Legislative Advocacy
Be Part of the AUUC Advocacy Team in 2022!
Over the past several years, AUUC has become increasingly involved in advocacy at the federal, state, and local levels. At the federal level, we have worked with Unitarian Universalists for Social Justice (UUSJ) by participating in the Write Here/Write Now! letter writing campaigns and advocacy on Capitol Hill; locally, we have actively supported Virginians Organized for Interfaith Community Engagement (VOICE).
At the state level, we have many partners including the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy (VICPP), ARC of NoVA, Equality VA, and Justice Forward VA, who we support by participating in email writing campaigns, making phone calls to state legislators, and meeting with them in person to advocate for legislation consistent with our Unitarian Universalist values. The past two years were extremely successful for progressive values in the commonwealth with legislation abolishing the death penalty; protecting LGBTQ+ rights; enhancing environmental protections; addressing voting rights, criminal justice reform, gun violence prevention, and workforce protections; and raising the minimum wage.
But as historic as that was, there is still more to do, and this year will be a little tougher given the results of recent election. Our partners are pushing for many policy areas we generally support in the General Assembly session which starts mid-January and will run for ~60 days. Pre-filing of bills just started a week ago, so we don’t yet know what specific legislation will be in play. But soon, we’ll create a spreadsheet tracking the more significant pieces of legislation we are supporting, with information on the bill sponsors, bill status and our partners in supporting it.
Accotink is known as a group who punches above its weight. Already, we have had two advocacy meetings with state legislators, long before the session has even started. If you would like to be part of this effort and have your voice heard, join the AUUC Advocacy Group: people who want to get information on advocacy opportunities so they can make an informed choice on what to do: call, email or just follow the issue. To become part of the AUUC Advocacy Group or to learn more about it, contact John P or Ed K or email [email protected]
JOIN THE ADVOCACY TEAM!
To ensure AUUC has maximum impact, we are building stronger communication links with both our partner organizations and within our church. For the latter, we are trying to get even more of our congregation on the AUUC Advocacy Team (AAT Google Group) of people who want to get information on advocacy opportunities. Being part of the AAT doesn’t mean that you are committed to advocate on every issue, or even any of the issues… nor does it mean that you have to make phone calls if that’s not your thing. There are a lot of ways to be effective. Being part of the AAT simply means that you want to get information on advocacy opportunities so you can make an informed choice on what you want to do.
To become part of the AUUC Advocacy Team or to learn more about it, contact John P or Ed K. Get in touch through [email protected].
