EPISODE 31 - We <3 El Paso + clap back at NRA talking points with Ed Scruggs of TX Gun Sense | #Texodus! (& surprise guest Kim Olson) | Rooting out police racism with the Plain View Project

We're heartbroken and outraged along with El Paso and the rest of Texas this week. We're desperate to know what to do about this gun violence epidemic, so we sat down with Ed Scruggs, president of Texas Gun Sense, to learn comebacks to some of these NRA talking points we hear our crazy uncles spouting. We also talk white supremacy, police racism in Galveston, and some good news, too -- the #Texodus of Republicans from Congress and some wonderful things our listeners did for our "Politics Is Personal" guest Ann Finch's organization, Team Brownsville. Y'all are the best.

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THIS WEEK’S GUEST:

Ed Scruggs, president of the board at Texas Gun Sense

https://twitter.com/Ed4Austin8

https://www.txgunsense.org/

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SH*T TO DO:

Support one of these gun violence prevention organizations in the way that makes sense for you:

Texas Gun Sense:

https://www.txgunsense.org/

Moms Demand Action:

https://momsdemandaction.org/

Text "Join" or "Ready" to 64433 if you want to join Moms Demand Action to combat gun violence.

If you're a survivor of gun violence in the state of Texas, text "Survivor" to 64433 and Diana Earl (recently a guest on The Rabble!) will personally take care of you!

Everytown for Gun Safety:

https://everytown.org/

The Community Justice Action Fund is building power within communities of color affected by gun violence:

https://www.cjactionfund.org/

Ways to help El Paso:

https://patch.com/texas/downtownaustin/how-help-victims-el-paso-mass-shooting?fbclid=IwAR2pOlCbLrBvo98yDTMTq0K1uXDG2xECRZqom4ziIXoKHz1rsTQMYfDwasY

Mariachi Night: El Paso victims fundraiser at the Sahara Lounge in Austin:

https://www.facebook.com/events/640049156496528/

LINKS WE MENTIONED:

Ann Finch’s “Politics Is Personal” episode of The Rabble:

https://www.rousertx.com/the-rabble-pod/2019/7/19/episode-28-politics-is-personal-series-ann-finch-of-team-brownsville-on-finding-purpose-at-the-border

Vote for the Team Brownsville panel via the SXSW Panel Picker:

https://panelpicker.sxsw.com/vote/96344

Support Team Brownsville’s work caring for migrants at the border:

https://www.teambrownsville.org/

Texodus!

https://www.vox.com/2019/8/5/20754826/texodus-house-republican-retirement-marchant-hurd-olsen

538 analysis on Congressional Republicans retiring: https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/why-so-many-house-republicans-are-retiring-and-more-could-be-on-the-way/

Friend of the pod and Texas legend Kim Olson is running for Congress in TX-24 (currently held by retiring Rep. Kenny Marchant):

https://kimforcongress.org/

(Full disclosure: Kim Olson has been a client of Rouser.)

Galveston police lead mentally ill African-American man through city streets on a leash:

https://www.vox.com/identities/2019/8/6/20757026/galveston-police-donald-neely-arrest-horses-texas

North Texas cops caught sharing racist Facebook posts:

https://www.texasmonthly.com/politics/north-texas-cops-caught-sharing-racist-facebook-posts/

Support the Plain View Project and check out their database of public posts from current and former police officers that are truly horrifying:

https://www.plainviewproject.org/

Philadelphia is firing 13 officers after the Plain View Project exposed them: https://www.vox.com/identities/2019/7/19/20701048/police-officer-facebook-racism-philadelphia-plain-view-project

Everytown for Gun Safety:

https://everytown.org/

The Community Justice Action Fund is building power within communities of color affected by gun violence:

https://www.cjactionfund.org/

Moms Demand Action: https://momsdemandaction.org/

Moms Demand Action - TX: https://www.facebook.com/MomsDemandActionTX/

"Fight Like a Mother" book by Moms Demand Action founder Shannon Watts: https://fightlikeamother.org/

Hidden Brain podcast on Implicit Bias - https://www.npr.org/2017/06/05/531578107/the-thumbprint-of-the-culture-implicit-bias-and-police-shootings

Implicit bias test: https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/takeatest.html