Wednesday, August 30, 2023

Re: Will you sign the petition to tell the Orlando Magic to STOP donating money to support DeSantis' campaign and stop fueling his rampant racism, homophobia, transphobia, hatred, and bigotry?

There must be consequences for all of the havoc that DeSantis has caused, but instead, the Orlando Magic is fueling his hatred and bigotry, and is bankrolling his campaign at the expense of our most vulnerable communities.

Sign the petition: Tell the Orlando Magic to stop donating to support Ron DeSantis NOW!

Hi Andra,

Can you believe that the Orlando Magic donated $50,000 to support Ron DeSantis's presidential campaign?!1

The Magic donated this money to support DeSantis despite all of the harm he has caused to Floridians. Just this year, DeSantis has already signed a horrifying six-week abortion ban into law, as well as anti-Black, anti-immigrant, and anti-LGBTQ+ legislation and so much more. The results of DeSantis's agenda has made Florida a dangerous state to live in for our communities as we've seen in recent racial violence including the shooting in Jacksonville.2,3

Will you sign the petition to tell the Orlando Magic to not donate another dollar to support DeSantis?

Just last week, at the Republican presidential debate, DeSantis raised his hand when asked if he would support Donald Trump as the GOP nominee even if he was convicted of a crime.4 DeSantis raised his hand despite Trump facing four indictments already this year for his attempts to overturn the 2020 election. This is who DeSantis is—a corrupt, opportunistic politician who puts his own political gain above the people he is supposed to represent.

The Orlando Magic's donation to support DeSantis is completely wrong, and they must stop the donations NOW.

Click here to add your name to this petition, and then pass it along to three friends to spread the word.

Thanks for all you do.

–Jensine, Nadia, Kenia, Chrissy, and the rest of the team

P.S. See the email we sent earlier this month for more context below.

Sources:

1. "Orlando Magic NBA team donated $50,000 to Ron DeSantis Super Pac," The Guardian, August 3, 2023
https://act.moveon.org/go/179857?t=5&akid=360869%2E53570607%2EFRbd_R

2. "'Hateful' laws make travel to Florida 'dangerous,' advocacy groups warn," CBS News, April 13, 2023
https://act.moveon.org/go/173256?t=7&akid=360869%2E53570607%2EFRbd_R 

3. "Locals see echoes of Jacksonville's past in racist attack that killed Black residents," CNN, August 29, 2023
https://act.moveon.org/go/180092?t=9&akid=360869%2E53570607%2EFRbd_R

4. "The GOP candidates were asked if they would support Trump as the presidential nominee if he was convicted. Here's how they responded," ABC News, August 24, 2023
https://act.moveon.org/go/180072?t=11&akid=360869%2E53570607%2EFRbd_R


Sign the petition: Tell the Orlando Magic to stop donating to support Ron DeSantis NOW!

Dear MoveOn member,

Earlier this month, reports came out that the Orlando Magic donated $50,000 to support Ron DeSantis's presidential campaign on behalf of the entire team, using money earned by players and employees to make the donation.5 This is completely unacceptable.

Will you sign the petition to tell the Orlando Magic to STOP donating to support DeSantis and stop fueling his rampant racism, homophobia, transphobia, hatred, and bigotry?

The National Basketball Players Association (the NBA players' union) called the donation "alarming."6 They're absolutely right. It is alarming.

Just this year, Republicans, led by Governor DeSantis in Florida, have passed horrifying legislation that targets, attacks, and undermines the rights of Black, Indigenous, and Latinx communities, as well as immigrants, queer people, trans and nonbinary people, and women. Florida is no longer safe for many of these communities.7

The Orlando Magic, who claim to support "diversity, equity and inclusion all year long," need to put their money where their mouth is and STOP donating to support Ron DeSantis NOW.8 Will you add your name to the petition?

By donating to support DeSantis, the Orlando Magic are enabling the harm that he has caused to our communities, especially those who are most vulnerable. This donation is a slap in the face, and it cannot continue.

