Update, Wednesday, January 19, 2022
Family,
As of this writing it appears unlikely that United States Senate will find a way to debate, let alone pass, needed voting rights protections. This is most disappointing. In a time which these sacred rights are under attack we need to keep praying and working toward the goal of voting rights for all.
Last week I joined Faith In Action clergy and organizers from around the country in signing this letter.
To The Senators of the 117th United States Congress,
As people of faith from diverse communities and traditions we believe that the right to vote is sacred and rooted in the human dignity of all, which is derived from our Creator. Therefore, we are in full support of the bold and necessary actions of Senate majority leader Charles Schumer to use every possible tool, including reforming the filibuster, to ensure passage of the John Lewis Voting Rights Act and the Freedom to Vote Act. Senators who have yet to take the necessary actions to uphold and protect democracy by guaranteeing the right to vote deny our shared human dignity, and ultimately fail to uphold their duty to serve the American people.
While we understand your trepidation in changing rules along partisan lines, what is clearly not partisan is the reality that every eligible American has the right to vote; even the newly emerged and racially diverse America, which is America too. We cannot be confused or divided in our collective responsibility to uphold the constitutional right of every citizen to participate in our democracy through our vote, free and unobstructed.
What good is a system that upholds oppression for many in order to maintain the power of a few?
What good is democratically elected leadership that seeks to appease the minority while rejecting the constitutional rights of the whole?
What good is democratically given power that is only used to serve the agenda of the individuals elected?
We collectively and emphatically declare they are no good at all!
Our constitution ensures the rights of states to pass policies that support the wellbeing of the residents of those states. However, our federal government has the responsibility to step in when the state’s leadership ignores that responsibility, choosing to enact policies that strip citizens of their constitutional rights. To vote against the John Lewis Voting Rights Act and the Freedom to Vote Act is a clear message to your constituents and the American people as a whole that laws and policies designed to uphold oppression, racism and the unholy hoarding of power are legitimate and constitutional. It is your sworn duty as democratically elected officials to prevent this clear and obvious miscarriage of justice.
Our faith demands we speak. Therefore, with a unified voice we are calling each of you to do everything in your power to allow for a straight up or down vote on the John Lewis Voting Rights Act and Freedom to Vote Act. More importantly, we call on each of you to have the moral courage to protect our democracy and vote for the passage of these crucial pieces of legislation.
On LABC Zoom this week:
Bible Studies – Wednesday 10:30 AM, Thursday 6:00 PM
LABC Reads – Saturday 9:00 AM (Discussing “The Dry” by Jane Harper)
A Time For Prayer – Saturday 10:00 AM