22 weeks to Midterm Elections
The AoC Checklist features clear, well-researched actions for Americans who value democracy, equality, voting, and decency. We are a big tent for all people who want a kinder, flourishing nation.
If you only have 10 minutes, take our top three suggested actions:
- Action 5: Support the lives of children, educators, and community members.
- Action 6: Tell your senators to act now for gun sale background checks.
- Action 9: Protect abortion care and medical autonomy in your state.
In this edition of the AoC Checklist:
- Senate actions: What we’re contacting our senators about.
- Action 1: Verify your voter registration monthly through November.
- Action 2: Empower newly eligible young adults to vote.
- Action 3: Support data-driven solutions to voter disempowerment.
- Action 4: Tell the president to create a National Gun Safety Administration.
- Action 5: Support the lives of children, educators, and community members.
- Action 6: Tell your senators to act now for gun sale background checks.
- Action 7: Urge your governor to take action to decrease gun violence.
- Action 8: Contact your local school board to oppose militarizing schools.
- Action 9: Protect abortion care and medical autonomy in your state.
- Action 10: Support student loan forgiveness for all borrowers.
- Action 11: Advocate against rail transportation of volatile fossil fuels.
- Action 12: Advocate for the safety of a queer aspiring American.
- Action 13: Speak up with asylum seekers stranded at the border.
- Say Thanks: Acts of Gratitude
- Check out Good News from around the nation
- How you can support and share the AoC Checklist
Contact your senators
Check the box if you made contact–whether for one issue or all–so we can count your action. Contacting your senators’ staffers with multiple concerns is more efficient for both of you. They don’t mind, but be sure to contact both progressives and conservatives. They need to hear from you.
Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
Your script: Hi, I’m from [ZIP] calling/writing about several issues. I’d like Sen. [NAME] to:
- Support constitutional equality for women and people of all sexes by voting yes on S.J. Resolution 1 to lift the arbitrary time limit on the Equal Rights Amendment. [Source: ERA-NC Alliance]
- Support the Sustaining Our Democracy Act (S. 4239) to provide federal funding for election administration and ballot access. [Source: Voting News]
I value democracy
With respect and collaboration, we work to create a nation that welcomes all people, expands freedoms, and upholds the Constitution. Each citizen must be able to freely and fairly elect those who represent their values.
Action 1: Verify your voter registration monthly through November.
Source: AoCC
Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
Voters in Texas reported their registration was canceled without notice or reason while trying to vote in their primary. Don’t let this be you. Commit to checking your registration monthly, starting today.
Visit: Vote.org.
Action 2: Empower newly eligible young adults to vote.
Source: The Civics Center
Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
Of all U.S. 18-year-olds, just 20% are registered to vote. Without intervention, millions will be unable to vote this November.
Sign up: For The Civics Center’s volunteer workshop to learn how volunteers can help register eligible students. Get involved in this nonpartisan effort on Wednesday, June 15, at 4:30pm PT/7:30pm ET.
Action 3: Support data-driven solutions to voter disempowerment.
Source: AoCC/Center for New Data
Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
The Center for New Data analyzes and shares voting-related data with non-partisan voting rights organizations, helping them identify where and how voting access is impeded. This data also helps organizations implement ballot access strategies ahead of and during November’s midterm elections.
Donate: Support their work at newdata.org/donate.
I value equality
Support the dignity of your rainbow of neighbors from every religion, race, ethnicity, culture, gender, sexual orientation, economic status, age, and ability.
Action 4: Tell the president to create a National Gun Safety Administration.
Source: AoCC
Goal: 250 calls/messages by Wednesday, June 8, 2022.
Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
Contact: President Joseph Biden via comment line 202-456-1111, online form, or writing a postcard (not a letter) to The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20500.
Script: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration was created in 1970 to prevent deaths on national roadways. Beginning in 2017, more American children were killed by guns than in motor vehicle collisions. Please use your executive power to create a National Gun Safety Administration to make guns harder to get, safer to use, and reduce the number of gun deaths in the U.S.
