November 2023 League Lookout - LWVNAZ News/Events Northern Arizona and Greater Verde Valley
| LWVNAZ Members and Supporters:
Our goal with the monthly newsletter is to provide you with a quick snapshot of our monthly events and activities all in one place. Hope you enjoy it!
We are providing information that the League is sponsoring as well as information about events that you might find of interest. Feel free to share this information with anyone you think would benefit from this information!
To get information about other league activities, see our website.
| Message from the President
Hello fellow Leaguers,
I’d like to send a message this month of appreciation to our members. By the time you read this we will have had our social event where about 20 of our members gathered to meet, socialize and learn more about the League. It’s an important reminder that we are driven by the grass roots efforts of many. Perhaps you are one of our volunteers at Voter Registration, enjoy our Book Club, help with Voter Ed programs, belong to the board, work on Vote 411 or participate in other ways. Perhaps you support us with your membership dollars, or read our newsletter. For all of those I am grateful.
We are undoubtably facing an unprecedented year. Tensions in our society, concerns about potential legislation, fears for our election system all seem to hover like a dark cloud. At times like this it is so helpful to join with others for strength and hope. The League can offer this. As you read our newsletter, you will see our members in action. If you are looking for ways to help, or would simply like to know more about what we do, please reach out at lwvnaz@gmail.com
Yours in league,
Maryann Kenney
President LWVNAZ
| | LWVAZ is pleased to extend a hearty welcome to the following new members:
Linda McEvoy
Cynthia Malla
| | | League Social a Success
Twenty new and returning members turned out for the League social on November 2. It was a fun and inspiring time, as members heard about League activities, socialized, enjoyed refreshments, played Loteria, and signed the Arizona abortion access petition. Many thanks to Sally Caruso for opening her lovely home to us and to Charlotte Hosseini, our food and party planner extraordinaire. | |
Political Book Club and
Let's Talk Politics
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The Political Book Club meets at 3:00 pm MST followed by Let’s Talk Politics from 4:15-5:00 pm MST.
Book selections for the remainder of the year are the following:
October 30, 2023 and November 27, 2023 - Midnight in Washington: How We Almost Lost Our Democracy and Still Could, by Adam Schiff. A stunning look at what the Trump years have done to us as human beings. Congressman Schiff’s argument about where we go from here is that it is only human agency—the willingness of individual people to be brave and speak truth to power, and bear the consequences of it—that is the only thing that will get us out of what remains an existential danger to us as a democracy.
We will read parts 1 and 2, up to page 201 for October and the remainder of the book for November.
There is no meeting in December.
The only requirement to join the discussion is that each participant has read the book. The standard format consists of each person giving a brief (1-2 minute) statement concerning the book’s overall impressions and implications. This segment is followed by group questions and discussions of the material. If you would like to join the book club, or want to submit the title of books you are interested in reading and discussing, or if you would like any other information about the book club, please contact ann.holland99@gmail.com.
To join the Zoom meeting, click here and use passcode 220148. You will need to be admitted by the host. | |
Arizona for Abortion Access Campaign and League Involvement | | | About the Campaign
Arizona for Abortion Access is a coalition of reproductive health, rights, and justice organizations working to ensure Arizonans can make the decisions that are best for them and their families — free from government interference. This ballot initiative is supported by the ACLU of Arizona, Affirm Sexual and Reproductive Health, Arizona List, Healthcare Rising Arizona, Reproductive Freedom for All Arizona (formerly NARAL Arizona), and Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona. Together, these organizations represent hundreds of thousands of Arizonans in every community and from every walk of life.
These trusted institutions have worked extensively together protecting and expanding abortion access over the years. They have now partnered to begin collecting signatures to place a constitutional amendment on the November 2024 ballot. This amendment will protect abortion access in Arizona and ensure every person can make this deeply personal decision with dignity.
About the Initiative
The “Arizona Abortion Access Act” would enshrine the fundamental right to abortion in Arizona’s constitution. If passed, this measure would ensure freedom for a person to make their own decision on abortion. This is a deeply personal decision that most Arizonans believe should be made without interference from the government.
Arizona for Abortion Access
Petition I-05-2024 Arizona Abortion Access Act
The League’s Role
The League of Women Voters of Arizona has a key role as a member of the field committee organized under the auspices of Health Care Rising (HCR). We have committed to obtaining a minimum of 10,000 signatures supporting the Arizona for Abortion Access ballot measure. The deadline for submitting signatures to the Arizona Secretary of State is July 3, 2024. Our goal is to submit our petitions to the campaign by June 30, 2024, to allow time for the campaign to quality-check the petitions.
