ACLU In The News

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Foreign-language ballots could lose legal underpinning

When King County began offering ballots and voter pamphlets in Chinese four years ago, it was as though someone switched a light on for Qiu Feng Pang.

Suddenly, confusing ballot initiatives made sense to the 74-year-old retiree, who emigrated from China in 1989 and became a U.S. citizen seven years later.

She no longer needed to copy the "answers" of friends or family onto the mail-in ballot she received at her home in Seattle's Chinatown International District.

Now, she said, she can understand the context of ballot measures and the political positions of candidates: "I vote what I want after deep consideration."

But the section of the federal Voting Rights Act that required King County to provide ballots in Chinese, and three other Washington counties to offer them in Spanish, will expire next year.

Unless Congress votes to reauthorize it, in a bill now being drafted, some worry that many like Pang will be left without a voice in one the most basic guarantees of U.S. citizenship.

"A lot of immigrants are intimidated by the voting process," said George Cheung, of the statewide advocacy group Raising Our Asian Pacific American Representation — ROAR.

"A lot of them get very confused, particularly around our hard-to-understand ballot initiatives, which are sometimes hard enough for English speakers to understand. So they either make uninformed decisions or they skip questions altogether."

Federal requirement

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 removed barriers to voting, such as poll taxes and literacy tests, faced by blacks and other minorities in the Jim Crow South.

The law required monitors to be stationed at polling places, and for states with a history of voting abuses to get federal approval before changing their election procedures. To appease states'-rights advocates, federal officials at the time placed an expiration date on those provisions.

In 1975, Congress added Section 203, also with an expiration date. That section required local jurisdictions to offer language assistance to American Indians, Alaskan Natives and Asian and Latino Americans.

The law applies when eligible voters in those groups number 10,000, or more than 5 percent, of a county's voting pool.

In 2002, based on newly released census data, the Department of Justice notified King County it would need to provide such assistance in Chinese, while Yakima, Adams and Franklin counties in Eastern Washington were required to offer it in Spanish. They are among 466 local governments in 31 states required to provide language assistance.

The three Eastern Washington counties use mail-in ballots exclusively, almost all of them printed in both Spanish and English, officials there say.

In King County, about 1,500 Chinese-language ballots were either mailed to voters or used at polling sites last November, spokeswoman Bobbie Egan said. The county has access to a pool of 168 Chinese poll workers it can assign to 107 polling places where voters need assistance, she said.

Need questioned

But here in Washington as well as in Congress, some lawmakers question the continued need for such assistance.

Some have said citizens should be fluent enough in English to function, including to vote, and that language assistance removes any incentive for them to master English.

And county officials say that sentiment is shared by many angry voters who call to complain about the bilingual or foreign-language voting material they sometimes receive in the mail.

"We let them know that we are bound by law to provide this assistance," said Heidi Hunt, elections administrator in Adams County. "I believe it's important that all our citizens be able to cast ballots based on a true understanding of the issues."

At the Sunshine Garden Chinese Senior Day Care Center in the Chinatown International District where Pang spends some of her days, participants struggled with the English-only pamphlets and ballots before King County began offering them in Chinese.

"They wanted to vote but didn't understand well enough to make an informed decision," lead worker Andes Kong said.

For Chinese immigrants, especially older ones, voting based on their personal choice and their own opinion is still a difficult concept. "Here in America they can vote according to their preference." Kong said.

Renewal favored

The American Civil Liberties Union recently launched a nationwide campaign calling on Congress to renew key sections of the voting act.

Otherwise, "I see no reason why counties would continue to offer this assistance — out of the goodness of their hearts?" said Jennifer Shaw, legislative director of the American Civil Liberties Union in Washington. "I don't see other counties that aren't required to do it, doing it."

In the legislative session that ended last week, ACLU Washington, Cheung's group and other advocates pushed for legislation to enshrine the federal provision in state law. The measure did not make it out of the Legislature.

Next, Cheung said his group may begin collecting signatures for an initiative to the Legislature next year. Even some people born in this country don't speak English as a first language, he said.

"But they play by the rules and pay their taxes. In a representative democracy they have a right to be participating and doing so in an informed way."

[Soldier4Christ]

Armed transit cops slammed

Civil liberties group says measure goes too far

 An Alberta civil liberties group says arming special constables isn't the best way to make public transit safer, even though it's a growing trend across Canada.

"There's always a simple but wrong answer to every problem. This seems to be one of those instances," says Stephen Jenuth, president of the Alberta Civil Liberties Association.

He says the province's pending approval of a plan to arm local transit constables with pepper spray and batons goes too far.

