- The Gov Hub
- Posts
- The Gov Hub Newsletter: April 15, 2024
The Gov Hub Newsletter: April 15, 2024
Gov Hub
April 15, 2024
Welcome to The Gov Hub Newsletter by Girl and the Gov®. This weekly pop of politics is designed to share action items, resources, & quick links to civic engagement tools & topics. Find a typo? Congrats, today is your lucky day.
Was this email forwarded to you? Subscribe here.
THE ACTION ITEMS
Get ‘em done from your phone
ACTION 1 – SHRINKFLATION
The Ask: Tell Congress to pass the Shrinkflation Prevention Act.
The Action: Hit send on this note.
The Background: Less for more is the defining sentiment of the moment, with prices going up for just about everything, while consumers are getting less in return. To cite the classic shrinkflation example, bags of chips now cost more, and yes, there are fewer chips in those bags. Cue, the Shrinkflation Prevention Act, which would have the FTC establish rules and regs around shrinkflation as a deceptive practice.
ACTION 2 – PROTECTING ELECTION WORKERS
The Ask: Tell Congress to support the Election Worker and Polling Place Protection Act.
The Action: Add your name to this petition.
The Background: A Senator Ossoff bill, the Election Worker and Polling Place Protection Act, would expand protections of election workers and election infrastructure. The bill would establish criminal penalties for those that threaten violence with the purpose of intimidating election workers or voters.
ACTION 3 – ABORTION
The Ask: Tell SCOTUS to protect emergency abortion care available under EMTALA.
The Action: Hit sent on this note.
The Background: SCOTUS will be hearing another case with abortion as its central plot line. Next week, the court will hear arguments on Idaho v. United States, which will put to the test Idaho’s abortion ban in the context of the federal law – the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act [EMTALA]. That law requires that hospitals that are receiving Medicare funding treat patients in emergency contexts; that context and treatment can include abortions in certain emergency situations. The Idaho law in conflict, criminalizes doctors for providing life saving abortion treatment.
Looking for more action items? Check our library of past Gov Hub’s.
FULL SEND…TO A FRIEND
Just about guaranteed to make it to the group chat
Mark your calendars for national ‘touch grass day’ on April 20, 2024. Kidding, that’s not a real holiday, but it’s the first day of National Parks Week, which means free admission to all National Parks. Get outside and explore.
Excusez-moi, WTF is an appropriations bill and how do they pass? This 30-second explainer has the perfect je ne sais quoi for getting the gist.
Knock, knock. Who is it? US Ambassador to NATO Julie Smith with a look at a day in her life.
This state is known to have ~southern charm~, and now for having an unprecedented number of women running for seats in its male-dominated state assembly.
It’s all in the admin, and GOP secretaries of state are using the boring paperwork route to try and block Biden from the ballot in Ohio and Alabama.
Congresswoman DeLauro brought the fire ‘fit and spring colors to this OOTD moment. Speaking of OOTDs, this blazer dress is the perfect one-piece outfit that looks good with just about every shoe in your closet, like these.
GOOD NEWS BEARS
Positive political wins [yes, those do exist]
FINALIZED ATF RULE EXPANDS GUN BACKGROUND CHECKS: In a Biden-Harris Administration move that brings us closer to having universal background checks for gun purchases, the ATF has approved a final rule that closes two big loopholes – the ‘gun show loophole’ and the ‘online sale loophole.’ The loopholes, according to Brady United, have resulted in 1 in 5 guns being sold without the constraints of the Brady Background Checks System. The rule comes by way of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act and is designed to clearly outline who is required to obtain a license to sell guns and who is required to run background checks. According to the DOJ, there are an estimated 20,000 unlicensed sellers, and this new rule would require them to become licensed and run background checks. Additionally, the change means…
That the gun show or online sale loopholes no longer exist. Time of death: 4/11/2024
People can’t skirt requirements by saying “oh but I’m only selling a few guns.”
People can’t use a “but it’s my personal collection” claim when selling.
The fire-sale loophole for gun dealers is RIP.
