17 January 2024

Minutes for January 2024 meeting

 AIUSA Group 342 meeting

15 November 2023 (via Zoom because of inclement weather)
In attendance: April, Barbara (facilitating and recording), Bob, David, Emily, Heather, Kathleen, Shreya, Struan, Suzanna

UPDATES
  • Welcome to new member Suzanna McGee,
  • Welcome to guests: 
    • David Rendell, AIUSA area coordinator
    • Kathleen Lucas, AIUSA death penalty abolition coordinator for PA and executive director of  Pennsylvanians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (padp.org)
GUN VIOLENCE PREVENTION (Bob)
  • Newly elected Philadelphia mayor Cherelle Parker declared state of emergency, issued executive order to combat thefts, shootings, and the proliferation of open-air drug markets in Philadelphia.
  •  Global Action on Gun Violence (GAGV): U.S.-based nonprofit organization working with and for the international community to  prevent gun violence (actiononguns.org)
HIGHLIGHTS ON THE STATE OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE USA (Barbara)
  • Amnesty International’s Annual Report 2022/23: www.amnesty.org/en/documents/pol10/5670/2023/en/
AIUSA NEWS
DEATH PENALTY ABOLITION IN PA (Kathleen)
  • On October 31, 2023, a PA House committee voted to repeal the death penalty
  • Kathleen presented a strategy for visiting and urging our PA senators and representatives to repeal the death penalty and for thanking those who are already working on abolition. 
  • She will be in contact with Group 342 members in the near future.
Next Meeting: Wednesday, 20 March, 7:30 pm (hybrid)

15 November 2023

Minutes for November 2023 meeting

AIUSA Group 342 meeting

15 November 2023 (hybrid: United Way of Chester County office and Zoom)
In attendance
—in person: Barbara, Bob, Heather, Marsha
—via Zoom: Frank, Shreya


UPDATES

Meeting location: Thank you to United Way of Chester County for allowing us to use this terrific meeting space!

Member check-in: How's everyone doing?

Coordinator's Report (Barbara)

  • Release of 5 detainees from Guantanamo Bay
  • LGBTQI+ right activist Zahra Sedighi-Hamadani released (Iran), had been sentenced to death
  • More rights for same-sex couples/families in Taiwan
  • Anti-veilng activists Yasaman Aryani and Monireh Arabshahi released after serving 4 years of 16-year sentence (Iran)
Situation in Gaza

GUN VIOLENCE PREVENTION (Bob)
  • PA Supreme Court expected to issue ruling soon on preemption laws: might allow Philly to have stricter gun laws than what PA allows
  • In March the PA House (Dem controlled) passed 2 laws: red flag law, universal background checks. GOP-controlled Senate hasn't even moved it out of committee (175 days of inaction)
  • new legislation introduced to ban assault weapons: urge legistlators to consponsor
  • Good news: IL just banned all assault weapons, MI now requires background checks, Biden formed national office of gun violence prevention
  • Lewiston, ME shooting: ME has yellow flag laws (have more steps than red flag laws)
THE FUTURE OF GROUP 342
  • Barb is asking for a cofacilitator to help plan/run meetings and help with AIUSA communications
  • Marsha will prepare Urgent Actions and send to the e-mail group. 

Next Meeting: Wednesday, 17 January, 7:30 pm (hybrid)

20 September 2023

Minutes for September 2023 meeting

AIUSA Group 342 meeting
20 September 2023 (hybrid: United Way of Chester County office and Zoom)

In attendance
—in person: Barbara, Bob
—via Zoom: Frank, Struan, Dorothee

Coordinator’s note: Thanks to Bob for taking minutes.

