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Because Freedom Can't Protect Itself |
Release Date: March 7, 2006
Idaho Legislative Alert!
The Idaho legislature is considering two bills that endanger civil liberties.
Please contact your legislators and weigh in on these important issues.
If they don't hear from YOU, the only voices they will hear are those urging them to restrict, not protect, civil liberties.
1. "Constitution Restoration Act" -
ACLU opposes
2. Punishing pregnant women who use drugs -
ACLU opposes
"Constitution
Restoration Act"
To read the memorial: Senate Joint Memorial 119, sponsored by Senator Gerry Sweet and Bryan Fischer of the Idaho Values Alliance, is currently being considered by the full Senate. It states support of the people of Idaho for dangerous federal legislation (Senate Bill 520), the speciously titled "Constitution Restoration Act." A more fitting title to this reactionary piece of legislation might be "The Establishment Clause Evisceration Act."
To read SB520:
http://frwebgate.access.gpo
- The Constitution Restoration Act of 2005, introduced in March 2005 and co-sponsored by Senator Larry Craig and Representative Butch Otter, would deny ALL federal courts - INCLUDING the U.S. Supreme Court - of any jurisdiction to review cases challenging a government official acknowledgment of "God as the sovereign source of law, liberty, or government."
- Specifically, the Act would slam shut the federal court house doors to religious minorities, parents, schoolchildren and others who seek nothing more than to have their religious and free speech claims heard before the courts most uniquely suited to entertain such claims.
- The Constitution Restoration Act also serves as a punitive measure, providing for the impeachment of judges for fulfilling their constitutional duties to review laws that potentially violate the Constitution itself.
- Additionally, the Constitution Restoration Act states that no federal court, including the U.S. Supreme Court, may rely upon international law, except that from English constitutional and common law prior to the adoption of the U.S. Constitution.
- By preventing individuals from addressing their constitutional grievances in federal court, the Act inevitably violates principles of separation of powers, equal protection, and due process.
- It also undermines public confidence in the federal courts by expressing outright hostility toward them, threatens the legitimacy of future congressional action by removing the federal courts as a neutral arbiter, and rejects the unifying function of the federal judiciary by denying federal courts the opportunity to interpret the law. This would potentially create a situation where we could have as many as 50 different interpretations of any relevant federal constitutional question.
- This bill is dangerous and reactionary pieces of legislation in response to unpopular court decisions.
Please tell your state
Senator that you DO NOT SUPPORT this extreme legislation.
Don't know who your Senator is? Click
here:
http://www.legislature.idaho
HOW TO CONTACT SENATORS
It only takes a minute to call the capitol switchboard (using the
number listed below) and ask the operators to deliver a message
to your Senator. The message can be short and simple: "I'm
urging Senator ___ to vote against Senate Joint Memorial 119." It's
that easy. You'll be asked for your name, address and phone number,
and then you'll be done. You have made your voice heard.
Phone: (208) 332-1000 (Boise area). Toll free: (800) 626-0471
(Outside Boise area). Or you can send a quick email to your Senator.
Again, the message can be short and sweet. "Please vote against
Senate Joint Memorial 119." You do need to include your name, address
and phone number. Again, your voice will be heard. To send an
email:
http://www.legislature.idaho
Pregnant Women who use Drugs:
To read the bill:
http://www3.state.id.us/oasis
Senate Bill 1337, the first of its kind in
the nation, would allow for felony prosecution of pregnant women who
ingest a controlled substance (including marijuana). This bill has
passed the Senate and is headed to the House. This bill does nothing
to help pregnant women with their addiction.
- Further criminalization of pregnant women who abuse drugs is inappropriate because drug addiction is an illness that needs treatment.
- Punitive approaches, including assigning policing function to care givers, may cause women most in need of prenatal services to avoid health professionals.
- Proposals such as this only value the health of the fetus and show little regard to the life and health of the pregnant woman. A pregnant woman and her fetus are intertwined and a treatment approach should focus on both, not just the health of the fetus.
- Numerous medical and child welfare groups (e.g., The American Medical Association, The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Nurses Association, and the March of Dimes) have all concluded that threatening pregnant women who have drug and alcohol problems with arrest will not help them get well. Rather, it will frighten them away from prenatal care and discourage them from speaking honestly to health care providers who may be able to help.
- A better approach is to invest in programs that provide community based affordable substance abuse treatment.
Please tell your
Representatives that you DO NOT SUPPORT punishing pregnant women who
use drugs.
Don't know who your Representative are?
Click here
It only takes a minute to call the capitol
switchboard (using the number listed below) and ask the operators to
deliver a message to your Representatives. The message can be short
and simple: "I'm urging Representatives ___ to vote against Senate
Bill 1337." It's that easy. You'll be asked for your name, address
and phone number, and then you'll be done. You have made your voice
heard. Phone: (208) 332-1000 (Boise area). Toll free: (800)
626-0471 (Outside Boise area). Or you can send a quick email to your
Representatives. Again, the message can be short and sweet. "Please
vote against Senate Bill 1337." You do need to include your name,
address and phone number. Again, your voice will be heard. To send
an email:
http://www.legislature.idaho
--- Marty Durand, Legislative Counsel
ACLU of Idaho
(208) 344-9750, ext. 202
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