Indivisible Kirkland

Message to Indivisibles:

We hope you’re taking precautions to stay healthy & well. We have some updates below, as well as some actions you can take from home. Please pay particular attention to the IK Member Survey. We hope to see you soon!

Until Health Department guidelines change, IK will not hold in-person meetings and events of 10+ people. Please watch our Facebook page and our member emails for action items and updates. If you have any questions, please email us.
This is a great time to practice some of the self-care strategies we discussed at our February meeting. If you need a refresher on those ideas, you can find them here.
Indivisible Kirkland is considering a virtual meeting later in the month to provide updates and information, particularly related to the end of the legislative session. We’ll send details as they become available.
Also, all Welcoming Kirkland events have been cancelled for the month of March. Please see the City’s website for more info and future updates.

URGENT STATE ACTION NEEDED: CALL TODAY ~ LAST DAY OF SESSION

OPPOSE SB 6280 – Concerning the use of facial recognition technology

Background: SB 6280 fails to effectively address the defects in this technology and the threat it poses to our privacy and well-being.

• The final version of this bill is a big step back from the House version. It removes the enforcement section. It strips important protections, including the requirement that existing deployments be suspended until they meet the bill’s requirements. It adds back the blanket exemption for use by private security companies.

• This technology poses the greatest threat to the most vulnerable among us. One example: we’ve known that law enforcement employs facial recognition technology to identify perpetrators of child abuse. But we now know that this same technology–including technology developed by rogue companies like Clearview AI–is being used to identify children who are VICTIMS of sexual abuse. The potential for harm here is enormous.

• This technology works poorly and in a way that’s biased against people of color. The National Institute of Standards and Technology reports that existing facial-recognition algorithms are up to 100 times more likely to misidentify Asians, African Americans, Native Americans and Pacific Islanders.

The only sensible response to the inaccuracy, bias and potential for abuse posed by current facial recognition technology is to impose a moratorium on deployment of this technology until it can be improved and deployed pursuant to standards protecting our fundamental privacy rights.

Deadline: URGENT – The vote will probably be TODAY – the last day of the session.

1st:

Please contact Senator Stanford (360-786-7600)
Please contact Rep. Duerr (360-786-7928)
Please contact Rep. Kloba (360-786-7900)

45th:

Please contact Senator Dhingra (360-786-7672)
Please contact Rep. Goodman (360-786-7878)
Please contact Rep. Springer(360-786-7822)

48th:

Please contact Senator Kuderer (360-786-7694)
Please contact Rep. Slatter (360-786-7936)
Please contact Rep. Walen (360-786-7848)

Sample Script:

I am a constituent in the _____ LD. Please vote “no” on SB 6280, the bill addressing facial recognition technology. This bill does not contain the strong provisions required to address the defects and racism inherent in the existing technology. The legislation fails to protect our most vulnerable populations from being abused and wrongly surveilled by this technology. The final bill also removes important provisions from the House version, including the requirement that existing deployments be suspended until they meet the bill’s requirements. The only sensible response to the inaccuracy, bias and potential for abuse posed by current facial recognition technology is to impose a moratorium on its deployment.

Additional Actions to Take While Social Distancing:

1) Please consider donating to Kirkland’s Nourishing Networks program. Nourishing Networks usually provides boxes of food for families during school breaks who face food insecurity. With the current situation, Nourishing Networks is asking for donations so that they can give those families Safeway gift cards, rather than asking people to provide the food directly. For more information, please check out the Nourishing Networks website.

3) Please, please, please fill out the Indivisible Kirkland Member Survey. We need your guidance on what issues and actions motivate you. Frankly, we need more help and more direction from our membership, and this is a way to start that conversation. This survey will just take you a few minutes and is the PERFECT way to support our organization while we’re all forced to take a bit of a break. You can find the survey here.

Indivisible Kirkland

Indivisible Kirkland’s mission is to promote progressive ideals in order to advance justice, equity, and inclusion through civic engagement at the local and state level.

Current News & Actions

Welcome to Indivisible Kirkland

Vision: Indivisible Kirkland envisions a just society.

Mission: Indivisible Kirkland’s mission is to promote progressive ideals in order to advance justice, equity, and inclusion through civic engagement at the local and state level.

Values:

We advocate for equity.

We pursue inclusivity.

We strive to perform acts of allyship.

We deal in truth.

We empower ourselves & other people to act.

We interact with compassion, honesty, & respect.

We practice self-care.

We are a learning organization. We evolve.

We promote democracy to build a more perfect union.

We welcome those who share these values.

2020 Priority Issues:

Climate Change

Gun Safety

Healthcare & Reproductive Rights

Civil Rights & Social Justice

Affordable Housing

Immigrant & Refugee Rights