Today’s Solutions: April 26, 2024

The idea of creating a law to address a specific issue, let alone trying to get it passed in Congress, seems awfully overwhelming—especially if you don’t know where to begin. Yet if you want to make real change as an activist, the best thing you can do is get a law passed in order to change something at a fundamental level. In order to help activists who want to pass a law regarding a certain issue, Harvard graduate Amanda Nguyen created an accelerator called Rise Justice Labs that gives people who typically have no experience with lawmaking a clear roadmap for the process. How it works is people who have successfully passed laws through Rise are paired with new “Risers” trying to do the same thing. The process emphasizes diplomacy–to be successful, organizers need to set aside political differences when meeting with lawmakers. It also emphasizes strategy, advocating for the use of data as well as finding ways to make members of Congress feel morally responsible for the passing of a law. Using the approach from Rise Justice Labs, a law was passed in Colorado last month that allows a court to temporarily remove firearms from people who show signs that they pose a risk to themselves or others. If you’re an activist in search of some guidance when it comes to passing laws, Rise Justice Labs are now accepting applications for other activists to join the accelerator.

Solutions News Source Print this article
More of Today's Solutions

How citizen scientists are driving tangible change in Australia

Citizen science has evolved as a formidable force in conservation, propelled by regular people's passion and dedication to conserving our planet's irreplaceable ecosystems. Citizen ...

Read More

Meet Dr. Wade: writer of thousands of Wikipedia pages for women scientists

Though the world has made some strides in gender equality, there is certainly still room for improvement, especially in the field of science, technology, ...

Read More

Art preserves endangered flora in Himalayas—where conservation and culture co...

"In 2002, I was returning to Kalimpong in the eastern Himalaya region of India, and I found numerous trees had been cut down for ...

Read More

Prescribed thinning and controlled burns critical in preventing California wi...

A pioneering two-decade-long study done in California's Sierra Nevada mountains confirms the effectiveness of forest management strategies such as restorative thinning and regulated burning ...

Read More