State House Dispatch: This Week Under the Copper Dome

We've almost arrived at the end of the legislative session! Luckily, the Senate is hard at work on fixing problems and addressing issues that will make South Carolina a better place to live. Just kidding!

Classroom Censorship

Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey is using his power to bump classroom censorship to the top of the to-do list in the worst way; he's using obscure rules to place it on the floor without even allowing Senators to vote on whether it should get to jump the line of bills to be considered. What this means is that one man is silencing dissent and just doing what he wants in service of extremist ideologies championed by the Freedom Caucus. Last week we asked you to urge your Senators to vote no on special order (which allows the line jumping), and we know the body received hundreds of messages urging them not to allow this bill to be debated now. It's a shame that we won't know how they would have voted because of one legislator's actions. That doesn't mean that this is over, though—we will resist this measure till the very end, and we hope you will too. Please use the action below (even if you've used it before!) to tell your Senator to vote no on cloture, which would end debate, and vote no on the bill itself. 

Tell Senators vote no

Abortion is Healthcare, and It's Off the Docket (For Now)

Last week, the Senate attempted to fast track a near total abortion ban that was passed by the House. However, this bill was defeated thanks to a bipartisan effort led by the five women of the Senate. Because the Senate continued the matter, they can't take it up again until January. Unfortunately, attacks on reproductive freedom aren't going anywhere soon, which means we all need to stay informed during and after legislative session about attacks on our freedoms, and ways to share accurate information and timely calls to action. That's why we are proud members of the SC Coalition for Healthy Families—learn more about the coalition and its members and their missions here