What You Need to Know about California Proposition 50

Virtual Town Hall on California’s Proposition 50

6 p.m., October 8, 2025

Learn why Proposition 50 will have a huge impact on separation of church and state, and many other aspects of fair and equitable government.
That’s why FFRF Action Fund and Equality California invite you to this special online town hall, “What You Need to Know about California Proposition 50.” (More info here. Register to attend here.)
Hear from a distinguished panel:

  • Rep. Jared Huffman (CA), chair of the Congressional Freethought Caucus, on why Proposition 50 is critical to secular voters.
  • Oklahoma state Rep. Mickey Dollens, FFRF regional governmental affairs manager, on how Proposition 50 impacts communities across the country.
  • Tom Temprano, managing director, Equality California, on what is happening on the ground in California.

This educational forum will focus on why Proposition 50 matters for fair representation and the protection of the separation of state and church, LGBTQ+ rights, and what voters need to know.
There will be ample opportunity for questions and answers, so bring your toughest and most thought-provoking questions. The virtual town hall is open to all FFRF Action Fund and Equality California advocates, reflecting the national importance of this measure.
See more about this important conversation by clicking here.
Register to attend by clicking here.

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Prop 50, Explained — Inside California’s Redistricting Push

Maya C. Miller of CalMatters

11 a.m., October 5, 2025

Join us this Sunday, either in person or online, as we watch and discuss a video exploring Prop 50.

This November, California voters will decide whether to approve Proposition 50, a ballot measure that would amend the state’s constitution to temporarily suspend the state’s independent redistricting commission and replace its maps with new, partisan-drawn districts.

This forum will be a presentation of the 17-minute video, Prop 50, Explained — Inside California’s Redistricting Push, in which Norm Leahy, the senior editor of Ballotpedia, interviews Maya C. Miller of CalMatters. It will be followed by discussion.

Supporters of Prop 50, led by Governor Gavin Newsom and Democratic allies, argue the change is needed to counter mid-decade redistricting efforts in states like Texas and Florida. Opponents — including Republicans, good governance groups, and even former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger — say the measure undermines reforms voters approved more than a decade ago. Maya C. Miller of CalMatters joins the show to explain how Prop 50 made it onto the ballot, what the campaigns for and against are emphasizing, and what polling suggests about its chances this November.

Ballotpedia is a nonprofit and nonpartisan online political encyclopedia that covers federal, state, and local politics, elections, and public policy in the United States. The website was founded in 2007.
CalMatters is a nonprofit news organization covering California state politics and policies, launched in 2015. Founders cited the decline in coverage of state politics as a major motivation leading up to its founding.

You can watch this video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6dieCtcMbc

Attend in Person:
Join fellow Humanists in Milpitas Library Group Study Room A, 160 N Main St, Milpitas, CA 95035.
Often after our meeting, we find a nearby inexpensive eatery for a luncheon.
If you can join us in person, please email vp@humanists.org to help us make sure we have room for you. If you have symptoms that may be COVID, kindly attend on Zoom.

Also, we will continue to present our forums on Zoom. To join and be able to ask questions and make comments, click here.
No password is needed — our host will admit you from the waiting room. Joining the meeting via the link will download and install the Zoom app on your desktop computer (if it’s not already installed), and then take you to the meeting. You can also install the Zoom app on your computer or smartphone, and then enter:
Meeting ID: 816 5389 0712
Passcode: 250634

Join the meeting by phone: +1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose)
Find an international phone number to call: here.

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Click the Interested button or share on Patch:
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Humanist Watch Party for California Freethought Day

President of Black Nonbelievers, Mandisa Thomas, speaks to the crowd at California Freethought Day

12 noon-5 p.m., October 12, 2025

Humanists at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto invite you to a Watch Party for California Freethought Day. The day is sponsored in part by the American Humanist Association.

California Freethought Day combines the fun and atmosphere of a fair with the education and activism of a conference. It’s a festival of freethought.

Join us to celebrate freedom of speech and thought, civic engagement, enthusiasm for science, social justice, and the separation of church and state.

The live event will be outdoors at the California State Capitol Building and livestreamed to UUCPA’s Room 4-5.

This 24th year will feature speakers, entertainers, podcasters, authors, awardees, scholarship recipients, and more.

  • Jonathan Lopez as “Hellen Heels”
  • Seth Andrews, The Thinking Atheist
  • Bongo Furies, Frank Zappa Cover Band
  • Nick Fish, President of American Atheists
  • Karma Waltonen, Writer and Atwood Scholar
  • Corey Wright, Shiny Happy People Season 2
  • Liana Pilar de Leo, Scholarship Winner
  • Haram Doodles, Ex-Muslim Cartoonist
  • Thomas Smith, Host of Serious Inquiries Only
  • Erica Lee, Congressional Candidate
  • Lydia Smith, Podcaster
  • Andy Swan, as Uncle Sam

See the full agenda: https://freethoughtday.org/main/
We’ll be sure to have pizza, fruit, and cookies.

Attend in Person:

Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto
505 East Charleston Road
Palo Alto, CA 94306
Room 4-Room 5, across the patio from the sanctuary.
https://www.uucpa.org/events/humanist-watch-party-for-california-freethought-day/

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Communicating with the Other Side

Greg Lukianoff, lawyer, journalist, author, and activist, at TED 2025 in Vancouver, Canada

11 a.m., September 28, 2025

Join us this Sunday, either in person or online, as we watch and discuss two videos exploring free speech and finding common ground through communication.

The first video is The radical act of choosing common ground. In it, Nisha Anand talks about why lasting change requires the hard, even radical, choice of partnering with people you’d least expect.

The second video is Let’s get real about free speech, a 12-minute video from April 2025. In it, Greg Lukianoff reminds us why free speech is the best check on power ever invented.

Nisha Anand is an Indian-American activist and CEO of Dream.org whish works at the intersection of criminal justice reform, green economics, and tech equity to develop cutting-edge solutions to our toughest problems.

Greg Lukianoff is an American lawyer, journalist, author, and activist who serves as the president of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE).

You can pre-watch Nisha Anand’s video at https://www.ted.com/talks/nisha_anand_the_radical_act_of_choosing_common_ground_sep_2020
You can pre-watch Greg Lukianoff’s video at https://www.ted.com/talks/greg_lukianoff_let_s_get_real_about_free_speech

Attend in Person:
Join fellow Humanists in Milpitas Library Group Study Room A, 160 N Main St, Milpitas, CA 95035.
Often after our meeting, we find a nearby inexpensive eatery for a luncheon.
If you can join us in person, please email vp@humanists.org to help us make sure we have room for you. If you have symptoms that may be COVID, kindly attend on Zoom.

Also, we will continue to present our forums on Zoom. To join and be able to ask questions and make comments, click here.
No password is needed — our host will admit you from the waiting room. Joining the meeting via the link will download and install the Zoom app on your desktop computer (if it’s not already installed), and then take you to the meeting. You can also install the Zoom app on your computer or smartphone, and then enter:
Meeting ID: 816 5389 0712
Passcode: 250634

Join the meeting by phone: +1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose)
Find an international phone number to call: here.

Subscribe to our events in your Apple Calendar:
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Visit the Humanist Community web site:
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RSVP on Meetup:
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Click the Interested button or share on Patch:
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