Brady Urges U.S. Senate to Pass the Freedom to Vote Act

If the Freedom to Vote Act cannot pass with a simple majority vote, Senate leadership must make any and every effort to make it law — including eliminating the archaic and undemocratic filibuster.

Washington, D.C., October 20, 2021 - Ahead of a procedural vote on the Freedom to Vote Act, Brady calls on the U.S. Senate to pass this important bill to safeguard our democracy and help maintain and expand access to the ballot for millions of Americans. The policies within this bill are sorely needed and must not fail in the Senate. If the Freedom to Vote Act cannot pass with a simple majority vote, Senate leadership must make any and every effort to make it law. That includes changes such as the elimination of the filibuster. An outmoded institutional rule cannot stand in the way of our democracy’s health and progress.

Brady President Kris Brown shared:

“The Senate must pass the Freedom to Vote Act. The reforms and safeguards it includes are vital to the health and preservation of our democracy. If it cannot pass the Senate under current rules, the Senate majority must do everything in its power to make these safeguards to our democracy law. That includes eliminating the filibuster. For the gun violence prevention movement, we have seen this outmoded rule stop needed and lifesaving change. It cannot also stop progress to expand and protect access to the ballot and participation in our democracy.

The Senate has changed the rules around the filibuster in the recent past. It can do so again. If this bill cannot pass, the Senate must eliminate the filibuster and make these voter protections the law of the land.”

About the Freedom to Vote Act

Introduced by Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Angus King (I-ME), Joe Manchin (D-WV), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Jon Tester (D-MT), and Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA), the Freedom to Vote Act includes three sections, each intended to protect the right to vote and strengthen our democracy. The policies included in these sections, Voter Access and Election Administration, Election Integrity, and, Civic Participation and Empowerment, will help expand and protect access to the ballot, while safeguarding the rights of all Americans to participate in our democratic processes and simultaneously reducing the influence of dark money and special interests in that process.

About the Intersection of Democracy Issues and Gun Violence Prevention and How #TheFilbusterIsKillingUs

Something is amiss when overwhelming, bipartisan majorities of Americans support common-sense gun violence prevention solutions such as universal background checks, but our government is unable to enact these policies. When our government does not represent the totality of its citizens, it is not responsive to their needs.

When it comes to gun violence prevention, it is not hyperbole to say that #TheFilibusterIsKillingUs, and ending the filibuster is a matter of life and death. Nearly 40,000 Americans die from gun violence a year and we know that communities who are continuously shut out of our democratic processes bear a disproportionate amount of that burden. Ensuring that all citizens who want to exercise their right to vote are able to do so freely and easily is vital to enacting common-sense gun laws.