Statement from Cheryl Carter, Co-Executive Director, Democracy North Carolina
MORRISVILLE, NC (04/13/2023) – As yet another mass shooting struck a community in Kentucky this week – not long after the school shooting in Tennessee – we have watched recent attempts across the country to silence the voices of the people calling for justice and action. Even in Tennessee, duly elected officials were expelled for calling for action from their colleagues and showing solidarity to protesters in the gallery.
Just last month we witnessed a law passed in the North Carolina legislature to punish protesters. House Bill 40’s impact will be felt across many North Carolina communities and disenfranchise some of our most vocal community members for exercising their right to assemble. What hypocrisy for a country that celebrates protest every 4th of July.
These events across the country bring into focus the pressures on democracy we are seeing here in North Carolina, where we must continue holding our lawmakers accountable to their voters for the promises they made on the campaign trail. We, the people, will not be silent as injustice and inequities persist, and people suffer and – in the case of mass shootings – perish. We rise with you and ask you to let your voices be heard loud and clear.
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Democracy North Carolina is a statewide nonpartisan organization that uses research, organizing, and advocacy to strengthen democratic structures, build power among disenfranchised communities, and inspire confidence in a transformed political process that works for all.