Action 5: Support the lives of children, educators, and community members.
Source: AoCC
Goal: 150 calls by Wednesday, June 8, 2022.
Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
Contact: Senate Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin (D-IL)
Calls preferred: 202-224-2152
If you can’t get through, use a local number here.
Write: 711 Hart Senate Building, Washington, D.C. 20510
Script: Greetings. I’m [NAME] from [ZIP], contacting Senator Durbin, in his role as Senate Judiciary Chairman, about gun violence in the U.S. It is urgent that Senator Durbin approve the appointment of Steve Dettelbach as director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and bring his nomination to a vote on the Senate floor. On behalf of our children, educators, and communities, we thank you for making this appointment a top priority.
Action 6: Tell your senators to act now for gun sale background checks.
Source: NAACP/Derrick Johnson
Goal: 500 calls by Wednesday, June 8, 2022.
Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
H.R. 8 closes the “gunshow loophole” and H.R. 1446 closes the “Charleston loophole” which currently allows a gun sale to proceed without a background check if three business days have passed.
Call: Both your senators of any political party (look up).
Script: Hi, I’m a constituent from [ZIP] urging Senator [NAME] to take action today to end gun violence in our communities. 89% of Americans support universal background checks and 86% support red flag laws. So, I don’t understand why senators have failed to vote on the Bipartisan Background Checks Act (H.R. 8) and Enhanced Background Checks Act (H.R. 1446) that passed in the House last year. I’m asking [NAME] to collaborate with your peers to pass H.R. 8 and H.R. 1446 today.
Action 7: Urge your governor to take action to decrease gun violence.
Source: AoCC
Goal: 500 calls by Wednesday, June 8, 2022.
Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
Call: Your state governor or D.C. mayor (look up).
Script: Hi. I’m a constituent from [ZIP] urging Governor [NAME] to take action today to end gun violence in [STATE’s] communities. Governors from California, New York, New Jersey, and Rhode Island are taking action to restrict both dangerous and young people from purchasing guns. Gun buyback programs are effective at reducing deaths. Since the U.S. has had 274 mass shootings in 12 years, what is Governor [NAME] doing today to prevent the next one?
Action 8: Contact your local school board to oppose militarizing schools.
Source: AoCC
Goal: 800 messages by Wednesday, June 8, 2022.
Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
Search: Use a search engine to find your region’s School Board Chair’s contact information.
Script: (Please personalize.) Dear [NAME], I’m a resident within [NAME] School District and would like to express my concern about gun violence in schools. While I have called my elected officials to support laws that reduce gun access and gun violence, I am writing you to oppose the so-called “hardening” of schools. I oppose arming teachers and administrators. I oppose placing armed guards, retired military, or police in schools. I oppose ideas like “ballistic blankets,” so-called “man traps,” having fewer doors, or praying in school as solutions. Texas has “hardened schools,” and they did not work in Uvalde. I look forward to a response confirming that [NAME] School District does not support strategies that neglect children and waste taxpayers’ money. Our community’s children have a right to a childhood free from trauma and an education free from fear.
Action 9: Protect abortion care and medical autonomy in your state.
Source: AoCC and Sister Song
Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
Guaranteed access to reproductive healthcare is set to be overturned at the federal level. Amidst the ongoing interference with the personal freedoms of people with marginalized identities, now is the time to get involved.
Step 1: Call: Your state legislators (look up) and governor (look up).
Script: Hi, I’m a constituent from [ZIP] calling to express my support for the constitutional right to privacy. The draft Supreme Court opinion has chilling implications for not only abortion access, but other rights that are essential to democracy, including marriage equality, LGBTQIA+ rights, access to contraception, and more. Can I count on [NAME] to retain these rights in [STATE] by codifying privacy protections into state law? Thank you.
Step 2: Donate to ensure reproductive freedoms.
Donate: To an abortion fund or independent providers.
Action 10: Support student loan forgiveness for all borrowers.
Source: NAACP and Derek Johnson
Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
Contact: President Biden via the White House contact form.
