Sign the petition to President Biden: Help protect democracy and voter access right now

We have reached a pivotal juncture in our country’s long journey towards a fully inclusive democracy and are at risk of losing the gains we have made.

Senate Republicans filibustering the transformative legislative package known as the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act has left our elections vulnerable to threats on multiple fronts. And GOP-led states continue to attack voter access.

President Biden has the power to make important changes and take powerful steps that can help protect and strengthen our democracy and rebuild public trust in our government right now. Biden can issue executive orders that support: protecting and strengthening our elections; justice, equity, and the rule of law; building an ethical and accountable government; and combating corruption.

These include, among others:

• Require government contractors to disclose their political expenditures
• Direct the Department of Justice to create a high-profile task force to protect voting rights
• Direct the Department of Justice to use its various new tools to fight the influence of corrupt and/or illegal money on our democracy
• Restrict the expansion of executive power over spending authorities and leadership vacancies
• Enhance transparency at the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel

President Biden must publicly recognize and publicly remedy the constant attacks on our democracy and the inequitable system we currently have. Implementing these strategies can help to strengthen our democracy and continue our commitment to an inclusive, secure, fair and accessible electoral system.

Sign the petition to President Biden: Take the lead with immediate, decisive actions to bolster our democracy’s defenses and proactively strengthen our country’s commitment to civil rights.

Ban Assault Weapons Now

Congress must reinstate the assault weapons ban immediately. It worked in the past and can work again. We need commonsense, impactful action to tackle gun violence. Most Americans agree: Civilians do not need military-grade weaponry.

Why is this important?

As our nation reckons with the epidemic of gun violence and as a vast majority of Americans support more restrictions, we can’t let our gun laws be limited by Republican obstructionism, the power of the gun lobby, or a handful of right-wing justices with whom Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump packed the Supreme Court to further the agenda of right-wing zealots.

Congress has a popular mandate to act—and now is the time. We had an assault weapons ban within the past two decades, and Congress must vote to reinstate it immediately.

The assault weapons ban was initially supported by bipartisan consensus—and voters of all walks of life agree that AR-15s have no place in civilian life and are not what the framers of the Constitution envisioned in drafting the Bill of Rights. During the Bush presidency, Republicans in control of Congress let it lapse—and the results have been devastating.

Massacre after massacre occur because of military-grade assault weapons, high-capacity magazines, and the fast and deadly impact of these weapons. Without AR-15s and other assault weapons, the incidence of mass gun violence would drop immediately.

Many Republican voters agree with these measures, but Republican elected officials, who are in a ghoulish embrace with the NRA and others in the gun lobby, want to talk about anything other than guns when it comes to gun violence. That’s why Republican leaders need to hear loud and clear: Voters expect you to take real action and will respect you for passing an assault weapons ban and other commonsense measures.

Please add your name: Congress must reinstate the assault weapons ban immediately. And we’ll make sure Democrats know momentum is on their side to push forward, that sensible Republicans see they have the mandate to bring bipartisan support to such a measure, and that the rest of the Republicans know they’ll be held accountable for choosing assault weapons over our children and communities.

TO: President Biden

Bolsonaro Must Go

The supporters of Brazil’s authoritarian former leader Jair Bolsonaro just attacked Brazil’s institutions of democracy—while Bolsonaro took refuge in Florida and conspired with Trump’s closest advisers. America should offer no refuge to would-be fascists and insurrectionists—Bolsonaro must go, and he must be held accountable in Brazil.

Why is this important?

When insurgents attacked Brazil’s government buildings, it was alarmingly reminiscent of the January 6 attacks in America. Attackers—rallying around a would-be authoritarian—denied the election and sought to undermine their nation’s democracy.

This is not the first parallel between Bolsonaro and Trump. Both seized power on behalf of powerful corporate interests. Both denied the science behind COVID. Both drummed up the resentment of their base to foster xenophobic violence. Both undermined their elections.

Both lost. And instead of conceding to the will of the people, both urged on violent insurrectionists in their name.

Bolsonaro, after losing, came to Florida to seek refuge. And it’s there that he continues to stir up violence and anti-democratic actions in Brazil—often with the approval and, potentially, the collaboration of Trump’s closest advisers.

Just as it is imperative Trump face charges and be held accountable for his role in the January 6 fatal insurrection and attempted coup, Bolsonaro must face accountability in his own country—and not be offered refuge on U.S. soil. Bolsonaro must go—the U.S. must offer no refuge to him. We need to stand up to authoritarianism everywhere.

[SIGN PETITION]

Help expand access to PrEP and win the fight against HIV!

Tell the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force you support their efforts to make these tested, safe and essential HIV prevention tools more accessible. They need to hear from you! Submit below and we’ll re-direct you to the government portal to submit your comment.

COPY the talking points below before heading to the next page so you can PASTE and use them in crafting your own comment to the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force.

• I support the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force continuing to give PrEP an A grade: It is a safe, rigorously tested and essential tool in our fight to end the HIV epidemic.
• While oral forms of PrEP work well for some, we cannot succeed against HIV limited to a one-size-fits-all approach.
• We should expand access to HIV prevention options to meet all impacted people wherever they are, as they are. I commend the Task Force for reviewing the evidence and adding a recommendation for an FDA-approved, long-acting form of PrEP that is promising for people who might encounter challenges in taking daily medication.
• HIV does not discriminate, and so I applaud the Task Force for fighting stigma by providing guidelines that can be used to consider PrEP for any indicated patient.
• We should keep working to research and address gaps in HIV prevention and care, including for people without insurance coverage or affirming medical providers.

Urge Your State Legislators to Protect Church-State Separation

State legislatures around the country are returning to session – which means religious extremists and their lawmaker allies are also back to attacking church-state separation and trying to force all of us to live by their beliefs.

Americans United is already monitoring a slew of bills that would threaten true religious freedom, as well as LGBTQ people, abortion access, public education and more. And we know there will be more bills introduced in the weeks ahead.

Contact your state legislators today and tell them it’s never been more important to protect religious freedom for everyone and uphold church-state separation.