Dear EPF PIN Friends:
We have the opportunity to protect free speech AND to save money at the same time! And all it takes is enough of us letting Governor Jerry Brown know that we want him to veto AB 2844.

For those who don't know, AB 2844 is a bill that has passed both houses of the California legislature which is designed to limit the free speech rights of any person to participate in an economic boycott or divest from companies or countries which are acting in ways contrary to our values and beliefs. AB 2844 would require (under penalty of perjury) that persons/companies having contracts with the State of California greater than $100,000 in value certify that they are not "discriminating" against any country (the only one named is Israel) recognized by the US Government. Ig you think the language is odd, it is. The authors of the bill have had to rewrote it multiple times to try to hide the attach on 1st Amendment rights.

The good news is that Governor Brown reportedly does not like the bill. It is redundant in its best parts to the Unruh Act, which already criminalizes discrimination in hiring. It is expensive, with estimates by the California Office of Finance of $140 MILLION to establish the bureaucracy, investigate complaints and litigate against accused offenders. Being a fiscal hawk makes him look at the cost of this bill with an extremely critical eye, but he may need our support to stand up against the Legislature.

What can you do to help? It is easy. Copy the test of the letter below. Paste it into an email to the Governor using his own website contact page. Press Send. That's all there is to it.

Want to help more? Send a message to your Senator and Representative with the same message to let them know you don't appreciate them spending your money this way and taking away your right to free speech at the same time.

And for any of you who want to make our day here at EPF PIN LA, send us an email [epf.pin.la@gmail.com] letting us know you wrote the Governor (Senator, Representative).

Here is some suggested text for your letter:

RE: Veto AB 2844, An Unconstitutional Attack on Californians’ Free Speech

Dear Governor Brown,

As people of faith, the members and friends of the Episcopal Peace Fellowship strongly urge you to veto AB 2844, an unconstitutional and costly attack on Californians’ free speech and the movement for equal human rights in Israel and Palestine.

As Christians, we look at Israel and Palestine as the birthplace of our faith. And we see Jews and Muslims as our sisters and brothers in the tradition of Abraham. So we believe we have a right to speak out on issues related to the peace and wellbeing of those lands, and to choose whether and where to place our financial and moral support.

AB 2844 chills our free speech rights by falsely associating the legal and time-honored practice of boycott, divestment and sanctions with unlawful discrimination. Would the Civil Rights Movement have succeeded without the Montgomery Bus Boycott? How much poorer would be the lives of agricultural workers in California if you hadn’t joined Cesar Chavez in the fields? Would Nelson Mandela have died a prisoner on Robbin Island if the international sports and cultural boycotts and business divestment hadn’t forced his release and helped end Apartheid in South Africa?

Additionally, the California Department of Finance estimates that the bill could cost California taxpayers over $140 million in startup costs, and unknown additional millions for fielding complaints, conducting investigations and pursuing lawsuits. You have shown yourself to be a champion of fiscal prudence in bringing this state out from under crushing debt and underfunded schools and other social services. Don’t let AB 2844 tarnish that record.

Although the title and some of the content of AB 2844 have changed over time, its intent remains the same: to stigmatize and suppress protected political speech, especially advocacy for Palestinian human rights through the nonviolent tactics of boycott, divestment and sanctions. If you take away non-violent means of protest and social change, what is left?

Civil liberties groups, including the ACLU, National Lawyers Guild, and the Center for Constitutional Rights　affirm that right to use economic boycotts in support of human rights and social justice causes is a protected form of free speech under the US Constitution.

Stop this attack on Californians’ free speech. Veto AB 2844.

Sincerely,