Script: Hello, I’m contacting you from [STATE] in support of full student loan forgiveness. Canceling $10,000 in student loan debt is not enough: Black and Latinx borrowers are often forced to take out significantly larger loans than their white counterparts to afford higher education. I echo the NAACP’s call to help close the racial wealth gap in the U.S. by offering total student loan forgiveness to all borrowers.
Action 11: Advocate against rail transportation of volatile fossil fuels.
Source: NRDC
Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
Contact: Secretary Pete Buttigieg at (202) 366-4000 or by mail at
U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Ave, SE, Washington, D.C. 20590
Script: Hi, I’m contacting you from [STATE] to strongly oppose the transportation of liquified natural gas (LNG) by rail. LNG production releases climate-warming methane, and its transportation threatens watersheds that supply drinking water to millions of people and puts route-adjacent communities at risk from explosions. I’m asking you to protect our communities and live up to the administration’s climate promises by banning LNG rail transportation.
Alternate: Add your name to the NRDC petition. (Note: This action will automatically add you to the NRDC distribution list.)
Action 12: Advocate for the safety of a queer aspiring American.
Source: United We Dream
Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
Contact: Alejandro Mayorkas, Secretary of Homeland Security, at (202) 282-8495 (DHS comment line) or by mail at
Alejandro Mayorkas, Secretary of Homeland Security, Washington, DC 20528
Script: Hi, I’m reaching out from [STATE] encouraging you to release Jorge (pronounced “George”) Rondon-Torrealba from the Krome ICE Detention Center in Florida. As a queer man, Jorge has been subject to sexual and gender-based violence while detained, and, if deported, would face additional violence due to his sexuality. I urge you to use your power to release Jorge back to his community.
Alternate: Add your name to the United We Dream/Queer Detainee Empowerment Project petition. (Note: You will be automatically added to the organizations’ distribution lists.)
Action 13: Speak up with asylum seekers stranded at the border.
Source: BAJI
Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
Call: Your two senators using this link (to help BAJI track the number of calls made in solidarity with their organization).
Script: Hi. I’m from [ZIP] and, together with the Black Alliance for Just Immigration, I am calling on behalf of Black and brown migrants stranded at the border because of Title 42. As you know, this policy is inhumane, xenophobic, and un-American. Can I count on [NAME] to commit to bringing a legislative end to Title 42?
Acts of Gratitude
Signatures to the forms below will be printed with a letter of thanks from Americans of Conscience, and mailed to the recipient 2 weeks after the Checklist publication date. Your information will not be stored after that date.
Thank San Francisco Giants manager Gabe Kapler and Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr for insisting on government action to address gun violence.
If you’d like to mail your own personal expression of gratitude, use these addresses:
GK: General Manager, Giants, Oracle Park, 24 Willie Mays Plaza, San Francisco, CA 94107
SK: Warriors Executive Office, 1011 Broadway, Oakland, CA 94607
Thank Dean Knudson for insisting on the integrity of the 2020 election at great personal expense.
If you’d like to mail your own personal expression of gratitude, use this address: c/o New Richmond Veterinary Clinic, 1656 Dorsett Lane Suite 300, New Richmond, WI 54017
Good News
As Americans of Conscience, we celebrate!
Progress on issues featured in our previous Checklists
- The Biden administration will protect waters in Alaska’s Bristol Bay, home to one of the world’s biggest salmon spawning grounds, after a long-running dispute that pitted Alaska Natives against mining interests.
National
- 3.7 million containers of baby formula are on their way to the U.S., with much more to come.
- House passes the Consumer Price Gouging Protection Act, which will give the federal government power to stop energy companies from excessively raising prices.
- Dept. of Education cancels $5.8 billion in student loan debt for 560,000 borrowers from the defunct Corinthian Colleges.
- Biden administration expands flights to Cuba and loosens restrictions on remittances.
- Charlotte Sweeney becomes a U.S. district judge for the District of Colorado—making her the first openly lesbian judge west of the Mississippi to serve on a federal court.
