Veterans Convene Democracy Forum In Guadalupe, AZ
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
August 10, 2023
MEDIA CONTACT:
Jacob Thomas | jacob@commondefense.us
PHOENIX — Common Defense, the nation’s largest grassroots veteran organization, convened a forum on democracy last night with over 70 community members and 10 organizations in attendance. In recent years, extremist MAGA elected officials and their lackeys have egregiously attacked the integrity of elections—such as the Big Lie, senseless election lawsuits, and frivolous recounts upon recounts—and attempted to suppress the right to vote.
It is essential that pro-democracy Arizonans—and democracy-aligned people across the country—join together as a united front against extremism and attempts to suppress Americans’ rights to vote. As veterans who took an oath to protect the values and rights of the constitution, we believe it is our responsibility to join in this effort to defend democracy by working together to educate community members about the threats facing our democracy, build a broad grassroots coalition to push back against those threats, and elevate the community voices affected by these attacks on our democracy.
While MAGA extremists are trying to subvert majority rule and the principles of democracy, veterans in Arizona and across the country are coming together, like tonight in Guadalupe, Arizona, to build the multi-racial, inclusive, and representative democracy that our communities deserve—where liberty and justice can truly be for all.
QUOTES
Joanna “JoJo” Sweatt, USMC Veteran and Organizing Director for Common Defense
“We must continue to mobilize activists to educate their communities on the threats facing our democracy, and the importance of protecting our freedom to vote and getting big secret money out of politics.”
Kate Smith, USAF Academy Grad
“The way you get a seat at the table is you vote… where we are today, we are in jeopardy of losing the rights of people that are disabled, that have PTSD to vote by mail or to vote absentee. If a service member can vote by mail why can’t we?”
Derek Duba, Army veteran
“Anti-democratic forces and extremist politicians are spending their millions to suppress the votes of poor, working class, and other marginalized communities because they know that the collective “we” outnumbers them. If they have their way, we will lose our democracy. We cannot let that happen. That is why I am here and why I am fighting back.”
PHOTOS OF EVENT
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Q_gAPaIG89vKpNuIz_sDWlLaO-eO1u46?usp=share_link
LIVESTREAM RECORDING
ORGANIZATIONS IN ATTENDANCE
Common Defense
UU The VOTE
Arizona Poor People's Campaign
Arizona Veterans & Military Leadership Alliance
Living United for Change in Arizona (LUCHA)
Arizona Center for Disability Law
Honest AZ
Vets Forward
Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) AZ
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Common Defense is a grassroots, veteran-led organization that was founded in 2016. We empower veterans to stand up for our communities against the rising tide of racism, hate, and violence, to organize against the entrenched powers that have rigged our economy, and to champion an equitable and representative democracy, where “liberty and justice” truly is for all. For too long, politicians from both political parties have attempted to use veterans as unwilling political props, and Common Defense serves as a home for veterans to organize and speak for themselves and support the candidates who truly share our values.