FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 31, 2018
Contact: Emily Phelps | press@indivisible.org
Washington, DC—Today, the Indivisible Project’s State & Local Policy Manager and co-founder of Indivisible CA: StateStrong Jiggy Athilingam released the following statement in response to the California state assembly’s vote on the police demilitarization bill, AB 3131:
“Today, the California Assembly took a critical step forward in protecting our communities by voting to pass AB 3131, which will allow the public to have a say in what types of military equipment are acquired by local law enforcement agencies.
“Our police should not need military grade weaponry to carry out their duties. If they nonetheless seek to acquire weapons of war, we the people should know how and why they are using these weapons. On the heels of yet another accountability-free police shooting incident, AB 3131 is a timely and critical piece of legislation for restoring trust between traumatized communities and law enforcement.
“Indivisible groups in California have been proud join a coalition of organizations such as the Anti-Police Terror Project and ACLU of California who have been working to fight police brutality for decades. As co-sponsors of this impactful piece of legislation, Indivisibles look forward to continuing to advocate for this bill as it heads to the California Senate.”
Indivisible CA: StateStrong, a statewide coalition of Indivisible groups that is focused on state legislative advocacy in California, co-sponsored this bill in collaboration with the ACLU of California, Friends Committee on Legislation, Anti-Police Terror Project, and the American Friends Service Committee. The Indivisible Project’s State and Local Policy program has been supporting their efforts.
Thirty-three California Indivisible groups submitted letters of support for this bill and Indivisible members have attended committee hearings to speak in support during public comment. This past Tuesday, May 29th, the coalition held a statewide lobby day for the bill with activists visiting 33 member offices in Sacramento and in districts across the state from the Bay Area to Riverside to San Diego. Activists were able to secure 10 new aye votes as a result of their advocacy.
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