Subject: Fwd: 03-16-00 - ACLU Action Update: "Bob Jones Protection Act", Law
From: [email-masked]
Date: Thu, 16 Mar 2000 17:56:02 EST

This is the same concept that was vetoed by the governor of Kentucky last 
week.  Fortunately, the state is saved from this unconstitutional travesty 
for now, but the United States may not be if we don't act soon. --David 
Williams, Louisville, KY

Date: Thu, 16 Mar 2000 14:13:53
Subject: 03-16-00 - ACLU Action Update: "Bob Jones Protection Act", Law
	Enforcement Trust and Integrity Act 
From: [email-masked]

TO: ACLU Action Network
FR: Jared Feuer, Internet Organizer
DT: March 16, 2000

1. "Bob Jones Protection Act"
2. Law Enforcement Trust and Integrity Act

1. "Bob Jones Protection Act"

A Senate bill originally written to be a shield for religious liberty has 
been turned into a sword against civil rights!

Last year, the House passed HR 1691, the "Religious Liberty Protection 
Act."  Now the Senate is moving forward with a companion bill, S. 2081, 
that - just like the House version - would jeopardize many civil rights 
laws aimed at protecting racial and religious minorities, women, lesbians 
and gay men, households with children, people with disabilities, and 
unmarried persons.

This legislation, if passed, would kick off a new round of lawsuits by 
businesses and individuals that will attempt to do what Bob Jones 
University tried nearly two decades ago - use a religious liberty claim to 
get out of complying with civil rights laws!  In its current form, S. 2081 
would allow individuals to circumvent hard-won state and local civil rights 
laws in the name of their personal religious beliefs. As a result, if the 
bill passes, people could find themselves without state and local legal 
protections, or recourse against landlords or employers who base their 
hiring or rental decisions on personally invasive questions.

Sen. Trent Lott (R-MS) and other right-wing senators are rushing to a floor 
vote as early as next week!

TAKE ACTION! Learn more about this bill and send a FREE fax to your 
Senators, urging them to oppose the legislation from the ACLU website at:

http://www.aclu.org/action/senaterlpa106.html

2. Law Enforcement Trust and Integrity Act 

Yesterday, Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) introduced legislation designed to curb 
outrages like Los Angeles Police Department’s “Ramparts” scandal and the 
Amadou Diallo shooting in New York.

"The Law Enforcement Trust and Integrity Act of 2000" represents a 
comprehensive approach toward creating police accountability and building 
trust between police departments and their communities.  The bill would -- 
for the first time -- bring together community groups, police departments 
and the Department of Justice to establish national standards for police 
use of force.

The demand for this legislation has been displayed in news coverage from 
coast to coast.  In New York City, Amadou Diallo, an unarmed black man, was 
killed in the vestibule of his apartment after police shot him 41 times.  
In Los Angeles, investigations into the city's police department revealed a 
pattern of arrogance, intimidation and lawlessness.

TAKE ACTION!  Learn more about this bill and send a FREE fax to your Member 
of Congress, urging them to cosponsor this common sense legislation.  Our 
action alert and letter to Congress can be found on the ACLU website at:

http://www.aclu.org/action/police106.html

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