The RENEE GOOD Act

In the wake of 9/11, the U.S. passed the Homeland Security Act of 2002. This law, passed while the American people were still reeling from the attack, formed the Department of Homeland Security, and consolidated 22 agencies under it’s command, including the newly created ICE. The result of this law has been increased surveillance of the American people, increased intrusion into our private lives, and just less freedom in general. But the most obvious outcome of the enactment of this law is now in full display; the formation of a private police force that operates outside the law, and is under full control of the President and his hand picked secretary of DHS. It created a police state, and we just witnessed the results.

None of us are safe. If you still believe that these masked goons with guns are out in our cities, roaming our streets, looking for the “worst of the worst”, then I fear you are incapable of independent thought. This attack did not start on January 7, 2026. It has in fact been building for many years. But now, with a Republican party filled with sycophants who’s only role seems to be nodding along in agreement to whatever their imbecilic leader says, and the Robert’s Court that handed the tyrant unlimited power, I think the full scope of how precarious for the American people the passing of this law was.

I realize this won’t happen now. We have a lot of work to do first, starting with rising up and getting more of the American people involved, doing the things that Renee Good was trying to do when she was murdered this week. But in the coming elections, starting this year, we should all demand a new law that will not only repeal the Homeland Security Act, but enshrine privacy and personal rights into U.S. law. Forming a police state in the name of freedom has not made us free. It needs to be repealed.

In the fever of patriotism that followed 9/11, many waved the flag and cheered “Freedom” as we collectively voted for laws and actions that systematically removed some of our personal liberties. There were many who fought this and pointed out, correctly, what would eventually happen. The current situation was predicted. But those people were shouted down and over ruled.

Fascists use fear to divide and rule. Fear of the “other”. Fear of your neighbor. Fear of the government itself. They create division, pitting one group against the other. They wrap themselves in the flag, while abolishing those principals the flag stands for. Fascism is hypocrisy.

True Freedom comes only when we are all equal in the eyes of the law, when our elected officials honor their oath to “protect and defend the constitution”, and when the police state is no longer allowed to terrorize our towns and cities, or spy on us and steal our personal information, claiming to make us safe while taking away our inalienable rights.

I feel pretty confident that Renee Nicole Good did not intend to become a martyr when she arrived on that street on January 7th. She was there for the same reasons many of us are out protesting, or writing letters and making calls to our elected officials, or volunteering to help in our communities. She wanted to do good. And without knowing her, and only knowing what I have read, I can’t say for sure what she would have wanted as her legacy. It does not appear that she was seeking fame in life, but now that she is gone, fame has found her.

She was not the first ICE victim, far from it. There have been many over the past year, and in realty many more over the decades since DHS and ICE were created. And I think we should remember all of them. But the scale and scope of what this force has become has now spilled into the national conversation like never before. And if the brutal killing of Renee Good on a Minneapolis street by a rogue, masked thug with a gun is the catalyst, the trigger that finally demands that all of Americas true patriots stand up and say NO, then I for one think we need to make the most of this moment of national grief. As I write this, protests and vigils have been taking place all over our country, and many more are being planned in the coming days. I have been, and will be taking part, and I hope you will be as well. It’s time to act.

Renee Good didn’t plan to be a hero, but she was. She was fighting back against injustice, and was doing it bravely, but peacefully. And she was murdered. As the nation grieves, we can do so in her name while also recognizing all the others who were unjustly denied their rights before her. And maybe, when we finally rid our government of this awful regime, we can repeal the law that created this mess, and lay the foundation for a society where everyone is treated with dignity and respect, like our Constitution demands, but we have never achieved. And when that law is passed, with the consent of Renee’s family and those who knew her best, I suggest it be named The Renee Good Act.

Source: Substack

Author: Todd Warren
About the author: Todd Warren is a lead organizer with Indivisible QC, helping plan local actions, support coalition work, and connect new volunteers to meaningful ways to participate. He writes about organizing, democracy, economic fairness, and how communities build power through sustained, nonviolent action.