Reproductive Justice 4 All; Raise the Wage – MI; and Promote the Vote Turning In Signatures Next Week
By MUUSJN on Friday, July 8th, 2022
There is excitement among the leaders of three ballot campaigns that signatures for their proposals will be turned in next week. MUUSJN’s statewide network of faith activists has worked with our partner, Fem’s for Democracy, on all of these campaigns:
REPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM FOR ALL (RFFA) – This Constitutional Amendment would repeal the 1931 law that makes abortion a felony and would enshrine reproductive freedom in Michigan’s Constitution. Reproductive freedom includes the right to obtain contraceptives, to have an abortion, and prohibits prosecution for terminating a pregnancy or helping someone to exercise their reproductive freedom. The campaign, led by the Michigan ACLU, Planned Parenthood of Michigan and Michigan Voices, is scheduled to turn in their signatures at a press conference at 10 a.m. on Monday July 11th in Lansing. Michigan Voices, a strong supporter of this campaign, is holding a “RFFA Celebrates Virtual Event” at 7 p.m. Monday night. See: www.michiganvoices.org
According to Julie Campbell-Bode, Fem’s for Democracy Board Chair, this organization’s volunteers (that included MUUSJN volunteers) collected over 100,000 signatures. The number of volunteers doubled after the U.S. Supreme Court leak and expanded another 50% after SCOTUS declared abortion to be illegal!
FAITH LEADERS: INTERESTED IN SIGNING MUUSJN AMICUS BRIEF SUPPORTING LAWSUITS TO PROTECT WOMEN’S RIGHT TO AN ABORTION? Our brief supports Planned Parenthood of MI and Governor Whitmer’s lawsuits to block the 1931 anti-abortion law and declares that right wing religious groups are discriminating against many other people of faith who believe abortion should be legal all or most of the time. If you are a faith leader, consider adding your name or that of your faith group to this brief. Click HERE for more information and to sign up. So far, MUUSJN and its partner organizations, Jews for a Secular Democracy and Inclusive Justice, have gathered names of 140 faith leaders from 19 religious groups. We would welcome more!
RAISE THE WAGE MICHIGAN – This proposal would gradually raise Michigan’s minimum wage to $15/hour by 2027 for all workers. This campaign, supported by the One Fair Wage Campaign, is planning to turn in its signatures next Wednesday to put its proposal on the 2024 ballot.
PROMOTE THE VOTE MICHIGAN – This Constitutional amendment would would make voting more accessible. Among other things, it would create early voting, guarantee the right to vote without a photo ID, make it easier to obtain absentee ballots, establish more drop boxes, and establish that audits can only be done by clerks and elected officials. Promote the Vote signatures will be turned in on Monday, July 11th.
UPDATE ON MICHIGAN RIGHT TO VOTE CAMPAIGN – The Michigan Right to Vote campaign has two proposals that are making progress in collecting signatures to put two constitutional amendments on the 2024 ballot. The proposals would block the Michigan legislature from suppressing the vote on a ballot issue by-passing review by Michigan’s Governor and by-passing a vote of the people! This campaign plans to continue to collect signatures until September 30, 2022. To volunteer or donate to support this campaign, go to the Michigan Right to Vote campaign website: www.mirighttovote.com
Category: News |