Do you serve in a chamber where control will soon flip from one party to another? Do you have experience serving in a chamber that was recently flipped? Come join this networking space to connect with colleagues across the country to exchange experiences, ideas, and strategies for navigating new terrains of governing power heading into the 2025 legislative session.
The global fight for abortion access, pregnancy decriminalization and reproductive justice is gaining momentum, fueled by movements like Latin America's Green Wave. In this session, participants will have the unique opportunity to learn from the countries leading the way. Since 2019, SiX has brought lawmakers to Latin America (El Salvador, Mexico, Dominican Republic) to witness how a human rights framework is driving policy change and empowering communities. Participants will learn from legislators who are integrating these powerful strategies into state policy and learn from leaders at the forefront of the Green Wave movement to discover the power of international solidarity. Join us for an inspiring conversation and explore what's possible when we align with a global movement for change!
The U.S. has the highest incarceration rate of any independent democracy on earth—worse, every single state incarcerates more people per capita than most nations. In the global context, even “progressive” U.S. states like New York and Massachusetts appear as extreme as Louisiana and Mississippi in their use of prisons and jails. The impact and policy choices of incarceration span from broken families, housing implications, workforce, education, and more. Attendees will learn from experts about the intersections of drug policy, abortion access, LGBTQ+ justice, family separation caused by the child welfare system, immigrant rights, labor, and agriculture. This session will look at what policy solutions are available and how state lawmakers can respond to this crisis of incarceration in their communities.
How do we not only defeat threats and move proactive policy, but also create the big tent needed for state legislators to work alongside each other for reproductive health, rights, and justice in its most expansive form while we are doing it? The SiX Reproductive Rights Team will provide a brief overview of expected challenges and opportunities in the 2025 legislative session and facilitate an engaging discussion with the state legislators and advocates in the room on 1) concrete policy, caucus, and movement building strategies, 2) current litigation efforts and how they interact with legislative strategy, and 3) tailored resource recommendations for state legislators to respond to whatever is coming their way. In our current patchwork of reproductive health policies, we know that what happens in one state impacts, informs, or inspires another and welcome all to attend, share, and build out your network of support across state lines.
Leading while protecting religious equality means being able to communicate deep values, respecting the ways religion shapes constituents’ lives, and countering efforts to institutionalize a narrow religious ideology that threatens democracy. This session will be an interactive, skills-building workshop facilitated by religious leaders. Legislators will discuss how religion is manipulated to justify ideologies that exclude, harm, and limit freedom and equality. Then, legislators will discuss how religion can be a source of connection, meaning, and purpose. Next, legislators will highlight their core beliefs and values. Finally, legislators will be provided talking points, trained to “Say This, Not That,” and develop a step-by-step sequence for statements.
