What Is SB323?

Read the Full Text of SB 323 Here

Senator Scott Martin continues to push his attacks on our Free Speech rights. Driven by his love for the gas industry — and his contempt for grassroots organizing — Martin is seeking to silence the voices of ALL PROTEST as the lead sponsor of Senate Bill 323.

SB323 is

  • Designed to discourage the free exercise of First Amendment rights
  • Forces protestors to reimburse any emergency response costs associated with public demonstrations if charges arise from the activity, no matter how peaceful.
  • Bill’s language specifically calls out:
    1. vigils and prayer services
    2. public assembly, meeting or gathering, a rally or protest event
    3. a political rally or event
    4. a demonstration, speech making, or marching

SB323’s primary purpose is to stifle “expressive activity or the communication or expression of views or grievances.” The bill is sitting in committee now, awaiting a move to the Senate floor.

RESIST • CREATE

PA Pledge 2019

We welcome signatures from individuals and grassroots organizations in Pennsylvania committed to actively working for justice on behalf of people and the environment.

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The bad news is that our planet is in crisis.
The good news is that communities are rising.

Senator Scott Martin’s plan to criminalize grassroots activism in Pennsylvania is part of a national campaign to chill protest and intimidate communities. Corporate exploiters know that mass action is their greatest threat.

We are emboldened, not silenced, by these unconstitutional bills.

As corporations write our laws, buy our politicians, and shape our courts, “We the People” are no longer wringing our hands in despair or waiting for someone else to stop corporate tyranny.

We pledge to enact a two-pronged strategy of action to build a more just society in the face of corporate abuse:

RESIST: Through persistent campaigns of peaceful, joyful, civil disobedience we aim to break this billionaire-rigged system and force our lawmakers to serve our communities and environment, not corporations.

CREATE: Through community-led initiatives to build a sustainable future, we commit ourselves to tackling our most urgent problems with, or without, the support of politicians.

We further recognize that violence against the planet is tied to the systemic abuse of women, people of color, indigenous peoples, the incarcerated, immigrants, the poor, and children. All are exploited, by design, for corporate profit.

In times of great moral crisis, grassroots activism is not only a Constitutional right.
It’s a moral imperative.

By signing this pledge, I vow to RESIST corporate exploitation through peaceful mass actions
and to CREATE community-based solutions for a livable future.

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~ SIGN THE PLEDGE! ~

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