John,

In President Biden’s Address to Congress last month, he set a deadline: Congress must pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act by the 1-year anniversary of his murder at the hands of the Minneapolis police department.

Today is that day. The House met the deadline and passed the bill. The Senate has not.

They haven’t even brought it to the floor for a vote.

The time has come for action. The Senate must bring the bill to the floor to vote up or down now. If Republicans filibuster to block it, let’s get them on record. We’ve been told the few remaining Democrats who don’t want to change or eliminate the filibuster will be convinced if/when Republicans actually start blocking bills – so let’s get on with it. Sign our petition to the Senate now >>>

The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act is a powerful response to the criminal behavior of cops across this country that puts our people and our communities at risk every day.

It bans chokeholds, no-knock warrants, and imposes significant new restrictions on the use of deadly force. It also eliminates “qualified immunity,” the legal doctrine that shields police officers under most circumstances from any legal consequences when they break the law, even when it results in death.

George Floyd’s death might have been prevented if this law had been passed years ago. Breonna Taylor, Eric Garner, Andrew Brown, Rayshad Brooks… all of them and so many more might be alive today if the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act was already the law of the land.  

We can’t bring back unarmed Americans murdered by police, but we can work to stop it from ever happening again.

Passing this bill would be a huge step forward. It’s time to get Republicans and Democrats on record. Demand the Senate bring it to a vote today.

The murder of George Floyd was a tragedy.

We’re lucky that it was caught on video. We’re lucky that the video riveted the nation. We’re lucky that it happened in Minnesota where DFA members had helped to elect Keith Ellison to Attorney General. We’re lucky that other police officers took the stand against Floyd’s murderer. We were lucky that Derek Chauvin was convicted.

We should get justice because it's the law, not because we got lucky.

Don't stop fighting for justice. Thank you for taking action today.

— Tre

Tre Graves
Campaign Organizer
Democracy for America