rich 1.0 Action Network https://actionnetwork.org <link href='https://actionnetwork.org/css/style-embed-v3.css' rel='stylesheet' type='text/css' /><script src='https://actionnetwork.org/widgets/v6/letter/md-sanctuary-session?format=js&source=widget'></script><div id='can-letter-area-md-sanctuary-session' style='width: 100%'><!-- this div is the target for our HTML insertion --></div> GBDSA Trans Rights and Bodily Autonomy https://actionnetwork.org/groups/gbdsa-trans-rights-and-bodily-autonomy https://can2-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/letters/photos/000/416/241/normal/Demand_a_Special_Session_for_Sanctuary_Maryland(2).png Per the Maryland Constitution, Article II, section 16: "The Governor shall convene the Legislature, or the Senate alone, on extraordinary occasions; and whenever from the presence of an enemy, or from any other cause, the Seat of Government shall become an unsafe place for the meeting of the Legislature, he may direct their sessions to be held at some other convenient place." And per Article III, section 14: "The Governor shall issue a Proclamation convening the General Assembly in extraordinary session if a majority of the members elected to the Senate and a majority of the members elected to the House of Delegates join in a petition to the Governor requesting that the Governor convene the General Assembly in extraordinary session, and the Governor shall convene the General Assembly on the date specified in the petition." On April 7th, 2025, the final day of this year's Maryland General Assembly legislative session, many critical bills were either finalized and passed or else left on the table. One especially important bill: the Maryland Values Act, HB 1222, which banned "287(g) Agreements" in which local law enforcement partner with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, now Donald Trump's personal gestapo. Five Maryland counties currently have these agreements: Cecil, Frederick, Harford, Carroll, Garrett, St. Mary's, and Washington. While the bill, in name, ultimately passed the Assembly, everything about 287(g) agreement was stricken. While the text of the Protect Sensitive Locations Act, far behind in the agenda, was inserted in its place, making the Values Act not entirely useless, the Assembly nonetheless decided against protecting our migrant neighbors from racially motivated attackers deputizing local police into their abductions and trafficking schemes. Governor Moore expressed his dedication to 287(g) as a way to get "violent criminals" off the streets; the next day, ICE violently kidnapped Elsy Noemi Berrios in central Carroll County, where they receive cooperation from local police. Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson told reporters, regarding gutting the Values Act, "there is a limit to which we have the ability to impact"; on July 1st of this month, Delaware successfully passed a ban on 287(g) agreements. We hope that these updates have made them reconsider their positions. Since Inauguration Day on January 20th, Donald Trump's regime has issued innumerable executive orders attacking the rights and safety of our already most marginalized citizens, attempting to ban our healthcare and censor the facts of our existence, using the latter as an excuse to gut the Department of Education and attack school districts to dare to teach about us or treat us with respect. Queer and especially trans people, migrants, Black people, labor unions, anti-genocide activists, and women: this patriarchal, white supremacist administration has been abundantly clear about its targets, while the legislature and judiciary (and especially the Supreme Court) have generally been working to legitimize its fascist, race-making project. While Governor Moore and many of our legislators have been talking about their preparations to defend Maryland from federal chaos since prior to the election, they refused to take an obvious step: extend the legislative session, or call for a special one. We need them to fight! That is why we elected them: to build and protect our state and our civil rights! We call on the Governor and the General Assembly to initiate a Special Session to pass crucial laws to protect us, our neighbors, and our state, and we call on all of the People of Maryland to do the same. https://actionnetwork.org/letters/md-sanctuary-session