City council approved the idea January 17. On March 2, Stefan Conley was beaten to death on a south-side night bus.

"That was random," Jenuth said. "Are there really that many incidents when armed officers are needed on buses?"

 According to police and city officials in Edmonton and many other major Canadian cities, the answer is yes.

Calgary, Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and Winnipeg have all designated special transit constables.

Vancouver Transit has its own gun-toting police force.

Toronto transit constables carry pepper spray and batons, and have powers of arrest. "They're trained by the Toronto and Ontario police, and they're good at what they do," said Marilyn Bolton of the Toronto Traffic Commission.

Ottawa's currently hiring transit constables, and Robert Simpson, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union in that city, expects "they'll be similarly armed in coming years."

He said Conley's killing was one anomaly too many for Edmonton transit users.

"This escalated from little things like rowdy behaviour and foul language. Special constables put a stop to that kind of thing quickly and prevent violence."

Staff Sgt. Darren Eastcott, head of the Edmonton Police traffic section, said armed transit guards are a "great idea."

"Police just don't have enough eyes and ears to patrol the entire transit system alone."

Police Commission chair Brian Gibson said constable training will be supervised by EPS Insp. Mike Derbyshire, who'll also help designate the ETS special constables.

City councillor Mike Nickel, who initially proposed arming transit constables with handguns, said armed officers are needed as Edmonton grows and experiences more big-city crime.

"The good, the bad and the ugly are coming to our city. If you think crime doesn't happen on public transit, you haven't met Jane and Joe Average User."

Nickel said an increased security presence generally makes people more comfortable, especially the seniors and students who are among the most frequent transit users.

"Just look at New York City. (Former mayor) Rudy Giuliani placed police and transit security everywhere, and that city is much safer for it."

[Soldier4Christ]

Legislation Passed To Help Make Ten Commandment Monuments Legal


OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ A bill to help counties wanting to have Ten Commandment monuments at their courthouses passes the Oklahoma Senate Monday.

Tulsa state Senator James Williamson's amendment to a bill on county construction projects was approved on a 45-to-1 vote.

Williamson says his measure was spurred by a lawsuit filed last summer by the American Civil Liberties Union challenging the constitutionality of a Ten Commandments monument on the grounds of the Haskell County Courthouse in Stigler.

His proposal would require that a county commission could approve such a monument only after an opinion from the district attorney that the display meets U.S. Supreme Court guidelines.

It also appropriates $3-million to help district attorneys defend such a monument and makes it clear that the attorney general has the authority to defend a Ten Commandments display on behalf of a county.

The state House will now take up the measure.

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USC residents sue to save International Baccalaureate Programme

A group of 19 Upper St. Clair residents filed suit in federal court today, charging that five school board members violated the Constitution, state laws and its own polices when it abruptly eliminated its International Baccalaureate Programme.

The suits seeks to reinstate the program immediately and to order the board to follow the district's own policies in the future evaluation of the program. The suit does not seek monetary damages.

The suit alleges that board members William Sulkowski, Mark Trombetta, David Bluey, Carol Coliane and Daniel Iracki violated parents' and students' rights of free speech, political participation, religious freedom and due process.

The Upper St. Clair School Board voted 5-4 before a packed meeting on Feb. 20 to axe the International Baccalaureate Programme, a rigorous, academic curriculum that teaches students to think from a world perspective. The program also gives students a chance to earn college credit in high school.

About 30 people attended a news conference this morning outside the Upper St. Clair administration offices. One resident spoke against the program.

The American Civil Liberties Union and two private law firms are representing the plaintiffs for free. A parents group formed to support the program, USC WAVES, has collected more than $12,000 to pay for filing fees.

[Soldier4Christ]

Ban on picketing at funerals draws ACLU opposition

Louisiana State Rep. Francis Thompson, D-Delhi, has authored a bill that would make it a crime to demonstrate at funerals.

We find it sad that such a law is needed to ensure that people with pickets do not disrupt solemn ceremonies for the dead.

Is Thompson's law appropriate?
Try to imagine this scenario:

The setting is a church. An American soldier has died in battle and is being mourned by friends and loved ones. It is a time of tribute and a time of grief.

Then come people with pickets.

They come to protest and to deliver the message that the deaths of Americans killed in the Iraq war result from U.S. tolerance of gays and lesbians.

As farfetched as the scenario sounds, it is played out regularly at military funerals by followers of the Rev. Fred Phelps of Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kan.

The preacher and his people have a right to their beliefs concerning homosexuality. We do not by any means, however, accept the premise that they have the right to demean funeral services of any citizen, particularly one who has died in battle.

