1. United States
2. Mass.
3. Letter

Federal agents are gunning people down in the streets on camera, and instead of investigating the killings the FBI is investigating the victims’ families. Employees of the state are being allowed to run wild, terrorizing us, assaulting us and disappearing us, secure in the knowledge that they’re being shielded from any consequences by law enforcement that doesn’t care about the law. Americans desperately need more power to fight for our rights. We shouldn’t have to rely on the government to seek justice over injustices committed by that same government. Right now, we are effectively blocked from suing federal officials for damages when they violate our constitutional rights. Unless the state is willing to act on our behalf, they can get away with harming us and there’s not much we can do about it. Members of both parties and folks from across the political spectrum have long argued this sort of impunity is dangerous, and it has to change. In several states, lawmakers have set up a different path to seek accountability. Their laws allow individuals to pursue damages against federal officials using a state-level cause of action, in what’s called a “converse 1983 remedy” or a “universal constitutional remedies law.” Folks here should be able to stand up for ourselves like that, too. Please support legislation to allow us to seek damages against federal employees for their wrongdoing and work to pass it into law as soon as possible.