Urge President Biden to Protect the First Amendment!
Win Without War
(May 4, 2024) — House Speaker Mike Johnson’s demands to send National Guard troops to confront student protestors should alarm anyone who believes in peace and the right to assembly and free speech.
Hundreds of students have recently been arrested for participating in protests against the Israeli government’s war in Gaza at dozens of universities across the country. But rubber bullets and billy clubs aren’t making students on any campus safer, and sending in National Guard troops will only increase the tensions — and the potential for tragedy.
We don’t have to guess what that looks like because we already know: Fifty-three years ago today, on May 4, 1970, 28 National Guard soldiers fired into a crowd of thousands protesting the Vietnam War at Kent State. They killed four students and wounded nine others.
That protest wasn’t so different from the ones we are seeing today. From Columbia to UT-Austin to UC Berkeley and back again, young people across the country are exercising their constitutionally protected rights to free speech and assembly to speak out against horrific violence in Gaza.
Already, many of those students have faced violence at a terrifying scale. Hundreds of militarized police swarmed campuses in New York City this week, breaking down doors, injuring nonviolent protesters, and even firing a live round in a school building.
In Los Angeles, police stood by as counterprotesters stormed a UCLA protest encampment with improvised weapons. None of the counter-protesters were arrested. It is a miracle that no one has been killed in these assaults on people exercising their fundamental rights, and if the National Guard is brought in the danger only grows.
President Biden has an opportunity to show the kind of leadership necessary to meet this moment of crisis. Frustratingly, the president chose this week to demonize the protesters while saying nothing about the militarized police and violent counter-protesters who attacked them.
Police fire rubber bullets into UCLA stodents’ tent camp
The good news is that, so far, he’s refused Speaker Johnson’s demands, but we know as the protests spread, Republican governors could act unilaterally. That’s why your voice is urgently needed today. Will you help us send the president a clear and crucial reminder that dissent is not a crime, and protest is patriotic?
Today, history seems to be repeating itself as thousands speak out against U.S. complicity in a war overseas and right-wing forces seize concerns about unrest to justify a heavy-handed crackdown.
Anti-Semitism and anti-Muslim bigotry are on the rise and serious issues nationwide, including on college campuses. But National Guard troops or militarized police fully loaded with guns and flash-bangs are no way to build true safety or tackle hate and discrimination.
The response we’ve seen so far is the threat to our democracy. On the other hand, the solidarity from Muslim, Jewish, and other students from different backgrounds during these protests is an incredible example of strength, resilience, and community.
What we need from our leaders right now is to de-escalate this situation — and push back on any misguided efforts to militarize the situation by calling on the National Guard on nonviolent protestors.
Amidst an already contentious election season and with the Republican and Democratic conventions approaching, more protests are inevitable. Sending in troops to forcibly suppress speech would be a troubling slide toward authoritarianism. That’s why we’ve got to speak out today.
College campuses should be the place for the free exchange of ideas, not militarized zones where armed soldiers silence dissent. Let’s ensure that the next generation of leaders can exercise their democratic rights without fear of violence.
Thank you for working for peace,
The Win Without War team