That is only one scenario. There are many others. In fact, laws similar to Thompson's have been passed in Missouri, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Wisconsin. According to the National Council of State Legislatures, such laws have been presented to 17 other states.

To us, respect for the dead and for grieving loved ones mandates that protest groups be barred from demonstrating at funerals or during funeral processions. Who would oppose a law designed to achieve that?

That's a no-brainer, of course. The American Civil Liberties Union would.

The ACLU will argue against Thompson's bill, claiming it would violate the Constitution's guarantee of freedom of speech.

The ACLU does many worthwhile things; this is not one of them. We believe the framers of the Constitution would have been horrified by the argument that, in approving the First Amendment, they had guaranteed the right to disrupt funerals, disturb mourners and destroy the dignity of the most solemn of observances.

This argument by the ACLU is as absurd as its claim that, when former Gov. Mike Foster asked people to pray for rain during a severe drought a few years ago, he violated the Constitution's guarantee of freedom of religion and tried to turn Louisiana into an Iran-like theocracy.

Thompson's bill is reasonable. It would make it unlawful for anyone to picket or protest within 1,000 feet "of any church, cemetery or funeral establishment" from one hour before the services until one hour after their conclusion.

Maximum penalties would be six months in jail, a fine of $100, or both.

We urge our legislative delegation to support the Thompson bill and work toward its final passage.

[Soldier4Christ]

In Oklahoma: Senate passes measure allowing Ten Commandments


OKLAHOMA CITY - State senators on Monday supported having Ten Commandments monuments at courthouses in Oklahoma if they get the legal approval of district attorneys.

The vote was 45-1 for Sen. James Williamson's amendment to a bill on county construction projects.

Williamson, R-Tulsa, said his measure was spurred by a lawsuit filed last year by the American Civil Liberties Union challenging the constitutionality of a Ten Commandments monument on the grounds of the Haskell County Courthouse in Stigler.

His proposal requires that a county commission get a legal opinion from the district attorney that a proposed Ten Commandments monument meets U.S. Supreme Court guidelines. It also appropriates $3 million to help district attorneys defend such monuments.


$125 million for bridges receives legislative OK

OKLAHOMA CITY - A plan to spend $125 million to fix the worst bridges on state highways and county roads won final passage without opposition Monday in the Oklahoma Senate.

The measure goes to Gov. Brad Henry, who is expected to sign it.

Under the plan, $100 million will go to repair or replace the most dilapidated bridges in the state highway system. Counties would get $25 million to fix their worst bridges.

The vote was 45-0 for the measure, the biggest appropriations bill yet to pass during the 2006 session.

Under an agreement between the governor and legislative leaders, $100 million of the $125 million is being taken from the EDGE program enacted a year ago at Henry's urging to create high-tech jobs. As part of the agreement, the EDGE program later will get $150 million that is expected to accrue in that fund.

[Soldier4Christ]

ACLU wants lists of terrorism "threats"

Civil libertarians believe Middletown and eight other New Jersey towns may have given the federal government secret lists naming individuals deemed to be risks for committing acts of terrorism.

To the American Civil Liberties Union, that scenario is reminiscent of domestic security activities during the McCarthy era or at the height of Vietnam War protests. ACLU leaders in New Jersey say they have indications of why they think such lists exist.

To find out, the ACLU within the next few weeks will ask that the nine municipalities — the others are Edison, Linden, Mount Laurel, Newark, Parsippany, Trenton, Wayne and West New York — disclose the lists and the criteria used to compile them.

"We want to make sure that individuals or organizations haven't received, or are subject to, additional surveillance or labeling for engaging in protected free-speech activities," said Edward Barocas, legal director of the state's ACLU chapter.

Making such information public, however, could hamper the surveillance and investigation of groups or people that may pose legitimate threats, government officials have argued.

When the ACLU asked the state Attorney General's Office to provide its list in 2004, Bruce Solomon, the office's records custodian at the time, said disclosure could "substantially interfere with the state's ability to protect and defend the state and its citizens against acts of sabotage or terrorism."

ACLU leaders maintain that citizens should be able to find out whether resources and funds established to fight terrorism are being misused to target government critics.

Robert Moir, a member of the Central Jersey Coalition of Peace and Justice, an activist group opposed to the war in Iraq, said he was not surprised to hear about the possibility of secret lists of government foes. Federal agencies have throughout history kept tabs on government critics, even those without intent to inflict harm, he said.

Moir, of Fair Haven, said he and other anti-war activists could end up on a secret government list if public opinion on the war polarizes further.

The peace coalition, comprising about 25 members, mostly from Monmouth and Ocean counties, meets Thursday nights in Middletown.

