You probably know by now the news about the outrageous Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey on Friday, and you may have seen or been part of  the sweeping response from hundreds of thousands of people across the country. It was great to be at demonstrations and rallies around Maryland throughout the weekend to voice our opposition to this ruling and the right wing extremist majority dominating this third branch of government. Three of the rallies hosted more than 200 people (on short notice) and at some of the events, people shared their personal stories, in some cases for the first time in public. Powerful. We’re grateful to our allies in the Maryland Abortion Access Coalition for organizing the protests. We also put out a statement on the SCOTUS decision. 

How can we ensure Maryland remains a state where abortions are safe and legal?  Here’s what we can do right now: Elect dedicated pro-choice candidates, including more women and LGBTQ individuals, who will take bold action on issues like abortion rights to counter the moves that the GOP Justices and their supporters in the Senate are making to turn back the clock on our basic rights and protections. Let’s keep turning our anger into action.

More about what we can do is here, in the PM Weekly Memo.

While the nation reels at the duplicity of Trump’s Supreme Court nominees under oath ("Roe is settled law") and the pent-up, vengeful Dobbs opinion authored by Alito overturning Roe, Larry Hogan keeps playing his games.

Maryland, which put abortion rights into law via referendum years ago, has shaped a role as a sanctuary state for those who need reproductive health care but live in medieval states. West Virginia and Virginia residents may soon need the sanctuary; Pennsylvania is a maybe.

But Hogan, playing footsie with GOP orthodoxy while still trying to present the Facebook-fueled Good Guy Larry persona that got him stealth-elected twice, refuses to release properly appropriated funds intended to prepare Maryland’s health care system for the rough times to come.

More about the fight against Dobbs, up-n-down news on gun safety, and a big step on overdose prevention -- also in News You Can Use this week.

This morning, the Supreme Court made the horrifying decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, ending 50 years of federal abortion rights. Progressive Maryland issued the following statement supporting reproductive rights:

Yesterday marked the national holiday commemorating Juneteenth and today marks another day of hearings by the January 6 Commission looking into the deadly insurrection carried out  at the U.S. Capitol last year. It certainly is a momentous time in our country. The work of the Commission is a reminder of how important it is to shine a light on Trump’s actions and the attempts by white nationalists and their backers to overturn our democracy. 

Juneteenth celebrations and events provide a way to keep telling the truth about our country’s history. We hope you had a chance to honor this significant day in some way. Read our statement on Juneteenth if you haven’t yet. Juneteenth is also known as Freedom Day, so here at Progressive Maryland, we’re reflecting  on the ways in which these two events are converging, and the need to keep speaking truth to power in order to be free. We know that preserving our democracy, confronting our past, and making sure the truth prevails can help us build a better Maryland. 

Elections play a central role in this struggle for a better state and a better world. Let’s make sure that everyone participates in the Primary election and that progressives prevail at the ballot box. We need to ensure that candidates who believe in our democracy and who will work to advance racial justice get elected! Our individual votes and voices can open up a New Era in Maryland politics. We only have 28 days left to gather and harness the power of the grassroots. Sign up to join our growing election team!

On the state level, we will choose a new Governor, a new Comptroller, a new Attorney General, and who we send to the Maryland General Assembly. We’ll also decide who will represent us on the local level in County offices, on School Boards, and in Central Committees, as well as Judges and some city officials. Check out Progressive Maryland’s endorsed candidates. 

The Memo will appear here after the email version has been sent.

The Congressional circus is back for one more sprint and they are hot on Trump’s trail, but also working on guns and maybe a downsized Build Back Less Bad bill, maybe… it all needs to be packed into this week, before the two-week July 4 recess…

On this Juneteenth 2022, I’m asking you to understand history, celebrate progress, and uplift the importance of intersectionality in the work toward freedom and justice. A statement by Christianne Marguerite, Director of Communications at Progressive Maryland. 

The Progressive Maryland Returning Citizens Task Force (previously known as the Reentry Work Group) held a grant program kickoff event to celebrate grant recipients!

It’s a busy time of year! Graduations, end of school, weddings, vacations, visitors, swim meets, softball tournaments, gardening, community festivals, outings, and more. Not to mention work, juggling family needs, and trying to keep up with and process the news of the day. One big event this summer that deserves our full  attention no matter where we live or what our schedules may be: the Primary Election in July. The simple act of voting not only keeps our democracy going, it  gives us a chance to express our support for candidates who want to make positive progressive change. Every vote matters! Four years ago, the outcome in the County Executive race in the Montgomery County Primary was decided by 80 votes (out of about 130,000 votes cast). 

Our individual votes matter and this year we are working to collectively gather our voices and votes to make a difference for progressive candidates. Find out how to make change happen -- together -- in the Memo. Read on.

Possible good news, for a change, in Congress -- some modest tightening of access to guns may pass.

Meanwhile, in Maryland, prepping for more of this pandemic plus the next one (?); a Hogan veto increases election results uncertainty and (for sure) opens up more time for Big Lies to grow; Dem Guv hopefuls feel pressure on education futures; state's higher ed schools show variety in recovery from COVID pause.