Articles Tagged ‘Policy and Legislative Advocacy’

On Tuesday, September 27,  Bernalillo County Commissioner Michael Wiener told the ACLU to “go to hell.”

No joke. You can watch the video clip for yourself:

I spoke on behalf of the ACLU at the commission meeting on Tuesday in support of a resolution that would prohibit county ceremonies from being held in places of worship. I told the commission that when a government agency holds official ceremonies in places of worship, it sends a message to the community that a certain religious group or set of beliefs is preferred—and that’s just not right.

Unfortunately, I was outnumbered 30 to 1 at the meeting and things got a little ugly. Then Wiener told us to go to hell. Then the commission voted down the resolution 3-2. It was kind of a rough day.

But that’s what the ACLU does, we take principled stands—often in the face of fierce opposition—to insure that our freedoms are not trampled by the tyranny of the majority. Today, I’d like to invite you to stand with the ACLU of New Mexico by letting your commissioners (especially Wiener!) know that the separation of church and state matters to you.

This resolution didn’t come out of the blue. Earlier this month Bernalillo County Sheriff Dan Houston chose his own church as the venue for the graduation ceremony for new deputies. Some of the new deputies were upset that, on their special day, they would be forced to attend a ceremony in a place of worship when plenty of secular, county-owned venues were available.

We want our supporters to speak up on this issue because it is important to show that what happened at that commission meeting was unacceptable. The majority of Americans value the separation of church and state because they know that both government and religion are at their best when they are not entangled with one another.

Sincerely,

Peter Simonson

Executive Director

No one should have to feel uncomfortable or out of place because the government chooses to hold a public function in a place of worship. That’s what happened recently when the Bernalillo County Sherriff’s Office decided to hold their new deputys’ graduation ceremony at Legacy Church in Albuquerque.

In response, the Bernalillo County Commission has introduced a resolution requiring that all public ceremonies involving county employees be held in public facilities. This is a great resolution for several reasons:

1. When a government agency holds a public function at a place of religious worship, they implicitly give their endorsement to that particular religious sect. The government should not be in the business of deciding which beliefs are right, wrong or preferred.
2. There are plenty of government owned, non-religious community centers, public gathering areas and multipurpose stages that can serve as venues for public ceremonies at no additional cost to the tax-payer. These venues are far more appropriate places to hold public ceremonies involving people who hold a diverse, wide range of religious beliefs.
3. Holding public ceremonies in places of worship makes the government vulnerable to legal challenges. Using tax-payer money defending against a First Amendment lawsuit when appropriate non-religious alternatives exist is a waste. We can’t afford to spend the County’s limited resources in this way.

Please take the time to write your county commissioners to ask they vote YES on the resolution requiring that all public ceremonies involving county employees be held in public facilities. If you don’t know which commissioner represents your district, you can consult the maps below:

Maggie Hart Stebbins, Chair (District 3): wobrien@bernco.gov (Dist. 3 map)

Art De La Cruz, Vice Chair (District 2): dherrera@bernco.gov (Dist 2 map)

Michelle Lujan Grisham (District 1): BCCDistrict1@bernco.gov (Dist. 1 map)

Michael C. Wiener (District 4): ddady@bernco.gov (Dist 4 Map)

Wayne A. Johnson (District 5): kbrown@bernco.gov (Dist. 5 map)

ALBUQUERQUE, NM – On Independence Day, July 4th, Grace Williams, Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Mexico from 1975 to 1993, passed away in her home in Albuquerque. Grace was a founding member of the state affiliate and led the ACLU of New Mexico for 18 years, doggedly defending the civil liberties of all New Mexicans. During her long tenure with the ACLU of New Mexico, Grace grew the organization in size, impact and influence, winning significant victories in the cause of liberty.

New Mexico Supreme Court Chief Justice Charles Daniels, who served as president of the ACLU-NM board of directors during Grace’s tenure, said, “New Mexicans have never had a more dedicated champion of our constitutional rights than Grace Williams. She never forgot that eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.”

“Grace was a pistol,” said ACLU-NM Co-Legal Director Phil Davis. “She had boundless energy, and could wax eloquent on civil liberties at the drop of a hat. She had a great sense of humor. She was fearless and brash about the importance of civil liberties and was willing to tell anyone, anywhere, anytime why civil liberties were critical to the fabric of American society. She stood up against mayors, and governors and legislators, and was not afraid to let them know exactly what she thought.”

As Executive Director, Grace tripled the ACLU staff, recruited volunteer attorneys from the community and organized a legal panel to steer the organization’s litigation efforts. The ACLU of New Mexico also became fully financially independent from the national ACLU due to Grace’s skillful fundraising and management.

