S.H.E. Kindness Policy Program
The S.H.E. Kindness Policy Program collaborates with key national and state partners to:
- Support and successfully pass and implement impactful public policies
- Develop and implement strategic campaigns to shift the policies of public and private entities
- Participate in state and national advocacy days and
- Promote weekly Take Actions on a wide variety of policy issues related to sustainability, health, equity and kindness
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Majority of Americans Want to Ban Assault Weapons…Again
By Rachael Lee, Alliance Intern from University of Texas – Austin ‘ 25
Fletcher Merkel and Harper Moyski. Do these names sound familiar? Fletcher and Harper, two beautiful children with two beautiful smiles, were taken from our lives during the welcome Mass for the new school year at the Annunciation Catholic School in Minnesota on August 27.
How have we messed up to the point where two children are killed and 18 others seriously injured by the firing of more than 100 semiautomatic rifle rounds just fades into the overwhelm of everyday news and mass shootings? How do we regain our sense of indignation and actually take action to stop this widespread carnage?
Nearly 47,000 people died from gun-related injuries in 2023, with 722 people dying from the FBI-classified definition of mass shootings (where four or more people get shot at once), according to the Pew Research Center.
Gun violence is the second leading cause of death of all children in the US.
Response to rising gun death rates and mass shootings led the US Surgeon General to take the unprecedented step of declaring gun violence a public health crisis.
So, what can we do? Let’s look at what actions are currently being proposed to put an end to these horrifying realities.
Are These Real “Solutions” or Just Pablum for the People?
MN Republican and Speaker of the House Lisa Demuth opposes gun control legislation and instead is calling for increasing funding for mental health treatment beds and mandatory minimum prison time for repeat shooting offenders.
Have you heard these from the gun lobby and Republicans every time there’s a mass shooting? While these are necessary, do you think these actions alone will solve the problem?
Meanwhile, there’s a new “solution” being trotted out by many Republicans and the Department of Justice: Barring trans people from owning guns, since the perpetrator of the shooting is trans. Will that solve the gun violence epidemic in the US?
Are these adequate “solutions” or just attempts to dance around the elephant in the room? What effective preventative actions can we take to stop the violence before it happens?
Americans Want Real Solutions – A First Step Is Re-Banning Assault Weapons
A majority of Americans (52%) support a ban on the manufacture, possession and sale of semiautomatic guns, known as assault rifles, according to a November 2024 Gallup Poll.
Let’s listen to the parents of the Minneapolis shooting victims who pressed VP Vance to take action on gun violence during his visit to the Twin Cities. They and other parents of gun violence victims have been continually crying out for fast-enacting legislative action and restrictions on assault weapons. Youth all over Minnesota and across the country are walking out of school to support a ban.
In fact, they’re correct that a ban on assault weapons and high capacity gun magazines has proven to be one effective solution to reducing gun violence despite claims by the NRA.
“The NRA likes to say the 1994 federal Assault Weapons Ban didn’t work, but it did work. The data is clear: there were fewer mass shootings while the Assault Weapons Ban was in effect and significantly more after it expired,” according to US Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Dianne Feinstein (D-CA).
Gun massacres of six or more killed decreased by 37% for the decade the ban was active, then shot up 183% during the decade following its expiration. There’s no disputing those numbers,” Feinstein continued.
These statistics are based on the work by University of Massachusetts researcher Louis Klarevas, author of the book Rampage Nation. He found the number of gun massacres dropped by 37% and the number of gun massacre deaths fell by 43% while the ban was in effect from 1994 to 2004, compared to the previous decade. After the ban lapsed in 2004, those numbers dramatically rose – a 183% increase in massacres and a 239% increase in massacre deaths.
The goal of the Assault Weapons Ban in 1994 was the same as it is today: to prevent mass shootings by beginning to dry up the supply of military-style assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. There are at least 20 million assault weapons in the US today, so no law will be immediately effective.
But as Sen Feinstein said, “By banning the manufacture and importation of new guns and implementing voluntary buy-back programs, we can again start to get these weapons of war off our streets. That’s how we’ll save lives, and we need to act now.”
We agree. Please join the Alliance in signing this petition from EveryTown for Gun Safety and demand that Congress reinstate the Assault Weapons Ban and ensure these mass-killing machines are banned!
