Committees take action on 11 resolutions on social justice and U.S. policy – ​​Episcopal News Service

The General Assembly’s Social Justice and U.S. Policy committees voted on 11 proposed resolutions on June 22, 2024. The meeting at the Louisville Marriott Downtown Hotel in Kentucky was the first in-person meeting of the parallel committees of deputies and bishops, which, while separate, normally meet and deliberate together but vote separately. The committees began online meetings in April. Photo: Shireen Korkzan/ENS

(Episcopal News Service-Louisville, Kentucky) On June 22, the General Assembly’s Social Justice and U.S. Policy Committees voted on 11 proposed resolutions covering issues ranging from ending the trafficking of migrant youth to closing the U.S. military prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.

The June 22 meeting at the Louisville Marriott Downtown Hotel was the first in-person meeting of the parallel committees of deputies and bishops, which, while separate, normally meet and deliberate together but vote separately. The committees began meeting online in April.

The meeting began with a hearing on Resolution A166, “Registration of Firearms; Licensing of Firearm Sellers, Purchasers and Users; Use of Taggants.” Eli Crowley, a youth delegate from the Diocese of Rio Grande, spoke in favor of the resolution.

“Multi-day wait times and state-level background checks will help, but the primary focus must be on holding government accountable and closing these loopholes,” he said.

Loopholes include circumventing background checks and psychiatric examinations. Such laws, if they exist, vary from state to state.

Crowley also supported Resolution A167, “Water Rights for Indigenous Communities and Land,” but modified the wording to strengthen the Church’s involvement.

“The language of this resolution must be strengthened to enable the Episcopal Church’s Office of Government Relations to pressure the federal and state governments to provide the Navajo Nation with the water infrastructure it needs…” he said.

The Navajo Nation reservation covers 27,000 square miles in Arizona, Utah and New Mexico, and tribal leaders said nearly a third of its 170,000 residents lack access to drinking water, the news reports said.

Rev. Tracy Johnson Russell, rector of St. Monica’s Episcopal Church in Hartford, Connecticut, sponsored Resolution D054, “A Resolution to Address the Problem of Maternal Mortality Among Blacks.”

In the United States, the maternal mortality rate for black women is nearly three times higher than for white and Hispanic women. Black babies are also more likely to be born prematurely and die, putting them at higher risk for long-term health problems.

“The history of racism in health care must be understood to dismantle institutionalized racism in health care systems and create policies that protect Black women. Social and systemic change is imperative to reduce Black maternal morbidity and mortality,” said Johnson Russell, who is Black herself. “As such, the stark disparities in Black women’s reproductive health outcomes require a greater focus on the intersectional roles of racism, discrimination, and other social determinants of health in influencing disease and mortality risk.”

The committees also debated the best language for Resolution D039, “Condemning Censorship,” which addresses censorship in public schools and libraries. The resolution was ultimately adopted as amended and removed from the agenda of the House of Representatives, the house in which the resolution was originally considered.

The committees of deputies and bishops then took the following decisions:

• D034, “Support and advocacy for restorative justice and a moral commitment to abolish prisons and policing” – adopted a replacement resolution.
• D027, ‘Combating the number of fatal road accidents’ — The deputies accepted it, but the bishops did nothing.
• D028, ‘Closing the Guantánamo Bay prison’ – Resolution adopted with amendments.
• D042, ‘Ending child and forced marriages’ – a replacement resolution was adopted.
• A166, “Registration of firearms; licensing of firearm sellers, purchasers, and users; use of marking devices” – the resolution was adopted.
• A167, “Water Rights for Indigenous Communities and Lands” – adopted with amendments.
• C035, ‘End the practice of labour trafficking of young migrants’ – resolution adopted.
• D054, “A Resolution to Address the Problem of Negro Maternal Mortality” – Resolution adopted with amendments.
• D057, ‘Advocate for Housing Solutions’ – Resolution adopted.
• D067, ‘Support for temporary protection status’ – Resolution adopted.
• D039, ‘Condemn censorship’ – substitute resolution adopted; removed from the consensus list.

The House of Representatives and the House of Bishops will meet for their legislative sessions on 23 June, the first official day of the 81st Parliament.st General Convention.

All resolutions can be followed on General Convention Virtual Binder website.

-Shireen Korkzan is a reporter and assistant editor for the Episcopal News Service based in northern Indiana. Reach her at [email protected].