- Pentagon expedites name changes on transgender veterans’ discharge records.
- Biden administration dedicates $1 billion to clean and restore sites around the Great Lakes, a major source of drinking water.
- U.S. Army releases its first-ever climate strategy.
- USDA will invest $1 billion in Climate Smart Commodities.
State
- AZ: Gov. Doug Ducey (R) vetoes legislation which would have required county election officials to cancel the registration of anyone they determine unqualified to vote.
- CA: Sunshine Suzanne Sykes, Diné, is confirmed as the first Native federal judge in California.
- CA legislative leaders and Gov. Gavin Newsom fast-track tougher controls on firearms.
- IA: 31 schools set a record for registering 90% of eligible students to vote.
- IL: The state’s harmful Parental Notice of Abortion law ends.
- NE: Nebraska Public Power District approves its goal to be net-zero carbon by 2050.
- NJ: Gov. Phil Murphy urges lawmakers to raise the age to 21 for purchases of long guns and expose gun makers to civil lawsuits.
- NY: Gov. Kathy Hochul seeks to ban people under 21 from purchasing AR-15-style rifles.
- OR: New rules will protect tens of thousands of workers from excessive heat and smoke.
Corporate/business
- NYU Nursing School offers new course that focuses on “affirming and inclusive” LGBTQ+ health to provide better care for LGBTQ+ people.
- The New York Yankees’ and the Tampa Bay Rays’ Twitter accounts educate followers on gun violence in lieu of regular mid-game programming.
Groups and organizations
- SisterSong is honoring Juneteenth in DC with “Black Bodies for Black Power: 2 Days of Action for Abortion Access.”
- Moms Demand Action offers workshops on strategies to end gun violence.
- People affected by voter suppression launch a modern-day freedom ride across the country to petition Congress in DC.
News with heart
- Hillcrest Memorial Funeral Home offers free services for families who lost loved ones in the Uvalde mass shooting.
- Artist Trey Ganem paints personalized caskets as a gift to grieving families in Uvalde.
- Donors raise over $2.7 million for the children of Uvalde teacher Irma Garcia and her late husband Joe Garcia.
- Burrillville, Smithfield, North Smithfield, and Woonsocket, RI Fire Departments donate gear to assist Ukrainians.
- Dmitry Muratov, Nobel-winning Russian journalist, auctions his prize to support Ukrainian children in “an act of solidarity.”
- Petr Švihovec returns a precious bracelet found in a Czech forest to U.S. vet Joe Esquibel, who lost it 80 years ago.
- Alewife fish return to China Lake in Maine for the first time since 1783.
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Housekeeping
- Jen’s message: Read this week’s Inspiring Message.
- Gratitude: Big thanks to our editor Jennifer Brunton, to our team of writers and researchers, and to our happy gnome farm of Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram volunteers. Thanks also to our amazing patrons and donors who make creating the Checklist sustainable.
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- Schedule: There’s a new Americans of Conscience Checklist every first and third Friday of each month.
Thanks for your dogged efforts to inspire and motivate lasting change.
Regarding the 2nd amendment, it should be argued that the amendment begins with a condition that must be met before there is a right to bear arms- “a well regulated Militia.”
For too long, the NRA and other gun groups have vehemently fought regulation of any kind. Tragically, they have done so very effectively.
Spot on, sir! Lately, we’ve seen several videos from retired trainers from the U.S. military who explain that, for example, Marines must complete a two-week training–annually–to prove they can use their weapons safely and effectively. I hope you’ll consider calling your elected officials (on either side) and make this point. It will take all of us to turn the tide on this entrenched issue.
Regarding Item 13 on this week’s checklist, I wasn’t able to figure out how to place phone calls through BAJI’s website.
Any AoCC action coming for ICWA? Have seen little to none. Wondering….
Hi Fayetteanne, Because it’s currently at the level of the court system, it’s outside activist intervention. However, if you know of actions being led by Indigenous peoples on this issue, please forward them to me so we can include them.