Friday, December 6, 2024

Truth and Action Roundup 12.6.24

Welcome to the Truth and Action Roundup, a reliable source of information, inspiration, and action for the post-election period. Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up here to continue receiving it.

Today is Friday, Dec. 6, 45 days before Inauguration Day. In today’s Truth and Action Roundup, we look at an extraordinarily close election in Minnesota that could decide control of its state house, celebrate a win for voting rights in Missouri, and report on the concerning developments in the Supreme Court case around gender-affirming care for transgender youth. We provide opportunities for action in support of trans youth and heating assistance for low-income households, and solicit your stories of Advent hope. Finally, we offer a spiritual message of hope in anxious times as this first week of Advent comes to a close.

– Rev. Adam Taylor and Rev. Moya Harris, Sojourners

In the News

Here’s what we know at the time of writing:

1) In Minnesota, 20 ballots went missing in one of the precincts for a state house seat that will decide control of the chamber — in a race where only 14 votes separate the two leading candidates. Currently, Brad Tabke, the Democrat, is ahead of Republican Aaron Paul by 14 votes, but Paul’s campaign has filed to demand a new election, claiming that the loss of 20 ballots—most likely due to human error — makes the true winner of the contest unknowable. Jason Marisam, an expert on the law at the University of Minnesota, meanwhile, does not expect courts to order a new election because there is no evidence of wrongdoing and because Paul, the trailing candidate, would need to have won such a high percentage of the missing ballots — in a precinct where 58% of total votes went for his opponent.

2) In a win for voting rights, a judge has permanently blocked sections of Missouri’s H.B. 1878 law that “criminalized certain voter engagement activities and assistance with absentee ballot applications conducted by civic engagement groups.” The court found that the law’s “direct restraints on pure speech—and core political speech like encouraging political participation in particular—are antithetical to the core tenets of freedom of speech.” As a result of this ruling, civic engagement groups will continue to be able to conduct voter outreach and assistance efforts that aim to maximize voter participation in Missouri elections.

3) The Supreme Court appears likely to uphold Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for transgender teenagers. In oral arguments on Wednesday, all six of the court’s conservative justices seemed inclined to uphold the Tennessee ban, despite the plaintiffs’ argument that it discriminates based on sex by only banning puberty blockers and hormone therapy when they are used as a treatment for gender dysphoria, not other instances where these same treatments may be used on cisgender patients. Advocates for transgender and civil rights fear the Supreme Court’s decision could have ripple effects beyond the specific case that jeopardize transgender rights — and other important antidiscrimination protections — more broadly in the coming years.

A red, white, and blue collage of a donkey, elephant, courthouse, capitol building, along with the preamble of the U.S. Constitution

Take Action

Take the ACLU’s pledge to support trans youth! Every transgender youth is a beloved child of God and possesses the same inherent dignity and worth as everyone else. Our laws should reflect this fundamental moral value. You can sign up here to show your support for trans youth and get updates from the ACLU on future opportunities for action on this important issue.
Tell Congress to increase LIHEAP funding now! The LIHEAP program helps low-income households pay their home heating and electricity bills. LIHEAP funding was slashed by nearly a third in the most recent fiscal year, resulting in nearly 1 million fewer households receiving assistance. Join the Coalition on Human Needs in demanding that Congress immediately pass $1.6 billion in additional home energy assistance.
What’s giving you hope this Advent? We deeply appreciated all the stories and reflections of thanksgiving that you shared with us last week. Given that the season of Advent is about anticipation of what is to come, we want to know: What’s giving you hope this Advent? Please email us your answers at TARU2@sojo.net, and we’ll share as many as possible in future editions of the Truth and Action Roundup (we’ll keep sharing your submissions on what you’re thankful for, too!).

Deep Breaths

Today we share a message from Eugene B. from North Carolina, who writes:

“I have gratitude and I am grateful for God’s amazing grace for me, my family, and our planet of people [and] the ‘new’ United Methodist Church (UMC) decisions made at their General Conference in May 2024 in Charlotte to allow ministers to officiate for same-sex marriages, to accept gay and lesbian ministers and to allow for more flexible decision making for church laws through a national regionalization process.”

Don’t let the news briefings take away your breath or your hope. Take a deep breath –– and walk with me into the weekend, where we shift from a lens of hope towards visions of peace. Let’s walk together … into the beautiful light of hope, anticipation, and love. In my tradition, each Sunday of Advent we sing “Jesus, the Light of the World” as we light the Advent candle. Will you join me?

— Rev. Moya Harris, Director of Racial Justice, Sojourners

P.S. You can access previous Truth and Action Roundup playlists here.

The Truth and Action Roundup is compiled by Sojourners staff:
President: Rev. Adam Russell Taylor
Director of Racial Justice: Rev. Moya Harris
Senior Research Associate: J.K. Granberg-Michaelson
Senior Adviser and Director to the President’s Office: Elizabeth Denlinger Reaves
Director of Campaigns and Mobilizing: Sandy Ovalle Martínez
Director of Congregational Outreach & Education: Rev. Andrea Saccoccio
Digital Communications Associate: Lexi Schnaser
Senior Director of Marketing: Sandra Sims