5.03 Newsletter
Well hi there folks! I’m really excited to present a newsletter that’s cute, fun, exciting, and downright HELPFUL AS FUCK. Oh yeah, this isn’t youth worker Myrtle, so put your big adult hats on - I swear like the good Irish Catholic my family raised me to be. Kind of. That’s a whole different can of worms.
This newsletter is going to do a couple of things for you:
MF-ING CIVIC ADVOCACY: I’m here to showcase civic advocacy and how to get involved including legislative updates, important protests, calls to action, and more. These will be MN-based (as that's where I, and most of you, live and work) and mostly related to the Metro Twin Cities Area.
RESOURCES X 2 MILLION: Ok, maybe not 2 million resources. But they will be here and they WILL be plentiful. From resources for specific instances and community needs to providing 1:1 support (if you email me!) I’m here to help.
COMMUNITY CENTRISM: This is about y’all! I don’t want to do shit that’s unhelpful for the greater majority. If you have an issue that you want me to talk about, LET ME KNOW! I’m always happy to platform work going on in the community.
So let’s keep on going! I’ve got lots of shit to talk about and my week has been exhaustive.
TRANS RIGHTS / HOUSING
Children and Families Supplemental Budget Bill
This week, the house passed an extremely important and critical addition to the Children and Families budget: an amendment authored by our dear Rep. Finke that directs the Department of Human Services (DHS) to partner with the Propel to conduct a comprehensive needs analysis for emergency shelter services specifically serving LGBTQIA+ community members.
COMMUNITY SAFETY / GUN RESTRICTIONS
Gun Safety, Storage, and Reporting
The housed passed legislation requiring lost or stolen firearms to be reported to law enforcement within 48 hours after they are known to be lost. I’M SORRY, WAS THAT NOT ALREADY A LAW? WERE PEOPLE LOSING GUNS AND THEN JUst LIKE “OOPS!” AHHHHHHHHHH!!! Anyway…….Also passed was H.F. 2609 which updates the state’s straw purchasing law to increase the penalty from a gross misdemeanor to a felony. (If you’ve never touched a gun in your life like me, A straw purchase, as defined by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, involves someone who purchases a gun for someone who is prohibited by law from possessing one or for someone who does not want their name associated with the transaction.) Finally, H.F. 4300 was passed which requires firearms be stored either unloaded and equipped with a locking device or placed in a locked firearm storage unit (e.g., a gun safe) or a locked gun room, where it may be either loaded or unloaded. Again, why wasn’t this already the law? JFC.
COMING UP: The ERA hits the house floor on Monday. I’d suggest you watch along and/or send your rep a friendly email to remind hem to support! Click here to find your rep and click here to read more about the ERA.
Listening Sessions
There will be a May 4th Metro Minnesota Values Project Listening Session at the St. Anthony Public Library in the Auditorium from 10:30 am - 12 pm. No matter where we come from, what we look like, or what we do for a living, all Minnesotans want to build a better state for ourselves and our families. Please join lawmakers from around the metro and suburbs for an opportunity to share your values and tell them what’s important to you. Tomorrow it’s Leigh Finke & Samantha Sencer-Mura. UM, YES please!!
**rsvp**
Q: Sharky, I’m shadowbanned on IG again. How do I cope?? How do I reach people?!?!?!
A: Join the club. The biggest thing I can tell you to do is make sure your content is friendly to engagement or a CTA (call to action.) Add things to your content encouraging folks to leave a comment - you can even DM some buds to ask them to comment on your post to boost yourself back up out of the waters! The other side to this coin is consistency. Right now, IG is loving a daily reel. Use trending sound over a video of you doing your thing (THANKS CHELB FOR THE INSIGHT!!) and after a few days you should see that engagement and reach going back to your normal numbers.
And that’s all for now! Keeping things really light with this one.