10 signatures reached
To: Governor Katie Hobbs
Stand in Solidarity with SMI Caregivers in Arizona! STOP SB1055
Dear Governor Hobbs:
SB1055 threatens the safety of all SMI families. It would erode SMI community trust of local law enforcement agencies, and would place SMI caregiver safety at risk.
SB1055 threatens the safety of all SMI families. It would erode SMI community trust of local law enforcement agencies, and would place SMI caregiver safety at risk.
SMI caregivers would think twice about making a 911 crisis call, placing them and their SMI loved ones’ safety at risk. Local law enforcement officers and Crisis Intervention Teams play a critical role during an SMI crisis call. Due to untreated or poorly treated illness, some SMI family members come into contact the criminal justice system due to an arrest for domestic violence or property damage, for example. SB1055 could cause SMI caregivers and mothers to be afraid to call law enforcement for fear of being asked for “their papers” or for fear that ICE could be called based on an arrest as a result of untreated or poorly treated SMI illness. This could create unsafe situations.
US Citizen and tribal SMI caregivers fear racial profiling due to SB1055. Recent news reports show federal officers applying an informal definition of “reasonable suspicion” to stop, interrogate, arrest and detain people based on appearing to have unlawful status, such as speaking with an accent or skin color. SB1055 would allow local law enforcement to racially profile “to the extent allowed by the United States” during traffic stops, an arrest, or if they come into contact with federal operations.
SB1055 puts ALL SMI caregivers and mothers at risk by eroding trust with local law enforcement and by creating a two-tier system that allows racial profiling of some members of SMI community.
We the undersigned ask that you VETO this legislation should it come to your desk.
We the undersigned ask that you VETO this legislation should it come to your desk.
Why is this important?
People living with severe mental illness (SMI) and the families who love them are already heavily impacted by criminalization, as well as overrepresented in jails and prisons. SB1055 Arizona is a proposed legislation that exposes the intersection of disability in/justice, criminalization, failed mental health systems and racial profiling. SB1055 would isolate, humiliate, and control people into walking around with multiple forms of ID to either prove "we are not them" or to limit people's movements, erode their peace of mind, and terrorize all SMI families wherever they go (school, work, etc.)
Justice-minded SMI caregivers in Arizona know that legislation like SB1055 is not only bad for Arizona, it's also bad for the rest of the country. Please sign our petition to stand in solidarity with SMI caregivers in Arizona!
Justice-minded SMI caregivers in Arizona know that legislation like SB1055 is not only bad for Arizona, it's also bad for the rest of the country. Please sign our petition to stand in solidarity with SMI caregivers in Arizona!