Subject: ALERT ALERT ALERT
From: [email-masked]
Date: Thu, 13 Jan 2000 19:59:03 EST

This is a dangerous bill which, if passed, could start the ball on rolling 
back civil rights gains achieved over the last fifty years in any number of 
other states.  Essentially it allows non-profit, church-run establishments 
such as day care centers, bookstores, etc., to discriminate on the basis of 
race, religion, ethnicity, and gender.  In essence, it's a major setback for 
black, Hispanic, gay & lesbian, and women's civil rights.  The bill was 
prompted by passage of four gay civil rights measures last year here in 
Kentucky, some of which prohibit discrimination by such establishments on the 
basis of sexual orientation.  It needs to be defeated decisively by the 
Kentucky House of Representatives.  --David Williams, Louisville

From: [email-masked]
Date: Thu, 13 Jan 2000 18:21:33 EST
Subject: Re: My Letter to Kentucky's House Judiciary Committee
To: [email-masked]

ACLU Action Network ALERT!

FROM:  [email-masked]

DATE:  January 13, 2000

TOPIC:  Passage of anti-civil rights bill (HB70) from House Judiciary 
Committee

URGENCY:  IMMEDIATE ACTION NEEDED!

WHAT HAS HAPPENED, AND WHAT IS NEXT:
This afternoon the House Judiciary Committee passed HB70 (Tom Kerr, D-Taylor
 
Mill) by a one-vote margin, after a brief hearing in which Jeff Vessels of 
the ACLU of Kentucky provided the only testimony against the bill.

The bill now goes to the full House, perhaps as soon as next Wednesday.

A BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE BILL:
HB70 excludes the worship and recreational activities and facilities of 
religious organizations from the definition of a `public accommodation' under 
Kentucky civil rights laws 

THE EFFECTS OF THE BILL:
*   The bill rolls-back fundamental civil rights that Kentuckians have 
enjoyed for decades.
*   The bill is a major set-back for civil rights in Kentucky.  
*   The bill allows religious organizations to refuse to serve people based 
on their race, national origin, color, religion, gender, and disability in 
programs offered to the public.
*   Examples:  the bill allows child care, after-school, and other such 
programs at a religiously-affiliated institution to refuse to admit or serve
 
African Americans, women, Latinos/Latinas, Native Americans, Jews, Hindus, 
Muslims, the disabled, immigrants, and other minorities.
*   Many religious organizations now receive state government money to run
recreational programs.  This bill allows religious organizations to 
discriminate in the provision of these taxpayer-supported programs.
*   Imagine trying to enroll in a government-funded after-school program that 
is sponsored by a religious organization and being told your child won't be 
accepted because she is African American, disabled, or doesn't  adhere to the 
religious organization's beliefs.
*   While religious organizations have the right to be biased in their 
religious activities, they do not have the right to discriminate in public 
commerce.  In their public, non-religious dealings, they should adhere to the 
same civil rights laws as any other business.

WHAT YOU SHOULD DO:  Contact House leadership and your House Representative 
immediately to say you are opposed to passage of HB70.  See the next page for 
more.

LEADERS OF THE KENTUCKY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

SpeakerJody Richards, D-Bowling Green
Speaker Pro TemLarry Clark, D-Louisville
Democratic Floor LeadersGregory D. Stumbo, D-Prestonsburg
Democratic Caucus ChairmanJim Callahan, D-Wilder
Democratic WhipJoe Barrows, D-Versailles
Republican Floor LeaderDanny R. Ford, R-Mt. Vernon
Republican Caucus ChairmanJeffrey Hoover, R-Jamestown
Republican WhipWoody Allen, R-Morgantown

IMMEDIATE ACTION NEEDED!
Leave a message for House Leaders and your own state representative 
by calling 1-800-372-7181.

To find out the status of a bill, call 1-888-701-1488.