To see the full list of bills, please visit our page.

We have taken action on several bills being considered. Most recently, on Monday, February 9, the ACLU of Utah submitted a letter to members of the House Judiciary Committee in support of "HJR 10, Joint Resolution Reaffirming the State of Utah’s Commitment to the Constitution and the Bill of Rights." The letter was signed by a coalition of grassroots organizations representing a wide range of political perspectives. The letter reads in part, " Our Constitution and Bill of Rights are the foundation for our freedoms, and we can all agree on the importance of protecting them even during a time of crisis..... Some of the actions that prompt our concern are portions of the USA PATRIOT Act, the no fly lists for airlines, the MATRIX personal data collection experiment, the scrutiny of peaceful protesters, the broadened definition of domestic terrorism, the use of the USA PATRIOT Act for non-terrorism cases, and access by law enforcement to detailed personal information through third parties. A check on law enforcement authority, specifically in the areas of surveillance and detention, is an important principle, even in times of uncertainty."

Also, during the initial debate on "SB 69 - Partial Birth Abortion Amendments," Margaret Plane, staff attorney for the ACLU of Utah, testified before the Senate Judiciary Law Enforcement, and Criminal Justice Committee on January 20, concerning the unconstitutionality of the proposed legislation. We delivered a letter to the committee members outlining our concerns. The letter read in part, "The ACLU of Utah implores the committee to vote against Senate Bill 69 because it is constitutionally defective and therefore subject to legal challenge. S.B. 69, which is nearly identical to federal legislation struck down in Stenberg v. Carhart, 530 U.S.91 (2000), is unconstitutional on two grounds: it fails to include an exception for the health of the pregnant woman and it is too broad."

Our ACLU affiliate joined with a large coalition of community leaders to testify before the Senate Judiciary, Law Enforcement, and Criminal Justice Committee, against the proposed "S.B. 24 Marriage Defined," on January 21 . Margaret Plane argued that the bill, which would declare that Utah could only recognize marriage between a man and a woman, was unconstitutional. This bill has been passed by the House and is now before the full Senate and could come up for a vote at any time.

To see all of the bills we are tracking please visit our web page.

Resolutions passed to oppose the PATRIOT Act
Resolutions have been passed in 253 communities in 37 states including three state-wide resolutions. These communities represent approximately 43.5 million people who oppose sections of the USA PATRIOT Act.

To see the complete list of resolutions, please visit our page.

March for Women’s Lives, April 25, 2004, Washington, DC
The time is right for a public demonstration of historic size in support of abortion rights and reproductive freedom for all women. Our rights are under attack as they haven”t been in over a decade, and Roe v. Wade hangs by a thread in the Supreme Court. You can help build the momentum we need to preserve our rights. Please join us to March for Women’s Lives.

In recent years, the federal government has been actively stripping away women’s reproductive rights. Congress passed and President Bush signed the first piece of federal legislation to criminalize safe abortion procedures, allowing no exception for a woman’s health. This Administration continues to approve a global gag rule that bans U.S. aid to international groups that use their own money to support abortion and could help prevent pregnancy related deaths world-wide. In addition, the Administration has restricted federal funding for responsible family planning (in favor of unrealistic abstinence only programs) that could reduce the need for abortions in this country. In fact, the President proposed doubling funding for these flawed abstinence only programs.

The retirement of just one U.S. Supreme Court Justice will enable the President and Congressional leadership to select an anti-Choice judge, who would tilt the 5-4 majority against current protections. If the Supreme Court majority shifts, as many as 17 states would likely reverse women’s constitutional right to privacy. We will go back to the sad days of more unwanted children and dangerous illegal abortions, days when women were not empowered to be fully contributing partners in society.

That is why hundreds of thousands of men and women will participate in the March for Women’s Lives in Washington D.C. on April 25, and why we are preparing Americans in all fifty states and the District of Columbia to make their voices heard in the months ahead. The way to keep the state of the union strong is to protect all Americans rights to privacy not to increase the heavy hand of government intrusion.

For more information about the March and to register as part of the Utah contingent, please visit our web page.

Support the SAFE Act
Despite an unprecedented public relations offensive by Attorney General Ashcroft and a veto threat from the White House, Congress is moving toward revising the Patriot Act’s most dangerous provisions.

Buoyed by the ground swell of opposition -- more than 245 communities and 3 states have passed resolutions in opposition to the PATRIOT Act -- momentum is building for legislation that would correct PATRIOT Act provisions that allow for unwarranted investigations of personal records, authorize secret sneak and peek searches and roll back judicial oversight.

This corrective legislation -- the SAFE Act -- would not repeal commonsense provisions in the PATRIOT Act, but would instead revise those provisions that infringe on our civil liberties without making us any safer. Yet even this modest bill drew the wrath of Attorney General Ashcroft who falsely said that it would, make it even more difficult to mount an effective anti-terror campaign than it was before the Patriot Act was passed."

Take Action! Tell your Members of Congress to cosponsor the SAFE Act so we can be both safe and free.

Click here for more information and to send a free fax to your Members of Congress.

Chasing Freedom
Monday Feb 16th Jim Santy Auditorium, Park City Library 7:30 pm screening CHASING FREEDOM, Q&A to follow. For more information call Geralyn Dreyfous at 801-560-8224

Michael Posner and Arthur Helton (who recently died in the Embassy Bombing in Iraq) started The Lawyers Committee For Human Rights in New York. Once an office of a few lawyers cajoling others to take on cases law school never prepared them for, the Lawyers Committee has grown to include psychiatrists, doctors, and criminal justice advocates and has recently morphed into HUMAN RIGHTS FIRST, a full scale human rights legal and advocacy organization. Michael has spent much of his life defending people who have come to this country seeking political asylum and has recently along with others, authored a report called IN LIBERTY’s SHADOW that reviews asylum law under post 9-11 and Patriots Act mandates. Their work on an asylum case involving a young Afghani girl has recently been made into a movie called CHASING FREEDOM.

"Chasing Freedom," tells the story of a young Afghan woman (played by Lela Alizada) who is persecuted by the Taliban for running a school for young girls and the pro bono attorney (played by Juliette Lewis) who reluctantly takes on her asylum case after the woman is detained when she arrives at a U.S. airport in search of refuge. The film was inspired by a real asylum case handled by a team of dedicated pro bono attorneys from Debevoise and Plimpton and The Lawyers Committee for Human Rights. It is a sobering depiction of the nearly insurmountable obstacles that asylum seekers face when they arrive in the U.S.

This film and discussion is must see for anyone working with refugee communities, immigration law and ordinary Americans trying to make sense of the World Trade Center bombing and our subsequent response with the Patriots Act and Homeland Security. It has been screened with great acclaim for the Homeland Security staff and at the detention center where the protagonist, Meena was forced to stay when she first sought exile in our country.

For more in-depth info visit our information page.

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