UPDATES

Meeting location
  • Bob and Barb met for the first time at the United Way Office (see below) in Exton. UW provided
  • a beautiful meeting room equipped with a huge monitor. With a laptop they conducted a
  • standard Zoom meeting for the virtual attendees. In the future, Bob will learn Microsoft Teams
  • so we can use the monitor’s built-in web cam effectively.
  • United Way of Chester County, 150 John Robert Thomas Drive, Exton, PA 19341
Gun Violence Prevention (Bob)
  • Democrats won back their one-vote majority in the PA House. Earlier in the year the House sent
  • two GVP measures to the Senate for a vote. It is up to the Senate leader (Republican Lisa Butler)
  • whether the Senate will vote on these.
  • The PA Pre-emption Law will be ruled on by the PA Supreme Court soon. This is to resolve a suit
  • brought by the City of Philadelphia challenging the pre-emption law so it can have tighter gun
  • regulations within its boundaries. A ruling may be given in next few days or weeks.
  • Bob attended a mandatory Active Shooter Training at his Community College. Instead of being
  • teacher-oriented, this training by a veteran FBI agent was consumer-oriented. The FBI agent
  • taught everyone to be aware of possible escape routes whenever we enter a supermarket,
  • school, or any public space. The plan should be “Run, Hide, Fight.”
Co-Facilitator Need
  • Barb made an appeal for a co-facilitator to occasionally prepare and conduct meetings and for a
  • member to follow migrants’ rights news. 
  • Anyone who can occasionally prepare Urgent Actions
  • and post them to the Google Group would be also greatly appreciated.
Birthday Card for Leonard Peltier
  • Amnesty has lobbied for the release from Federal Prison of Leonard Peltier, member of the American Indian Movement, for many years. Leonard is in poor health and has served over 40 years for the murder of an FBI agent, a conviction which remains in doubt. The Amnesty action was to send him a birthday card (his birthday is Sept. 12) but address it “care of” the White House.
Banned Books Week Action
  • Barb explained how AI was celebrating Banned Books Week this year. She displayed AI’s webpage and asked everyone to take action by clicking on the button below the featured authors, singers, artists, etc.

Next Meeting: Wednesday, November 15, 7:30 pm (hybrid)


21 June 2023

Minutes for June 2023 meeting

  



AIUSA Group 342 meeting
21 June 2023 (via Zoom)

In attendance: Barbara, Bob, Struan, Dorothee

GREETINGS AND MEMBER CHECK-INS

Welcome to our newest member, Dorothee!

UPDATES

Meeting location
  • Our former venue (Wegmans in Malvern) can no longer host meetings of organizations.
  • A local nonprofit organization has a building in Exton where groups can meet at no cost. Attendees expressed interest. Barbara will contact for more information.
Gun violence prevention (Bob)
  • Hopeful news: Two of four gun violence protection measures recently passed in the PA House: universal background checks (closes gun show loophole), and ERPO (extreme risk protection orders, also called red flag laws). Failed to pass: requirement to report stolen guns. Not yet voted on: Safe Storage Bill. 
  • A Wear Orange event took place on June 2 outside the West Chester courthouse. Bob and Barbara attended. Victims of gun violence were remembered by family members. Local representatives and clergy spoke.
  • A local GOP group planned to raffle off three firearms (including an AR-15) as a fundraiser. The raffle has been postponed following publicity.
  • Gun Violence Archive (https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/) reports that 2023 is already the deadliest year on record for mass shootings (incidents in which four or more persons, excluding the perpetrator, are killed or injured).
Possible in-person actions
  • “Take action” advocacy suggestions by AI: https://www.amnesty.org/en/get-involved/take-action/
  • In past years, our group held in-person Write for Rights events during holiday shopping season in a store in Exton. We invited shoppers to sign W4R petitions and write notes that were sent to prisoners of conscience. As the venue no longer exists, Barbara suggested holding a W4R event in a local coffee shop. Attendees expressed interest. Barbara will check into coffee shops in the next few months.
  • Struan recalled that book sales held by AIUSA group in Scotland were very successful in raising money.  Dorothee suggested tabling at concerts.
ACTIONS
  • URGENT ACTION: "Political Activists Unjustly Detained" (Tunisia: UA 52.23) [expires July 17,  2023]
  • URGENT ACTION: "Indigenous Rights Activists Reported Missing" (Philippines: UA 50.23) [expires July 12, 2023]
  • URGENT ACTION: "Arbitrary Detainee Dying from Neglect" (Venezuela: UA 55.23

NEXT MEETING: Wednesday, September 20, 7:30 p.m (venue to be announced!)

19 April 2023

Minutes for April 2023 meeting

 



AIUSA Group 342 meeting
19 April 2023 (via Zoom)