Last year, DeSantis used over $600,000 in taxpayer dollars to lure 50 Venezuelan asylum seekers onto a flight to Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. Families, including children, were transported across state lines under false pretenses.9,10

DeSantis signed the "Don't Say Gay'' bill into law and extended it through 12th grade.11 He blocked an African American Studies AP course for students.12 He signed violent anti-LGBTQ+ and anti-trans legislation into law.13

And most recently, Florida's Board of Education approved new guidelines that claim that Black people benefited from slavery. It is absolutely repugnant, and unsurprisingly, when there was backlash, DeSantis doubled down and defended those guidelines.14

The Orlando Magic's donation to DeSantis has real-life implications for our communities. Sign the petition to tell them to do the right thing and stop donating to support DeSantis.

DeSantis has abandoned Floridians and focused on his own political gain at the expense of the people he vowed to govern. Under his so-called leadership, Floridians have struggled through an ongoing health care crisis, soaring rent prices, and rising costs of everyday necessities like groceries and utilities. And instead of focusing on providing relief for individuals and families, DeSantis's priority has been to pass racist, homophobic, and transphobic legislation.

There must be consequences for all of the havoc that DeSantis has caused, but instead, the Orlando Magic are fueling his hatred and bigotry and bankrolling his campaign at the expense of our most vulnerable communities.

If we come together, we can put an end to this and demand that the Orlando Magic commit to not giving DeSantis another dollar to advance his dangerous agenda.

Click here to add your name to this petition, and then pass it along to three friends to spread the word.

Thanks for all you do.

–Jensine, Nadia, Kenia, Chrissy, and the rest of the team

Sources:

5. "Orlando Magic NBA team donated $50,000 to Ron DeSantis Super Pac," The Guardian, August 3, 2023
https://act.moveon.org/go/179857?t=19&akid=360869%2E53570607%2EFRbd_R

6. Ibid.

7. "'Hateful' laws make travel to Florida 'dangerous,' advocacy groups warn," CBS News, April 13, 2023
https://act.moveon.org/go/173256?t=21&akid=360869%2E53570607%2EFRbd_R 

8. "Orlando Magic Diversity" accessed August 16, 2023
https://act.moveon.org/go/179858?t=23&akid=360869%2E53570607%2EFRbd_R 

9. "DeSantis Flying Migrants to Martha's Vineyard May Have Violated Federal Law, Experts Say," Rolling Stone, September 15, 2022
https://act.moveon.org/go/168033?t=25&akid=360869%2E53570607%2EFRbd_R

10. "Migrants on Martha's Vineyard flight say they were told they were going to Boston," NPR, September 15, 2022
https://act.moveon.org/go/168035?t=27&akid=360869%2E53570607%2EFRbd_R

11. "Florida Just Expanded "Don't Say Gay" to Cover K-12," Them, April 19, 2023
https://act.moveon.org/go/179859?t=29&akid=360869%2E53570607%2EFRbd_R 

12. "Critics say Florida aims to rewrite history by rejecting African American studies," NPR, January 27, 2023
https://act.moveon.org/go/170392?t=31&akid=360869%2E53570607%2EFRbd_R

13. "Gov. DeSantis Signs Slate of Extreme Anti-LGBTQ+ Bills, Enacting a Record-Shattering Number of Discriminatory Measures Into Law," Human Rights Campaign, May 17, 2023 https://act.moveon.org/go/179860?t=33&akid=360869%2E53570607%2EFRbd_R

14. "DeSantis is defending new slavery teachings. Civil rights leaders see a pattern of 'policy violence,'" AP News, July 27, 2023
https://act.moveon.org/go/179861?t=35&akid=360869%2E53570607%2EFRbd_R

You're receiving this petition because we thought it might interest you. It was created on MoveOn.org, where anyone can start their own online petitions. You can start your own petition here.

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PAID FOR BY MOVEON POLITICAL ACTION, https://pol.moveon.org/. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. MoveOn Political Action - PO Box 96142, Washington, D.C. 20090-6142.

This email was sent to Andra Patterson on August 30, 2023. To change your email address or update your contact info, click here. MoveOn's privacy policy was recently updated. To read our new privacy policy, click here. To remove yourself from this list, click here.

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