Statement of Annastacia Belladonna-Carrera, Executive Director of Common Cause Minnesota

George Floyd should be alive today. A verdict simply signals due process, something that Mr. Floyd and others in Minnesota have been denied after basic interaction with police. Real justice for George Floyd and his family, comes from moving commonsense policing reforms so what happened to Mr. Floyd doesn’t happen again. Only the people united for change can deliver the reforms needed in our state. Minnesota legislators recently had the opportunity to bring commonsense accountability to the police but the Senate failed to act. Gov. Walz, Melissa Hortman, Speaker of the House, and Paul Gazelka, Senate Majority Leader must put policing reforms among their top priorities as they meet behind closed doors to negotiate bills. The people of Minnesota deserve better, and we – the people – will rightly continue to demand human rights, accountability, change, and justice for all Minnesotans. 

Pahayag ni Karen Hobert Flynn, Presidente ng Common Cause

Ang paghatol ngayon ng dating pulis ng Minneapolis na si Derek Chauvin para sa pagpatay kay George Floyd ay isang maliit na hakbang ngunit hanggang ngayon ay kailangan pa nating tugunan ang pinagbabatayan na rasismo, brutalidad ng pulisya, at kawalan ng pananagutan ng pulisya sa likod nito. Ang paghatol ay kumakatawan sa pananagutan ngunit hindi katarungan.

Ang pagpatay kay George's Floyd ay dapat magsilbi bilang isa pang katalista upang magdulot ng sistematikong pagbabago at lansagin ang puting supremacy na nagtutulak sa nakamamatay na pagpupulis sa Estados Unidos.

Kasunod ng paniniwalang ito, marami pa rin ang dapat gawin upang magkaroon ng pantay na hustisya para sa mga Black American. Ang hindi napigilang brutalidad ng pulisya ay patuloy na kumikitil sa buhay ng napakaraming Black at Brown na mga tao at dapat itong wakasan.

Gayunpaman sa ilang mga estado, ang mga mambabatas ay hindi lamang tumanggi na gumawa ng mga hakbang upang matugunan ang nakamamatay na krisis na ito ngunit sa halip ay nagpapasa ng mga batas upang gawing kriminal ang mapayapang protesta. Ito ay hindi maaaring maging walang hamon.

Bilang isang bansa, dapat nating kilalanin ang sistematikong kapootang panlahi na nakatanim na sa tela ng ating bansa mula nang itatag ito. Dapat nating labanan ang kapootang panlahi saanman ito umiiral: sa ating mga komunidad, sa kahon ng balota, sa ating sistema ng hustisya, at sa ating mga lehislatibong katawan.

Hindi lubos na nauunawaan ng mga puting Amerikano ang takot, sindak, at ang pagkabalisa na nararamdaman ng mga Black at Brown araw-araw habang ginagawa nila ang kanilang pang-araw-araw na buhay. Masyadong madalas na nagpapakita ng double standard ang pagpupulis, at ang mga taong may kulay ay patuloy na namamatay sa kamay ng mga opisyal ng pagpapatupad ng batas sa ganap na hindi katanggap-tanggap na mga numero. Ang trahedya na pattern ay dapat na matapos ngayon.

Undaunted, we must build a real democracy where every person can feel safe, thrive, and have a voice. We must continue to work to establish a country where equal justice under the law is a reality for everyone and not an impossibility for Black, Brown, and Indigenous people.

Pahayag ni Keshia Morris Desir, Common Cause Census at Mass Incarceration Project Manager

The tragic, brutal, and unnecessary murder of George Floyd is one from a seemingly endless string. The murder of Daunte Wright gunned down just days ago during a traffic stop in a Minneapolis suburb, and the murders of Breonna Taylor, Adam Toledo, Alton Sterling, Freddie Gray, Tamir Rice, Trayvon Martin, and countless other Black and Brown Americans must spur our nation to enact serious and lasting reforms. It is vital that Congress start by enacting long-overdue reforms by passing the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.

Common Cause strongly backs this legislation that would create a national use of force standard, it will prohibit no-knock warrants for drug offenses, and it would ban chokeholds and police profiling. Further it would end qualified immunity, make it easier to prosecute police officers for misconduct, and establish a national police misconduct registry. The bill would also end the transfer of certain military equipment that has led to the militarization of many police departments.

These common-sense reforms can begin to bring about substantive changes and stem the tide of police racism and brutality in our nation. Far more must be done, but this legislation represents a first step.