Grace played a major role in elevating civil liberties work in New Mexico to the national stage. Under her direction, the ACLU of New Mexico won many important victories that created a lasting impact on the legal landscape, including litigation that:

-        Removed religious iconography from the Bernalillo County Seal,

-        Challenged infiltration of citizen organizations by the Albuquerque Police Department and

-        Introduced sweeping reforms of the New Mexico corrections system in the wake of the 1980 Santa Fe penitentiary riot.

In recognition of her contributions, the ACLU of New Mexico honored Grace as Civil Libertarian of the Decade in 1992. She has also received the Albuquerque Bar Association’s Liberty Bell Award, and the Governor’s Award for Outstanding Women.

As Grace prepared to retire in 1993, longtime Albuquerque Journal writer Jim Belshaw reflected on her storied career:

“We all get irritated [with the ACLU] for the same reason. Liberty as an abstraction is sometimes easier to deal with than liberty as a reality. Which is to say that when it comes to the exercise of individual rights, sometimes all we do is talk a good game. For the past 18 years, Grace Watson Williams has dragged us, kicking and screaming, out of abstraction and into reality. It’s all in a day’s work for her.”

“We have lost one of New Mexico’s greatest champions of freedom,” said ACLU-NM Executive Director Peter Simonson. “Grace put the ACLU on the map in New Mexico. She embodies the fighting spirit of the organization and its unwavering commitment to the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. She will be missed.”

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httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHM3AiK2fwA

Some public schools are using web filtering software to block student access to positive info about LGBT issues and organizations. Blocking all LGBT content violates students’ First Amendment rights to free speech. They also violate the Equal Access Act, which requires equal access to school resources for all extracurricular clubs, including gay-straight alliances and LGBT support groups. Some schools have even configured their web filters to block access to websites for positive LGBT rights organizations, but still allow access to anti-LGBT sites that condemn LGBT people or urge us to try to change our sexual orientation. This is called viewpoint discrimination, and it’s also illegal.

LAS CRUCES, NM – While the ACLU of New Mexico Regional Center for Border Rights is encouraged by President Obama’s remarks Tuesday putting immigration reform back on the table, concerns remain with the administration’s continued emphasis on a costly, enforcement-only model.

Since 2003, border communities have witnessed a massive increase in federal law enforcement resources along the U.S.-Mexico border. There are now almost 10 border patrol agents per mile; thousands of other federal agents and members of the National Guard; 700 miles of fencing; and at least six drones patrolling our skies, costing taxpayers billions of dollars.

This rapid over-intensification of federal law enforcement resources has come with little accountability and oversight and has resulted in negative consequences for people who live along the border. The ACLU-NM Regional Center for Border Rights has received increasing reports of racial profiling and harassment, particularly of Hispanic community members—many of whom are U.S. citizens and have lived in the border region for generations.

In addition, the Center has received several reports of undocumented individuals who did not receive needed medical attention or adequate food or water while in the custody of immigration officials. Since May 2010, there have been at least seven migrants who have been seriously injured or died as the result of being shot, tasered or beaten by Border Patrol agents.

“Our national security, while critical, should never come at the expense of civil and human rights,” said Vicki Gaubeca, director of the ACLU-NM Regional Center for Border Rights. “At the very least, we need more transparency, accountability and oversight to prevent the border region from becoming a Constitution-free zone.”

In addition, President Obama needs to better account for the record-level deportations that have occurred during his term. In 2010, the United States deported nearly 400,000 people at a cost of $1.5 billion. According to the Department of Homeland Security statistics, almost 60 percent of the individuals who were deported committed were not criminals or committed minor offenses—which completely contradicts the administration’s emphasis on deporting “criminal aliens.”

“Initiatives like the so-called ‘Secure Communities’ program need to be suspended and assessed for their true effects,” adds Gaubeca. “Instead of going after serious criminals who may be a real threat to our communities, study after study confirms that these enforcement programs primarily target hard-working, honest individuals and tear families apart. We could save money and protect working families by finding a way for these individuals to become U.S. citizens, learn our language and pay taxes. Moving away from enforcement only models would even provide a much-need boost for our economy.”

“As a country, we need a serious reality check regarding our border enforcement policies and owe it to ourselves to find sensible solutions. Spending billions of dollars on a law-enforcement only model is wasteful and does nothing to fix the problem,” adds Gaubeca. “We need to step back and begin to truly address the larger issue of how we fix our country’s broken immigration system.”

CONTACT: Micah McCoy (505) 266-5915 Ext. 1003 or mmccoy@aclu-nm.org

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