Today’s Take Action post is brought to you by Juniper Simonis.
In cities across the U.S, law enforcement agents have been deploying chemical weapons against racial justice protests. In Portland Oregon, the department of Homeland security is using tear gas and munitions smoke against protesters, medics, press, legal observers, and bystanders.
Researchers have gathered a library of chemicals used by city, county, state, and federal law enforcement against racial justice protesters in Portland, Oregon. To date, there has been no transparency about the use of chemicals against civilians or accountability for such actions. This is not an isolated U.S. occurrence - similar tactics were recently used against protesters in Hong Kong, France, Russia, Chile, and many other countries, actions U.S. politicians routinely decry.
What can we do to halt the use of chemical weapons against protesters in the U.S.?
Raise awareness - if people don’t know this is happening in the U.S. and abroad, it will continue without accountability
Sign this letter calling for the U.S. government to halt the use of chemicals against its citizens.
Call or email your senators and representatives and let them know you care about this issue. Every call counts and a critical mass of calls and pressure can lead to meaningful change, especially with Democratic majorities in Congress.
Continue to push our legislators and the new Biden administration to issue regulations and guidance for the Department of Homeland Security’s and other federal, state and local agencies’ use of chemicals.
Additional information on this issue:
https://www.koin.com/news/protests/portland-protests-risk-backfiring-from-destruction/
What Tear Gas Does To Fish https://www.hakaimagazine.com/news/what-tear-gas-does-to-fish/
Federal Agents Used Toxic Chemical Smoke Grenades in Portland https://theintercept.com/2020/10/10/portland-tear-gas-chemical-grenades-protests/
Highly Toxic" Smoke Grenades Deployed at Portland Protests https://pamplinmedia.com/pt/9-news/484862-390719-sinister-smoke and https://www.koin.com/news/protests/military-grade-hc-smoke-used-against-portland-protesters/
Scientists Identified a Green, Poisonous Gas Used By Federal Agents on Portland Protesters https://futurehuman.medium.com/scientists-identified-a-green-poisonous-gas-used-by-federal-agents-on-portland-protesters-5b56ac20a624
Feds used toxic smoke grenades during summer protests in Portland https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/2021/01/portland-researcher-finds-federal-agents-used-toxic-smoke-grenades-during-summer-protests.html and https://www.columbian.com/news/2021/jan/19/feds-used-toxic-smoke-grenades-during-summer-protests-in-portland-researcher-finds/.