We the People Project

Over 100k veterans live in U.S. territories.  This week, PBS and NPR are highlighting that these patriotic Americans are not only denied the right to vote for President and voting representation in Congress, they are also denied the medical treatment they need. See a connection?

Tune in Sunday for PBS’ exciting new series, America By the Numbers with Maria Hinojosa, which this week in «Island of Warriors» tells the story of three veterans who, after returning home to Guam from Iraq and Afghanistan, find themselves denied critical medical services.  Guam veterans receive the lowest per capita expenditures from the VA of any jurisdiction, even as they have among the highest rates of military service.  I had a chance to participate in a pre-screening event at NPR on Thursday, and I was moved beyond words.

Maria Hinojosa also brought Guam’s story to her NPR program LatinoUSA.  The program also examines how Puerto Rican veterans have been shortchanged, both in terms of their medical care and how long the Borinqueneers had to wait to receive the recognition they deserved.  Puerto Rico has a larger population than almost half the states, but no right to vote for President.

Our momentum continues to build as we work to bring the story of second-class citizenship to a national audience.

I hope you’ll consider making a tax deductible contribution to We the Project to help our work continue.

Every dollar we raise results in more than ten dollars in impact through pro bono partnerships with national law firms.  On Wednesday, we finished briefing our case before the D.C. Circuit that is fighting for recognition of equal citizenship in U.S. territories, with Global Post featuring the case in this great story today.  Early next year we’ll be filing an exciting new federal voting rights lawsuiton behalf of veterans and others in the territories who are denied the right to vote for President.

Thank you for everything you do to support our work.  Together we can achieve «Equal Rights, Wherever You Live.»

Sincerely,

Neil Weare
President and Founder
We the People Project
http://www.equalrightsnow.org/