In attendance: Barbara, Bob, Heather, Emily, Marsha

GREETINGS AND MEMBER CHECK-INS

UPDATES
  • Emily: AI is putting together a digital activist toolkit for Sri Lanka9
  • Gun violence prevention (Bob): Advocacy Day at the PA capitol on March 23
    • Cosponsored by Ceasefire PA and March for Our Lives. 
    • Bob's own representative and senator were unavailable, so he met with Chris Pielli of West Chester
    • The rally had about 400 attendees (more people and more TV cameras than last year!)
    • Signs included MOMS (Mothers of Murdered Sons) and EMIR (Every Murder Is Real) 
    • House Judiciary meeting on gun violence for the first time in ten years (none while GOP controlled the house)
  • More on gun violence in the USA
MISC TOPICS
  • Future meeting format
    • Discussion of possibly holding hybrid meetings at Wegmans in Malvern
    • Barbara will also check on using the United Way building in Exton as a meeting space
    • No meeting in May; next meeting will be in June (we can discuss via e-mail list whether to do this in person) 
  • Case file discussion
    • Emily asked about doing a case file or choosing an area/issue/person for our chapter to focus on
    • Barbara will reach out to someone at AIUSA about this
    • Emily suggests seeing if Amnesty has a toolkit available for an issue/country we're interested in covering
  • Guantánamo postcard action
    • Marsha has received 200 "Close Guantánamo"postcards (addressed to Secretary of State Antony Blinken)
    • Group 342 members can mail them to Blinken, also leave them in random places (e.g., churches, bulletin boards, train stations) to increase public awareness

AIUSA NEWS
ACTIONS
  • URGENT ACTION: "Tortured Son of Opposition Figured Held Incommunicado" (Egypt: UA 29.23)   
  • URGENT ACTION: "Human Rights Activists Must Be Released" (Democratic Republic of Congo: UA 31.23)    

NEXT MEETING: Wednesday, June 21, 7:30 p.m (TBD whether in person or via Zoom)

15 March 2023

Minutes for March 2023 meeting



AIUSA Group 342 meeting (via Zoom)
15 March 2023 (via Zoom)

In attendance: Barbara, Bob, Frank, Marsha, Dave Rendell

GREETINGS AND MEMBER CHECK-INS

  • Dave Rendell is our new AIUSA are coordinator! He talked about last week's AGM and mentioned a recommitment to individuals at risk. He's trying to think of new, creative ways to attract more people to local groups. (Maybe something with a speaker?)
  • Barbara told Dave about our group's unsuccessful past efforts (spearheaded by Jeff) to get names/addresses of local AIUSA members so we could reach out to them via snail-mail about getting involved in our group. Dave said he would look into this at the head office.
UPDATES
  • Get on the Bus (Dave): This year's Get On the Bus event will be on April 28. 
    • It will include presentations on Leonard Peltier and Sri Lanka. 
    • (Further information is available a www.gotb.org.
  • Gun violence prevention (Bob): Advocacy Day at the PA capitol on March 23
    • Cosponsored by Ceasefire PA and March for Our Lives. 
    • Because PA Democrats control the house, there will be hearings on gun violence starting at 1:30. They will cover four main topics: universal background checks, red flag laws, legislation to report lost and stolen guns, safe gun storage laws. 
    • (Further information at ceasefirepa.org.) 
    • Some discussion of gun violence and general crime rates in Philadelphia. 
AIUSA NEWS
  • 2023 AIUSA Annual General Meeting was held March 3–5 as a hybrid event. Barbara and Bob attended virutally. They each discussed a few highlights.
  • Bob: Sessions on gun violence
  • Speaker: Ryan Deitsch, cofounder of March for Our Lives
  • "Iron River" of U.S. guns south to Mexico, Central America, etc. (Book recommendation: Blood Gun Money: How America Arms Gangs and Cartels, by Ioan Grillo)
  • Barbara: session titled "“Risking their lives: demanding women’s rights in afghanistan and iran”
  • Presenters were Hasina Jalal (from Afghanistan) and Nayerah Tohidi (from Iran)
  • Nayerah mentioned the song "Baraye," composed and sung by Shervin Hajipour. The lyrics consist of tweets by Iranian women describing the reasons they continue to struggle. (Video at youtu.be/0th9_v-BbUI)
NOWRUZ ACTIONS
  • 2023 list available at www.amnestyusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Nowruz-action-2023-1.pdf
  • Don't use cards with images of people or animals
  • Before mailing cards, take a photo of your pile and send it to AIUSA           
UPCOMING EVENT: Online presentation featuring John X. Choe, longtime activist and neighborhood organizer in Flushing, NY
  • Sunday, March 26, 7 p.m.
  • Cosponsored by Group 342 (us) and Group 112 (Philadelphia)
  • Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86540356248pwd=tHUPE0MEY6M8yvQcBHMUfN2jxEuEyJ.1 (Meeting ID: 865 4035 6248; passcode: 662703)
NEXT MEETING: Wednesday, April 19, 7:30 p.m (via Zoom)

Write for Rights 2023 Certificate