The League is setting up a series of Depots and Hubs to facilitate distribution and collection of petitions. Help and training to be provided.
How to Volunteer
We know our members are eager to start this critical project, so you must raise your hand to volunteer for the roles described above so we can be efficient and successful! Complete this SHORT SURVEY and let us know how you want to help. Thank you for your continued support.
*** Sign a petition - Make a difference, one signature at a time!***
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State Legislative Advocacy Resumes
| | | The League is a nonpartisan political organization. That means we never support or oppose candidates or political parties. We do study, take positions and then advocate for our priorities. At the state level this year our priorities for Advocacy, as chosen by our members and approved by the state board are:
- Voting Rights
- Women’s Rights
- Education
- Climate
- Gun Safety
- Criminal Justice
- Ranked Choice Voting
Legislative Analysis Team – monitors AZ state legislation in these priority areas, studies the impact of bills, prepares testimony for our lobbyists and alerts members who may wish to contact their legislator, or express a position using the AZ Legislature Request to Speak System
Volunteer Lobby Core – members are trained and registered as League lobbyists. They attend Legislative committee meetings and testify on our behalf. Multiple volunteers are especially important when there are several committee meetings on a single day. Funds are available for transportation and parking for members outside of Metro Phoenix.
Advocacy Newsletter – generally sent weekly to subscribers during the Legislative season. Informs members of critical bills and suggests oppose or support with talking points. Sign up at lwvazadvocacy@gmail.com
Request to Speak (RTS) – this is a wonderful, unique feature of the AZ Legislature. Any member registered on the site can express support or opposition to a bill before a committee hearing, as well as leave comments – which legislators do read! This is an easy and important way to become involved. Training is offered and we will help you register for the system. If you haven’t done this before – this is the year!
Register for the next RTS training:
Sun Dec 3, 3 – 4 PM
click the button below
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Taking a Position
Gun Safety
| | | As we face an epidemic of gun violence, LWV maintains a strong, consistent Gun Policy, quoted here from the guiding policy document, Impact on Issues 2022-2024:
The League of Women Voters of the United States believes that the proliferation of semi-automatic/automatic weapons in the United States is a major health and safety thjreat to its citizens. The League Supports strong federal measures to limit the accessibility and regulate the ownership of these weapons by private citizens. The League supports regulating firearms for consumer safety.
The League supports licensing procedures for gun ownership by private citizens to include a waiting period for background checks, personal identity verificaations, gun safety education, and annual license renewal. The license fee should be adequate to bear the cost of education and verification.
The League supports strong limitations on access to semi-automatic/automatic weapons, enforcement of strict penalties for the improper possession of and crimes committed with handguns and assault weapons, and allocation of resources to better regulate and monitor gun dealers.
| LWV Members in our Communities
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Gun Violence Prevention (GVP)
What can one person do?
A member perspective
| | | The recent horrific mass shootings in Lewiston, Maine can cause a feeling of hopelessness. We’ve all been there too many times before (Uvalde, Buffalo, Bolder, Orlando, Parkland, Nashville, Las Vegas, Sandy Hook). What can one person do? I think, a lot, when joining with others to make your voices heard.
At the 2021 Conference, a group of LWVAZ members presented a gun safety study they had done. This resulted in a gun safety position adopted at that conference which specified the types of legislation that would support responsible ownership and handling of guns. Since then, our Legislative Analysis Team (LAT) has alerted members so they could advocate for gun safety bills that reflect our position or oppose those that don’t. As League members, one can volunteer to help with that work and/or just continue to act on information the advocacy group provides.
As individuals, we can join with GVP groups like Everytown for Gun Safety, Brady, Giffords, and Sandy Hook Promise when they make calls for action like the current cry to write or call you legislators to reinstate the Assault Weapons Ban, the type of gun used in all the mass shootings mentioned above.
One reason I joined LWVAZ was because of diligent work members did on the gun safety study and League efforts to register and inform voters which I believe is crucial to the end game of having good lawmakers and laws. I was, and am, also a volunteer of Moms Demand Action which is a part of Everytown for Gun Safety. Arizona has seven local groups. Our Flagstaff group has monthly meetings on the first Thursday of the month; find these and other events in the events section of the national website. We will be holding a Remembrance for All Victims of Gun Violence on Dec 14th which is the 11-year mark of the Sandy Hook. All are welcome.
Mary Grove, Flagstaff AZ
| Next LWVNAZ Board Meeting
Sunset Village Club House
205 South Sunset Drive, Sedona
Monday, Nov. 13, 2 - 4 PM
Open to all members
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