Important vote tonight. Call now to protect our right to protest.

Calls needed: End the shutdown. Protect free speech. Democrats must refuse to vote on any legislation in the Senate until Mitch McConnell calls a vote to end the shutdown. And they must resist the attacks on free speech and political activity included in Senate Bill 1. Click below for a sample script and the number to call: Dear Katy, We're only a few days into the 116th Congress but the differences between Speaker Pelosi's House of Representatives and Mitch McConnell's Senate could not be more clear. The first vote that Speaker Pelosi called in the House was a vote to end the government shutdown and reopen the government. McConnell refuses to even call a vote on the bill, even though the Senate passed it unanimously in December. The symbolically important first bill in Speaker Pelosi's House is a multi-pronged attempt to protect voting rights and save our democracy. The first bill in McConnell's Senate would undermine our ability to defend it. Democratic Senators must refuse business as usual in the Senate until McConnell calls a vote on the shutdown. They must also stand up for our right to free speech and political protest. Click here to make a call to Sen. Bennet now. Senate Bill 1 includes a rehashing of a dangerous bill from the 115th Congress. The Combating BDS Act encourages states to adopt laws that allow the state to refuse to do business with state contractors who refuse to sign oaths promising they will not participate in boycotts of Israel.1 Courts have already blocked two of these state laws as unconstitutional.2 The bill is dangerous regardless of your stance on Israel's policies because it challenges our fundamental right to free speech and political dissent. Our friends at the ACLU do not take a stand on the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement but oppose the bill because it flies "in the face of the First Amendment's guarantee that the state should impose no law infringing on the right to speak freely and to associate with those of like mind" and "sends a clear message to Americans who engage on issues of global importance that if they dare to disagree with their government, they will be penalized and placed in a lesser class with fewer opportunities."3 Momentum is growing among Democrats to refuse to move any legislation until McConnell calls a vote on the shutdown. It's an important stand but it's not enough. Democrats must also condemn the Combating BDS Act and defend our right to protest, especially now, when resistance to Trump's dangerous agenda is key to defending our families, our communities and our democracy. Can you make sure your senator know you're counting on him? Click the link below to get started with your calls: https://act.credoaction.com/call/S1_Dem_Calls?t=7&akid=31126%2E12967895%2EY_AlXX/ Thanks for everything you do, Heidi Hess, Co-Director CREDO Action from Working Assets Click below for a sample script and the number to call: References: Ryan Grim, Glenn Greenwald, U.S. Senate's First Bill, in the Midst of the Shutdown, is a Bipartisan Defense of the Israeli Government from Boycotts," The Intercept, Jan. 5, 2019. Isaac Stanley-Becker, "States can't punish businesses for boycotting Israel, federal judge in Arizona says," The Washington Post, Oct. 1, 2018. ACLU Statement on S. 1 cloture vote and language to condone unconstitutional anti-BDS laws," Jan. 7, 2019. © 2019 CREDO. All rights reserved. This email was sent to katy63.kelso@blogger.com. To change your email or mailing address, please click here: https://act.credoaction.com/me/update/?t=14&akid=31126%2E12967895%2EY_AlXX To unsubscribe, please visit our subscription management page at: http://act.credoaction.com/cms/unsubscribe/unsubscribe/?t=16&akid=31126%2E12967895%2EY_AlXX