SANTA FE, NM—Today, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Mexico applauded Santa Fe Mayor David Coss for standing up in favor of the freedom to marry for same-sex couples. The ACLU of New Mexico concurs with Mayor Coss and the Santa Fe City Attorney’s opinion that New Mexico’s state marriage statute is gender neutral and should therefor permit same-sex couples to marry.
The following quote can be attributed to ACLU of New Mexico Executive Director Peter Simonson:

"Committed, loving same-sex couples deserve the same dignity and respect as opposite-sex couples, and this truth is already reflected in our current state laws. We believe that the current New Mexico State Constitution and the state marriage statute provides same-sex couples the same marriage rights as opposite-sex couples. However, the right of all New Mexicans to marry should be clear and explicit. The courts will need to provide some definitive guidance on this matter.”

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 19, 2013
CONTACT: Micah McCoy, (505) 266-5915 x1003 or [email protected]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:

William Hudson

HC 71 Box 765

San Lorenzo, NM 88041

(575) 536 3092

[email protected]

SILVER CITY, NM - The Southwestern Chapter of the ACLU of New Mexico is sponsoring a singer/songwriter competition in connection with its Annual Meeting, to be held on October 25, 2013.  The speakers and all accepted song entries will center on one theme.  This year’s focus will be on any aspect of our rights of privacy.

Right to Privacy

Since 9/11 there has been an increasing erosion of many of our rights.  With the passage and subsequent renewals of the National Security Act, agencies have been able to listen to phone conversations, read emails, intercept mail, access financial accounts, even track library activity without warrants. Agencies are employing GPS tracking devices and there is increased possibility of drone aircraft following anyone’s movement.
What are our privacy rights?  Who can know what goes on in our lives, our finances, our thoughts?  How much are you willing to share?  Share your talent and send your entries.

Competition Details

• This competition is open to all musicians in the “Border Regions” of West Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona, who write and perform in any musical genre.  The prize will be a 4 hour recording session, provided at a state-of-the-art, digital recording studio and production house.   All submissions must be original compositions of the Artist/Performer (maximum of 2 entries per Artist/Performer).
• All entries are free, there are no entry fees.
• Entry will be made on an official entry form (contact William Hudson, at [email protected]).
• Entrants will submit a CD recording of their entry (It need not be a professional recording, but should be clean enough that the listener can hear the melody and musical interpretation).
• Entrants will submit a written copy of the lyrics (so that the appropriate theme and poetic quality can be evaluated).

All entries must be mailed to: ACLU/Competition

C/o Peter Falley

521 E. Lance Dr.

Silver City, NM 88061

Evaluation Criteria

Entries will be evaluated by the judging panel on;

• How appropriate the song is relative to the theme (Our general right to privacy within our family and our home, to be free of “unwarranted search and seizure”, to be assured due process, etc.)
• Artistic lyrical styling, poetic interpretation
• Musical originality, styling

All entries must arrive no later than September 14, 2013.  Finalists will be notified no later than September 28, 2013.  Finalists need to be present at The Annual Meeting of the ACLU of New Mexico, Southwestern Chapter, in Silver City, NM, on Friday October 25, 2013.  On that evening, the finalists will perform their entry live for our audience and judges for final selection of the winner.

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Tomorrow, the House Voters & Elections Committee will hear House Bill 103, introduced by Representative Cathrynn Brown. If this name sounds familiar to you, it’s probably because Cathrynn Brown recently gained political infamy for a misguided attempt to criminalize abortion after rape as “tampering with evidence.” Her newest piece of legislation, HB103, is a voter ID bill that “requires all voters to present identification before voting.” While this m   ay seem innocuous at first glance, mandatory Voter ID laws cause real harm to our democracy. As Representative Ken Martinez said in the Alamogordo Daily News, ID requirements disproportionately affect certain demographics. He says that seniors and low-income citizens are the least likely to have identification. They may also be unable to obtain ID’s because they often lack proper transportation. By adding this requirement, we would potentially deny a large segment of the population their right to vote.

Let’s not forget that the City of Albuquerque has already implemented mandatory voter ID for municipal elections. In 2007, the ACLU successfully challenged this ordinance in federal court, but the ruling was short lived. The New Mexico Court of Appeals court reinstated the original decision in 2008. This was bad news for some citizens, like as Katy Sheridan. Ms. Sheridan is an Albuquerque senior citizen who does not own a vehicle. In October of 2011, she walked to the polls through the rain, only to discover her voter registration card wasn’t considered acceptable identification because it didn’t have a picture. She was unable to vote that day, and she had to walk back home without accomplishing anything. Voter ID requirements hurt American citizens like Ms. Sheridan who only want to exercise their civic duty. Our representatives should be doing everything possible to make the voting process easier, not more difficult.

Mandatory voter I.D. laws are ostensibly designed to eliminate voter fraud, but despite all the scare tactics, there is no evidence that New Mexico has a significant voter fraud problem. Our citizens are responsible and respectful in exercising their democratic right. The real fraud is perpetrated by politicians who attempt to rig the system for their own personal gain by making it harder for certain groups of legitimate voters to cast their ballots. Mandatory voter ID laws essentially give legislatures the power to make it harder for citizens to exercise their constitutionally guaranteed right to vote. By rigging the system this way, entire segments of the population don’t have a voice in our government. We have to wonder why some legislators are pushing so hard for these wrongheaded barriers at the polls. It can only be because it works to their advantage and against the interests of our democracy.
Wathc Katy Sheridan's story here: