America's Support for Unions, Gun Control, Abortion Rights, and LGBT2SQIA+ Rights Hit Record Highs

     After a decade of GOP-controlled state legislatures watering down the power of unions in the 2010s, the 2020s have seen organized labor hit a level of support not seen since the Great Society. In 2021, support for unions hit 68 percent, the highest level since 1967. Just days ago, it was revealed that support for unions among Americans had hit 71 percent, the highest level since 1965. This support has led to concrete action, with union movements taking hold in massive corporations like Starbucks, Target, Trader Joe's, Chipotle, Amazon, Apple, and countless others.

     Unions aren't the only issue for which there is record support in the present moment. In the wake of the mass shootings in Buffalo, Uvalde, and Highland Park; the signing of the historic Bipartisan Safer Communities Act; and the disastrous decision by SCOTUS to cater to the gun lobby above the United States Constitution; American support for gun control measures hit 68 percent, up from just under 60 percent in the beginning of the year. This surpasses the previous record of 66 percent set in 2019 after the shootings in El Paso and Dayton.

     Then, of course, there was the decision that will, hopefully, be the most notorious one the Supreme Court ever makes in modern history: striking down Roe v. Wade and ending constitutional protections for abortion. The Supreme Court's popularity has fallen for years, and this decision was the death knell to its reputation. 61 percent of Americans support abortion being legal in all or most circumstances, while nearly 85 percent support abortion in some circumstances: needless to say, in no states do total abortion bans have majority support.

     On yet another issue, support among Americans is growing: 71 percent of Americans now support gay marriage, up from the previous record high of 70 percent in 2021. This comes at a time when gay marriage and even interracial marriage could be under threat by the Ultra MAGA Supreme Court and Congress is negotiating the Respect for Marriage Act, a bill that could codify marriage equality into law.

     Republicans are trying to institute Jim Crow 2.0, suppress the vote, oppress transgender people and people of color, open up America to more incidents of mass gun violence, put doctors and rape victims in prison, strip workers of their protections, and eat away at the very foundations of American democracy. While the Senate is relatively safe and growing safer, we also need to keep control of the House to defend American democracy. These extremist positions have led to millions of voters who are overwhelmingly young, black, and female to register to vote. Momentum is on the side of the just; the challenge remains to keep it up.

     Democrats have outperformed President Biden in every special election this year. The recent ones in New York and Alaska were especially important: if we are able to put up the same performance in November, we will keep the House and the Senate. How can we manage that? The answer is clear: the positions the Republican Party holds are historically unpopular. Stick to the facts, stick to the truth, state positions clear and often, force your opponents to do the same, and win.

     Joe Biden gave a critical call to action in Philadelphia last week. This November, let's prove to the cynics and the villains that Americans believe in equality and that Americans believe in democracy. This November, let's create a Blue Wave.