As Bullock's legal counsel, Graybill has defended the state's strong sunshine laws against the Trump administration's effort to shield some nonprofits from disclosing donor names. Remember when Montana became the first state to enforce net neutrality rules? Graybill wrote that. He also has been fighting to keep Montana's public lands public. Oh, and he's helped Bullock beat Trump to make sure that all of Montana's voters get mail-in ballots for November. So he's already got a good start on the job.
He's worked with Bullock on the epidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous women in a state that has one of the largest Native American populations in the country. He'll be the AG to make sure the federal law that passed this week is fully implemented in a state that's one of the epicenters of the crisis. That's part of his larger plan to end the systemic racism faced by Native Americans in Montana. He wants to see a serious, holistic, and intersectional policy approach that addresses both the ongoing crisis and the broader structural inequality affecting Indigenous people and deploy the Division of Criminal Investigation for all missing persons cases. That's how he intends to approach dealing with substance use disorders in Montana's criminal justice system, advocating robust treatment and prevention programs to solve the substance abuse epidemic—fundamentally, medical conditions that require medical treatments rather than incarceration.
Oh, and he believes this: "Equal treatment under the law is one of our highest ideals." That includes all of the protections in the Equal Rights Amendment: "equality for women in employment and wages, insurance coverage, and continuing to provide protections for a woman’s private healthcare decisions." How refreshing is that?
It won't come as any surprise that the Republican challenger for this open seat is a full-on Trumper. As a former speaker of the Montana House of Representatives, Austin Knudsen killed an equal pay bill in committee. He supports the Republican lawsuit to overturn the ACA, and even instituted an extremely sexist dress code for women in the state legislature. Lately he's been hanging out with the QAnon crowd and related domestic terrorist groups like the Oathkeepers. He calls himself a "law and order" candidate, but has advocated allowing the state to nullify any federal law. And as coronavirus cases surge in Montana, he questions the expertise of doctors and scientists and is an anti-masker. He's dangerous and we don't need any more dangerous Republicans holding statewide office.
The attorney general spot can serve as a key launching pad for future governors, senators, and even vice presidents. Here’s our chance to put another great progressive in a position to help shape the future.
Raph Graybill will fight for the rule of law and protection of our rights. Help him by contributing $5.
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