Sign up for Lobby Day April 23

Call and email your State Representative

Dear Members and Friends of MRSCP,

A campaign has been launched to try to overturn Wisconsin’s unconstitutional law limiting your right to engage in Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) in support of Palestinian rights.

Since 2018, Wisconsin has been one of of 38 states with an “anti-boycott law” influenced by special interest groups supporting a foreign government. Act 248 requires that in order to secure a state contract of $100,000 or more, applicants must pledge not to boycott Israel (and only Israel). 

The law also prohibits all levels of government from dog catcher on up from engaging in any type of BDS — again, only against Israel.

This is repression of free speech in order for Wisconsinites to do business in their own state! Moreover, it inhibits our ability to partake in a time-honored tradition of peaceful protest that works– across history and in a wide range of contexts, boycotts have given citizens the collective power to create more just societies.

You can read more about the background of the law and the campaign to overturn it here.

On Wednesday, April 23, members and supporters of the Wisconsin Right to Boycott Campaign will meet at the State Capitol to lobby our representatives to support new legislation to restore our right to boycott. There will be a group briefing at 9 am, followed by pre-arranged meetings with representatives through 2-3 pm. The day will close with a rally to protect our voices, our democracy, and our country.

WE NEED YOU TO JOIN US! If you are able to attend in person, please fill out and submit this form. The campaign will be setting up meetings with individual legislators based on who responds.

You may also want to sign up for one of two remaining online information sessions on getting involved in the campaign:

Saturday April 5, 4 pm 
OR
Thursday, April 17, 7 pm

ALSO, IN THE MEANTIME…Please use this link to find out who YOUR State Representative is; type in your address at the top of the page, your Assembly rep will come up with a phone number and an email option; then call and/or email to ask that they support legislation to repeal Act 248.  (The focus right now is on the Assembly; the Senate may come later.) A phone call is most effective, followed by a personal email from you to your representative.

Some talking points to use with the representatives are below. Don’t make an assumption about their position based on their party affiliation; Act 248 was passed with support from both sides of the legislative aisle.

You can also use this online form which will be delivered to both your State Senator and Representative. It’s most effective if you add some of your own words.

FINALLY, as always, be aware that these anti-BDS laws DO NOT affect your individual right to boycott Israeli products. Download the Boycat App or check out the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights for information on what to boycott.

Thanks for your support,
Barb O.

SOME SUGGESTED TALKING POINTS

Realize you could easily know more about this issue than they do.

THE ASK: You want them to commit to support upcoming legislation to repeal Wisconsin Act 248.

• Wisconsin Act 248 prohibits state and local governments from entering into any contracts with any entity that engages in a “refusal to deal with…Israel…if the refusal…is intended to penalize, inflict economic harm on, or limit commercial relations with Israel…”
•  Singling out and attempting to prevent boycotting only of Israel is viewpoint discrimination, a violation of the First Amendment. 
• Boycotts are an integral part of US History.  For example, colonists, protesting taxes imposed by the British, boycotted English tea.  The 381-day Montgomery Bus Boycott resulted in the desegregation of the public transportation system in that city. More recently, groups from all political perspectives have organized boycotts to bring about change, boycotting Target, Budweiser, Gillette, the Hallmark Channel, Tripadvisor, and Hobby Lobby.  
• Boycotts are protected activity. In 1982, the Supreme Court in the case NAACP v. Clairborne Hardware, stated: “The established elements of speech, assembly, association, and petition … are inseparable. . . . Through the exercise of these First Amendment rights, petitioners sought to bring about political, social, and economic change.” The present BDS movement is part of that noble tradition of non-violent resistance to injustice.

MRSCP
P.O. Box 5214
Madison, WI 53705
Face Book | Twitter | Instagram