Some great news this week out of Kansas. They overwhelmingly voted against an amendment that would outlaw abortion in the state. 61% percent of the people voted no even though they worded the amendment on the ballot to be deliberately confusing hoping people would misunderstand and vote yes. Voter turnout was the highest it has been in years. This gives me so much hope that people will get out and vote these rogue Republicans out of office. It's baffling to me how much they have voted against in just the past few weeks. Almost all of them have voted against access to contraception, marriage equality, abortion rights and the right to travel to other states to obtain reproductive healthcare. It's all been very confusing to me. Not only does it seem they want to go back to a time when women had no rights (among other groups) but they seem to think all of their constituents feel the same even though polls show the majority of Americans are for reproductive care and gay marriage. I'm happy to see that this first big test has proven them wrong.
This has finally spurred the Biden Administration to make some movements toward rectifying the overturn of Roe V Wade. He has now signed an executive order that will make it easier to cross state lines to get abortion access. These are great first steps but the Democratic party has not been doing enough to fight back against these stripping of our rights. They need to make bold moves while they still have a majority in the House of Representative. The time is now. The election is coming in November and historically when a Democratic President is elected the majority in Congress will go to the other side. I happen to think that won't happen in this case because anyone who is paying attention can see the Republicans in this Congress are attempting to take away freedom from a majority of Americans with women being that biggest majority. But just in case, Congress needs to do more to secure the rights we still have and work toward getting us back to being able to choose what we do with our bodies and lives.
The other piece of good news is the passing of the PACT act which was a medical bill for veterans who fought in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. The majority of Congress was for this bill until Republicans got upset when Democrats finally came together to pass an energy bill they opposed. So they retaliated by blocking the PACT act from happening. Some of them even fist bumped each other when it was clear the bill wouldn't pass. Then came the outrage. People were pissed and let lawmakers know it. One of them being comedian Jon Stewart who is an advocate for veterans. He went right to DC and got in the face of the people who voted to delay this bill. Now, Republicans claim the Democrats added something to the bill that meant more spending than the bill called for. But the thing is, it was the same exact bill. The wording wasn't changed at all. They eliminated one sentence that was technically unable to be used in the bill. There was no difference in the two bills whatsoever. Americans came out in force to put them on blast knowing they were outright lying.
The bill passed this week. And why did it pass? Because the people came together and told politicians they are tired of their BS. To stop using people (in this case veterans) to satisfy their agenda. Just like they are using women to satisfy their agenda. It proves that when people speak out about an issue they believe in it makes a difference. So I'm begging you to speak up about this abortion issue more. Talk about the fact that you think it's UnAmerican. That you won't stand for the rights of women to be stripped and nullify gay marriage in this country. That you believe in freedom and that people have the right to live in a way that makes them happy when it doesn't affect anyone else's life. Make sure to vote and point out to your friends, family and on social media all of the ridiculous things Republicans are voting against. Put them in the hot seat for doing what they are doing. Highlight it and let people know this is not the America you know and love. And mostly, vote! Get out and vote. Help and urge others to vote. When voter turnout is high Democrats typically win. So get out the message to go vote in November!
There is a women's march taking place in Washington DC on October 8th. I urge you to try to make it to this march. We want it to be the biggest march yet to let the country know that we aren't going to get used to this and just go along. That we will continue to fight until this wrong is righted. To let politicians know we don't want them in our bedroom. We don't want them making decisions about our bodies and our lives. We have had enough of white men telling us what we should do. And we won't listen anymore. And we will fight and keep fighting.
I'm personally feeling a little better. I feel like progress is being made and we are making strides. The majority of American's are letting it be known they are not in favor of these archaic laws they Republicans are trying to put in place. That the majority of Americans trust women to do what is right for them. That forcing women to give birth is not what this country or most countries are about. Take heart ladies, the hard work is paying off. But it's far from over. We can't get complacent. We must keep fighting.
Thank you for listening! Hope to have you join me next week for another edition of Hopefulist Activated!
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