MAINE LEGISLATURE PASSES SHIELD LAW FOR ABORTION & GENDER AFFIRMING CARE PROVIDERS: State legislators in the Pine Tree Street [we thought it would be blueberry too, dw] have passed a bill, that if signed into law, would protect abortion and gender affirming care providers in Maine from out-of-state lawsuits. The almost at the finish line shield bill-to-law, is teed up to join a double digit number of other states that have passed similar protective and proactive policies, should Maine’s Democratic Governor Janet Mills add her John Hancock to the bill.
COLORADO HOUSES PUSHES SEMI-AUTOMATIC GUN BAN BILL AHEAD: Members of the Colorado state House had a busy Sunday, passing a bill that would ban the sale and transfer of semi-automatic guns in the state. The bill [HB 1292] now heads to the state Senate for consideration. Should the bill be signed into law, it’ll join a number of other states like NY that have passed similar legislation in years past. What are the odds of the bill passing there in the state Senate? It’s a purple-ish state, so it’s anyone’s game as they say.
HGW LISTENS
Hit play on these pods
This teeny tiny island you’ve probably never heard of is causing a geopolitical put your dukes up moment, as explained in this episode of State of the World from NPR.
It is 2024. And it is an election year. And there is a Gen-Z Congressman – Maxwell Frost – that has a few words to say to his fellow young voters, as shared on this episode of Girl and the Gov, The Podcast.
There are loads of headlines covered in this episode of the Mo News Podcast, but the one about possible fake Botox injections makes this a must-play.
Go postal about this episode of mailin’ it from the USPS feat the run down of what it’s like to be the Postal Service’s Chief Information Security Officer, Heather Dyer.
Go viral
What content trends and social media marketing concepts work for political accounts? Find out weekly with #VIRAL, The Newsletter. The go-to resource for campaigns, electeds, and orgs across the Dem sphere, the newsletter provides the blueprint for winning social media content on today’s most important platforms. Give your team time back in their day, and your channels an upgrade with #VIRAL.
BOOKMARK IT
Don’t lose the link
CAREER ONE STOP: Literally a one-stop-shop, this U.S. Department of Labor sponsored platform has resources galore for exploring potential careers, switching to a new one, and figuring out various programs of interest, and so much more. Bookmark it and share it with the friend that won’t stop complaining about how much they haaaaate their current career path.
BACK ON OUR BILLSH*T
Bills, bills, bills
MISSISSIPPI: A ‘bathroom bill’ made its way through the Mississippi House last week and is en route to the state Senate. The bill’s aim is to “restrict transgender people’s use of bathrooms and locker rooms in public buildings” throughout the state. Lined within the bill’s language is its claim that “people are either male or females as observed or clinically verified at birth,” and that definition is what the bill uses to determine who can use what bathrooms. To make matters all the more heinous, the bill would also enable people to sue others who they believe have used a bathroom or related facility that doesn’t match up with their sex at birth.
MISSOURI: Passing bans on child marriage is no easy feat, but progress is being made toward that goal in Missouri with a bipartisan bill. The bill, if passed, would raise the allowable marriage age to 18 with no exceptions. Currently, an exception for 16 & 17 year olds with parental consent is on the books.
WAIT, WAIT UPDATE ME
ICYMI, a political ongoing of note
TRUMP’S HUSH $ TRIAL BEGINS TODAY: It’s a hell of a week to be a New Yorker with jury duty, as jurists will be selected for the former president’s first criminal trial – what a treat! This trial focuses on Trump’s participation in a hush money ordeal involving Stormy Daniels and his former fixer/personal attorney, Michael Cohen. You may know Michael’s voice from this viral CapCut template – classic 2024. Anyways, the prosecutors for the case will be arguing to the jury that Trump falsified business records vis-à-vis his hush money payoff to Stormy, and is guilty of all 34 counts. In simple terms, they’re trying to prove fraud. The trial will knock the former prez from the campaign trail [but tbh, probs not from his social media rantings] and likely bring quite a few high profile witnesses to the stand.
KEY READS
Important stories from around the USA
ATLAS
Stories from around the globe
BEFORE YOU GO….
…say hello
FOR DIGITAL TEAMS: | FOR FANS OF THE POD: |