Now Is the Time to Make Your Voice Heard in Favor of Right to Repair!

I detest asking for favors, but I need to ask you to call or email Minnesota representatives in support of Right to Repair bill HF1138, which is very likely up for a floor vote this week!  It’s especially important if you live in Minnesota, but you absolutely do not need to live here.  The impact will be national — not just in this state.

Why is this important?  Imagine if your local mechanic couldn’t plug into to your car to diagnose problems and instead had to guess what was wrong, and then deal with the black market to illegally purchase parts.  Ridiculous, right?  Well, it’s basically the current state of repair for everything but cars.  Right to Repair gives third party repairers access to the parts and knowledge to fix your stuff.  Without third party repair, your only option is to pay manufacturers ridiculous prices, and that assumes they choose to help you at all.

It was the same for cars until a bill passed in Massachusetts.  Once passed, manufacturers realized it would be pointless to have a policy for one state and a different one for the rest, and so auto repair rights became effective country-wide.  

It really only takes one state.  Right to Repair activism has been moving forward in nearly every state for years.  Many legislators have been convinced, but never in the history of Right to Repair have we made as much progress as we are about to make in Minnesota!  A floor vote will likely happen this week or next, and we could win — Right to Repair could become law of the land!

This is why I am compelled to overcome my aversion to ask for your help — because a simple phone call or email, right now, has 100x the power it normally would.  Many legislators are still on the fence, and you could be one of a dozen people who convinces a representative to make a deciding vote.

I hate making phone calls, but I’ve forced myself to do it many times now, and I can tell you that it's very easy -- all you have to do is say that you support HF1138 and that you want repair options.  (If you have a repair story to tell, all the better!)  You might get lucky and get to leave a voicemail, but if you do talk to a person, you won’t be grilled with questions — the staffers who pick up the phone are friendly and receptive, and they actually want to hear from you. 

It’s not a given we will win, so please don’t sit on your hands and assume victory will happen regardless.  Apple has shut down several bills this year, including in California, where they paid lobbyists to declare that replacing a battery in your phone will cause a fire, and that you are so dumb that you will hurt yourself if you try to repair a device!  It’s all lies and fear rhetoric, but if the sheer volume of nonsense overwhelms the support legislators receive from constituents, the nonsense wins.

PLEASE take the time to do this!  You will be done in five minutes, and you will sleep better tonight.  Check out the link below for the info you need.  And don’t get me wrong — it’s not about sympathy for me.  It’s not about sympathy for repair shops.  It’s so that ALL of us can take back our right to do what we want with the things we own!  We have rights, but only if we continuously claim them.

https://minnesota.repair.org