Take Action:
Stop Trump’s Bid to Repeal Climate Protections — The Biggest Impact You Can Make Today for Our Planet
By Joe Parmigiani, Alliance Intern from Dartmouth College ’28
Since 2009, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s Endangerment Finding has given the agency the authority to restrict climate change-causing pollution, such as carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. These regulations, based on the Clean Air Act from the 1970s, have controlled emissions, saved lives and slowed the climate crisis.
On July 29, 2025, the Trump-appointed head of the EPA, Lee Zeldin, announced a proposal that would eliminate the Endangerment Finding, specifically removing all restrictions on emissions from medium and heavy-duty auto vehicles. This proposal was accompanied by a speech delivered by Zeldin that dismissed the role of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the climate crisis. How sad it is that the head of the “Environmental Protection Agency” thinks like this.
If this proposal goes into effect, US GHG emissions will skyrocket without bound. The Biden administration attempted to return the US to climate leadership but this action will take us backward and worsen the global climate crisis.
Even though the proposal is aimed to benefit auto manufacturers, it may be a gateway to further rollbacks of GHG protections, including for coal- and gas-fired power plants. Furthermore, the use of electric vehicles (EVs) will no longer be economically incentivized if auto manufacturers can emit without regulations.
Fortunately, a huge percentage of Americans believe that GHG emissions need to be regulated. A recent Data for Progress pollfound 86% of Americans “strongly” or “somewhat” agree, including an impressive 79% of Republicans.
The proposal has not been finalized and you can comment until September 22, 2025.Don’t miss this chance to make your voice heard.
We are joining with the entire environmental movement in seeking to submit a record number of comments in our uphill battle to fight the Trump administration effort. Please share this with others and join the Alliance in sending this pre-written EarthJustice Federal Register comment to make your voice heard and oppose the proposal!
Take Action:
Stop Congress from Allowing Chemical Companies to Harm Farmers and Consumers
By Joe Parmigiani, Alliance Intern from Dartmouth College ’28
It’s tragic that chemical companies often harm farmers and consumers. Fortunately, existing laws provide some protection and allow legal recourse, helping to prevent corporate irresponsibility.
However, those restrictions may soon go away due to a horrible proposed bill which grants chemical companies immunity from lawsuits relating to their products’ hazards. Furthermore, this bill would also prohibit the EPA from restricting harmful PFAS forever chemicals, directly over-riding Minnesota’s landmark ban on pesticides, known as Amara’s Law.
Immunity for Bayer/Monsanto and Other Outlaws?
“Pushed by Bayer/Monsanto and the chemical industry, the bill provides total pesticide immunity language against lawsuits that challenge chemical manufacturers who withhold information on the harm that their products can cause,” according to Beyond Pesticides.
They add, “Chemical companies have successfully lobbied for a weak federal pesticide law and then try to hide behind the law when sued for damages, telling the courts that their products are in compliance with pesticide registration standards and therefore not liable for harm.”
Meanwhile, Beyond Pesticides points out that under current law, “juries have found that Bayer/Monsanto, in the case of glyphosate (Roundup), failed to provide adequate warning through their product labeling, given the independent peer-reviewed science, including what the company knew or should have known, and a clinical assessment of the harm caused to the plaintiff. “
However, under the legislation before the Appropriations Committee in Section 453 of the bill, Beyond Pesticides emphasizes that “only EPA-approved label language consistent with a human health assessment or carcinogenicity classification previously approved by EPA is permitted — freezing EPA’s position on a pesticide in place for possibly decades, and eliminating the ability to hold chemical manufacturers accountable for damages.”
“This language would in the future prohibit cases like those filed by victims of glyphosate (Roundup), who have won large jury verdicts and compensation,” they add.
The EPA Would Be Restricted from Prohibiting PFAS
In addition, Section 507 of the bill removes funding for eliminating hazards associated with PFAS chemicals, according to Beyond Pesticides: “None of the funds made available by this or any other Act may be used to finalize, implement, administer, or enforce the draft risk assessment titled Draft Sewage Sludge Risk Assessment for Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctane Sulfonic Acid (PFOS).”
This bill would remove any incentive for chemical companies to develop safer products, therefore slowing the necessary global shift to less toxic land use and consumer practices, which is critical to protecting human health and the environment.
Take action now and join the Alliance in signing this Beyond Pesticides petition to demand your US Representative reject Sections 453 and 507 in the final House Appropriations bill!
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