Building Vermont's Firewall for Freedom

With the election behind us, many are wondering how to fight back against the unprecedented threats to restrict our rights, which Donald Trump will make good on as soon as he is inaugurated in January.

To push back against the threats we know are coming, states and cities must now build firewalls for freedom to ensure its officials do not voluntarily assist in attacking our civil liberties and civil rights. Vermont has some of the strongest protections for civil rights and civil liberties in the country, but there is more we must do to counter those who seek to turn back the clock on the progress we have made together.

With these threats in mind, we urge state policymakers to prioritize legislation and administrative actions in the following areas:

  • Impose stronger restrictions on the use of state and local resources to aid in federal immigration actions: This includes strengthening existing non-cooperation policies including the Fair and Impartial Policing policy, and ending the use of Vermont prisons for ICE detentions
  • Provide funding for threatened health care services: To ensure access to care we must be prepared to financially support the provers who are on the front lines fighting every day to ensure their patients get the care they deserve.
  • Improve oversight of law enforcement: To guard federal overreach through state and local law enforcement we need to limit unnecessary interactions with police and impose more meaningful oversight of law enforcement.
  • Increase digital privacy protections: We need to create greater protections to publicly and privately held personal data which could be used to target vulnerable communities.

    • That is why we are asking all Vermont's elected officials to use the resources in their power to prevent and fight back against these attacks that we know are coming.

    We hope you will join us by signing our Firewall for Freedom petition that we plan to deliver to elected officials and lawmakers before they are sworn in this January. This is a public petition and your name town, and county of residence will be shared with decision makers.

    We the undersigned urge our elected officials to use all of the resources in their power to protect the people of Vermont from federal overreach and attacks on the people of Vermont based on their race, ethnicity, sex, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, immigration status, economic status, or accessing or providing legally protected health care services.