"It's always in the back of someone's mind in cutting-edge politics: That there are people who are going to attempt to use government authority against you at some point," he said.

Denials gave clues

ACLU leaders will cite the Open Public Records Act, New Jersey's right-to-know law, when asking the municipalities for the lists and the criteria behind them.

Barocas said he believes officials in the nine towns may have the lists based on hints provided in responses to identical OPRA requests by the ACLU in 2004.

The nine municipalities indirectly acknowledged the existence of such lists by either denying the 2004 request or by referring the ACLU to the state Attorney General's Office for the information, Barocas said.

Officials in 41 other municipalities that received the same request in 2004 told the ACLU that they had never heard of "potential threat elements," the government term used to describe possible terrorists on the lists, Barocas said.

The ACLU will sue to get the lists from the towns that deny the forthcoming second request, Barocas said.

Neither Middletown Business Administrator Robert Czech nor Police Chief Robert Oches could be reached to comment on how the township will treat the ACLU's request.

Municipalities were required to submit a list of threats to apply for U.S. Department of Homeland Security grants, according to the ACLU.

The department has required states to submit details about potential terror threats and states have included names of individuals and groups, said department spokesman Marc Short. But that information is meant to allow department officials to see if states properly appropriate annual department grants, he said.

Municipalities that release information about potential threats would only make themselves more vulnerable, Short said.

As for a master list of potential threat elements compiled by the towns, an official one doesn't exist, he said.

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Let's give the terrorists a heads up on what we know by giving this information to them.

[Soldier4Christ]

Parker blames ACLU for judicial ethics complaint; ACLU denies it
    

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Supreme Court Justice Tom Parker on Tuesday blamed a civil liberties group for the judicial ethics complaint filed against him, calling it retaliation for his career-long stance against abortion, pornography, homosexuality and a proposed tax increase for schools.

Parker said the complaint was an attack by the American Civil Liberties Union "to force political-correctness on all Alabamians and turn us into another San Francisco."

Joel Sogol, a Tuscaloosa lawyer who filed the complaint with the Judicial Inquiry Commission, said the ACLU is not involved in it. A state ACLU official also said the civil liberties group is not involved.

[Soldier4Christ]

The ACLU Vs. American Sovereignty


Currently the ACLU are appealing to the U.N. Human Rights Committee with their cries of how evil the United States Government is.

    The American Civil Liberties Union and the U.S. Human Rights Network today urged the U.N. Human Rights Committee to hold the U.S. government accountable for flagrant and repeated violations of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

    “Locally, nationally and globally, the United States has repeatedly failed in its responsibility to uphold basic human rights,” said Ann Beeson, Associate Legal Director of the ACLU. “We are appealing to the international arbiters to hold the U.S. accountable to basic human rights standards.”

As sickening as this is; it is only one step in the ACLU’s agenda to undermine America’s sovereignty and freedom that so many soldiers have sacrificed and died to preserve. The ACLU are obviously frustrated by their inability to advance their radical agenda more quickly under the U.S. Constitution, and are now determined not only to convince the American judiciary to look to international law, but also to use it as a means to their ends. They hold it as a higher authority than our own Constitution and are more than willing to sacrifice our sovereignty in their pursuit to radically force change on America to fit their own radical views.

The sad thing is that they don’t have to try very hard to convince our judiciary. Last month former ACLU lawyer, and current Supreme Court Justice, Ruth “Snoozer” Ginsburg gave a speech that argued explicitly for the relevance of foreign law and court decisions to interpretation of the American Constitution. She isn’t the only Justice that buys into this philosophy. FIVE Justices believe that international law should bear weight in interpreting our constitution.

The ACLU don’t hide this agenda, they are proud of it.

    The ACLU sponsored a conference at the Carter Center in Atlanta, Georgia, October 9-11, 2003, to promote the use of international law in U.S. courts. The conference was titled “Human Rights at Home: International Law in U.S. Courts.” Publicit for the event stated, “The emphasis throughout the conference will be on using international law and human rights norms to advance justice in U.S. courts or on behalf of U.S. clients.” Some of the alleged human rights “injustices” cited were in the areas of “environmental justice,” “gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender rights,” and “children’s rights.”

    ACLU publicity included comments from ACLU Executive Director Anthony Romero and conference organizer Ann Beeson. Romero said, “Our goal is no less than to forge a new era of social justice where the principles of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights are recognized and enforced in the United States.”

    Beeson added, “From the grassroots level all the way to the Supreme Court, international human rights law is beginning to emerge as a tool for the victims of discrimination here at home.” