Dear Friends:​

Well, the election is over and change - serious change - may await us on all fronts.

What we do from here is very clear - you and we spent years supporting issues such as passage of the Affordable Care Act.  By our reckoning, during the run-up to the vote in 2010, over 250,000 of you took some sort of action from calling to email to FAX to personal visits.  In the 11th hour when votes were unsure, especially in California, it was clear you in the faith community totally pinned down support.  California's Democratic elected Representatives voted unanimously for passage of this life-improving legislation.

We will not let it be killed!

Much as been said against the Affordable Care Act - that rates are soaring, that providers are dropping out - and most of it is not accurate.  Rates are rising on NON-ACA insurance and the modest premium increases for ACA are offset by subsidies still based on your income, not on the "market". Most ACA individuals and families will see no out-of-pocket increases at all.

We want to improve, not destroy, ACA.  Even though today President-elect Trump stated that killing ACA was no longer an issue for him, Speaker Paul Ryan who holds the purse strings wants it done.

We cannot let manipulations and tricks abolish health care for 20 million Americans!

Speaker Ryan is taking a poll on ACA, and it's imperative our voices be heard.  You may call his office either during business hours (9 am-6 pm Eastern Standard Time) and leave a message, or take the poll. 

We understand from allies that when you take the poll there is a wait, sometimes silence, sometimes a voiceover on another bill, with a wait of up to 2 minutes.  So when you call the poll number , please press 2 to go to the poll then WAIT.  When the poll choices are given, press 1 to SUPPORT the continuation of ACA.

Speaker Ryan's number is 202-225-5074.   The number for the poll is 202-225-0600.

It is important in this age of "numbers" to have your voice heard.  We did not work as long and hard as we did to have health care coverage wrenched away from those in need.  For working families, for the homeless, for our children living on the edges of poverty, this is a critical issue that must have broad public support. 

Please once again be that voice for health care justice.  It matters to millions that we do this.

Thank you!

VIDEO EXCERPTS AVAILABLE HERE
 
Clergy gathered Sunday night in the nave of St. Mark’s United Methodist Church in Sacramento, but this was no normal Sunday service. Five ministers and church officials from around the state met with a retired police commander, and medical marijuana providers to discuss Proposition 64, the measure to legalize marijuana on the November 8th ballot. Just nine days before election day, the clergy and others made clear that they strongly support ending the war on marijuana that results in thousands of Californians being incarcerated every year, and that they urged all people of faith and conscience to vote “Yes” on Prop. 64.
 
“People of faith play a unique role in this election cycle, and encourage respectful dialogue that builds community and a hope-filled future for all people,” said Reverend Rick Schlosser of California Council of Churches IMPACT,  “Many black and brown lives are destroyed because of incarceration, and this is an opportunity for the faith community to speak to the moral imperative for supporting Proposition 64, and to speak out for the need for broader criminal justice reform.”
 
The church officials and others agreed that California’s feckless 100-year war on marijuana had failed to reduce use or availability of marijuana, but that criminalization was a cudgel used to attack immigrant and low income communities. That incarceration and cartels were far more damaging to health and safety than marijuana ever could be. That regulation and control was key to protecting communities, especially young people.
 
Quoting Martin Luther King Jr.’s letter from Birmingham Jail, Rev. Mahsea Evans, a youth pastor from Sacramento’s St. Mark’s Church, said, “Change does not come in on the wheels of inevitability--that you are going to have to fight for it, that you are going to have to advocate for it.” He concluded that pastors as well as voters would have to support the legalization ballot measure, “We as pastors, as people in healing ministries care about our communities, then we must support the passage of Proposition 64.”
 
The collected clergy made it clear that Prop 64 came as a form of redemption for the state and that it was smarter to tax cannabis production and distribution in order to provide hundreds of millions of dollar in new revenue to vitally needed community programs, including drug and alcohol prevention and treatment for young people, including students, foster kids, homeless youth.
 
“The war on drugs has failed California,” said Reverend Walter Contreras from Pasadena, and a representative of the 3000 churches of the National Latino Evangelical Coalition. “Proposition 64 provides the necessary regulation that we need to protect our children, and also to decriminalize our youth.”
 
Contreras continued: “Proposition 64 will bring forth an incredible answer to the big problem we have with mass incarceration, especially among Latinos.”
 
Among the participants was a retired police lieutenant turned avid supporter of ending the drug war. Diane Goldstein spent 20 years in law enforcement, including years of anti-narcotics work. She said, “We have abdicated control to criminals and cartels who would do more danger to our children and our communities. So when you vote, look at it as a moral imperative.”
 
In conclusion, Reverend Dr. Alan Jones, the Pastor of St. Mark’s United Methodist Church in Sacramento said, “Jesus when asked what the bottom line is, said, ‘Love God with all your heart and soul and strength. And love your neighbor as yourself.’ And if you do that, you have to find your way into Prop 64. Please vote to support Proposition 64.”
 
Video excerpts of all speakers will be up online today at: https://www.youtube.com/user/drugpolicyaction
 
Speakers:
 
The Rev. Dr. Alan Jones, Pastor St. Mark’s United Methodist Church, Sacramento; President California Council of Churches
 
The Rev. Dr. Art Cribbs, Executive Director Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity; Pastor Los Angeles Filipino American United Church of Christ, Director California Council of Churches
 
The Rev. Walter Contreras, Vice President of NaLEC, National Latino Evangelical Coalition, Latino Pastor at Pasadena Presbyterian Church, Member of CLUE, Clergy United for Economic Justice and La Red de Pastores del Sur de California
 
Rev. Mahsea Evans, St. Mark’s United Methodist Church Sacramento, The Ignite Institute at the Pacific School of Religion, Berkeley
 
The Rev Kevin Kitrell Ross, Senior Minister/Spiritual Director, Unity of Sacramento Dale Sky Jones, Oaksterdam University Executive Chancellor
 
Diane Goldstein, Lieutenant (Ret.) Redondo Beach Police Department, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP)
 
Moderators:
The Rev. Dr. Rick Schlosser, California Council of Churches/IMPACT
Kendra Lewis, California Council of Churches/IMPACT
 
California Council of Churches IMPACT (churchimpact.org) represents 1.5 million members within 20 denominations of the mainline, progressive Protestant communities of faith. 
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