The Prez Perspective
Pat Coulter
As your newly elected president, I begin with Where did the summer go? It has been a fast, full, and fun few months since taking office.
Gearing up for the voting season means being aware of VSAP—Voting Solutions for All People! At our last League@Nite, Phillip Verbera, Manager of Community & Voter Outreach with the L.A. County Registrar-Recorder, brought us up to date on how L.A. County is modernizing the voting experience by 2020. You can visit VSAP.lavote.net to learn more. Also, you can join us at the Altadena Library (see the notice in this issue) for dates and times in September and October. Come and bring family, friends, and neighbors.
I cannot thank the Ice Cream Social Team enough for a yeoman’s job in executing this year’s event. Having distinguished guests from nine of our thirteen service-area cities speaks to the impact YOU, our members, are having in your local areas. Congresswoman Judy Chu, a League member, presented LWV-PA with a Certificate of Congressional Recognition for “High Standards of Excellence and … Outstanding Achievements in the Field of Voter Services”—very cool! Kudos to Katherine Gavzy and Mildred Dockery, who led the ICS team on the day of the event, and ICS Chair Marilynne Wilander, who worked tirelessly before and during her time on the road with her family on vacation. This was truly an LWV-PA team effort, and my gratitude goes out to everyone who sponsored, chaired a committee, donated auction items, worked the day of the event, helped with publicity, and made the day decorative, festive, special, and fun for all attendees!
Congresswoman Judy Chu and Pat Coulter
Membership renewal for our 2019–2020 year is due now. In June, we voted to increase our membership fees in order to absorb more of the cost of operating our League. Thank you to those of you who went above and beyond by either making a personal contribution in support of our operations for the year or paying an additional $30 to cover the actual cost per member. If you have not renewed, please do so now, either online at lwv-pa.org or by using the membership form at the end of this Voter.
As I close, let me reflect on the recent horrible incidents of gun violence that continue to occur in our country, ripping apart families, communities, and our hearts. With each mass shooting I ask myself, Why can’t WE stop this? America is better than this; why can’t we enact stronger commonsense gun safety laws to address this deadly epidemic?
My former colleague, Marc H. Morial, president and CEO of the National Urban League, recently issued a statement in response to the nation’s plague, and he said this:
Our paralysis in response to the scourge of mass shootings is our national shame. The slavish devotion of elected officials to the gun manufacturing lobby is killing us, literally and spiritually.
His words aptly sum up my thoughts about where we are with this issue. I believe that each of us must demand comprehensive gun safety legislation at the federal level. Legislation has already been crafted that can be passed if the Senate would ACT on it. Please join me by telling our senators, and ALL senators, to at least start with passing the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019 and closing the “Charleston loophole” that allowed Mother Emanuel shooter Dylann Roof to purchase a firearm even though his background check had not yet been approved. Let’s tell our senators and ALL senators that we support a renewal of the assault weapons ban and significant investment in initiatives that can red-flag dangerous individuals.
I pray for the victims and their families and the communities—so many now that it’s difficult to name all in one breath—and I pray that We the People will overwhelmingly take action with the power we have. Write, call, tweet, and pray for the Senate to act with stronger, effective, commonsense gun safety laws.
Yours in the Movement,
Patricia A. Coulter
