to the migrants that you support them, you care for them, and we’re all fighting for them. And pass on this information, as always, to your friends and anyone who might encourage teens in their life to write or draw a similar message. 
  • This campaign is designed to spread awareness of this issue, but it’s most chiefly about speaking directly to the people affected by our government’s abuses to provide each of them some measure of the individual support and care they have been denied. We spend a lot of time advocating for changes to structures and institutions that hurt all kinds of people, which is critically important work and the only way we can stop these kinds of violations from continuing. But it’s good, too, to take a moment to focus on just one person who’s affected by one of these issues, to think about them and to speak to them. That’s what this campaign is striving for and what we hope for you to participate in. 

The address:
Don’t Separate Families
c/o Margaret Seiler
248 12th St. 
Brooklyn, NY 11215
​
Letters have to arrive at this address by April 19th, so act fast!

Abortion Laws in Georgia
Last week in Georgia, new legislation concerning abortion rights was passed by Georgia state legislators. This new bill prohibits abortion as soon as a fetal heartbeat is observed. This would mean that abortion would be banned as early as six weeks into a pregnancy—a time when it’s often too early for many women to even realize that they are pregnant. This new legislation would overturn Georgia’s current laws, which allow a woman to have an abortion up to twenty weeks into her pregnancy. If passed, this new bill would make Georgia one of the most restrictive states in the country in terms of abortion. Similar anti-abortion bills have been signed in Mississippi and Kentucky, and legislation concerning fetal heartbeat is expected to pass in states such as Florida, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee, and Texas.
    

The bill received a great deal of opposition while in the process of being voted on, including some from members of the Hollywood film industry who say that they will refuse to work on sets in Georgia if the legislation is passed. It has also experienced pushback due to the current obstetrician shortage in Georgia, which would most likely worsen as a result of this legislation. Additional criticisms include that the bill would endanger women’s health specifically because of an increase in dangerous at-home abortions. This bill is particularly frightening, for it represents a larger anti-abortion, pro-life movement that could eventually lead to Roe v. Wade’s being overturned. This case, which established a woman’s right to choose on a federal level, could be reversed, especially with new justices such as Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh backing pro-life legislation. 

So what is going to happen with this bill? This bill was approved by state legislators, meaning that it will now pass on to Republican governor Brian Kemp. Kemp must sign the bill in the following months in order to enact it, and he is expected to do so, based on his continual support for anti-abortion legislation and this bill in particular. 

What you can do:
Here are some articles for a more in-depth look at the topic:

• https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/georgia-house-panel-approves-anti-abortion-heartbeat-bill-n980386
• https://www.huffpost.com/entry/georgia-heartbeat-abortion-bill-explained_n_5ca79474e4b0a00f6d3f49cb

Support Planned Parenthood and their “Planned Parenthood Action Fund”

• ​Call your reps w/ this script: Hi, my name is __________, and I live in ___________. I'm calling to ask my Senator to vote NO on any attempt to defund Planned Parenthood. This is nothing more than a blatantly political attempt to do whatever it takes to attack women's health and rights and take health care away from the people who need it most. If Congress cuts funding to Planned Parenthood, millions of people will be left without access to birth control, lifesaving cancer screenings, and other basic care. Many of them will have nowhere else to go for the health care they need. I'm counting on my Senator to do the right thing and stand up for the Planned Parenthood patients in our community and across the country who are counting on those health centers. I stand with Planned Parenthood because [insert your own story or message, if you like]. I expect my Senator to vote against any attacks on Planned Parenthood and the vital health services they provide. Thank you for your time. (adapted from Planned Parenthood)

Anti-LBGTQ+ Stoning Laws in Brunei
On Wednesday, the small yet oil-rich nation of Brunei implemented legislation punishing extramarital sex and anal sex with death by stoning. Under the new law, rape and defamation of the Prophet Mohammed will also be punishable by death, and theft will be punishable by amputation. In what is a clear violation of human rights, numerous celebrities, officials, and human rights groups have come out in opposition to the hateful and harmful piece of legislation. Read more about the law & its implications here.
​

What can you do to help improve the safety of LGBTQ+ Brunei citizens?

• Join celebrities such as George Clooney, Ellen DeGeneres, and Elton John in boycotting the Sultan of Brunei’s nine luxury international hotels (The Dorchester, The Beverly Hills Hotel, Plaza Athénée, Hotel Meurice, Principe di Savoia, Hotel Bel-Air, Coworth Park, 45 Park Lane, Hotel Eden). Supporting and participating in this boycott will help strengthen the international pressure currently put on Brunei to reconsider this reprehensible piece of legislation.
• Keep your eyes out for protests in your area! Contact your local LGBTQ community organizers and activists or local LGBTQ Center to see if there are any protests for action or solidarity taking place near you.
• Check out the LGBTQ+ section in our Index by Issue to learn more and take action about what’s happening in the U.S. and in other countries, surrounding the fight for LGBTQ+ rights.

Not puppy vid, but very funny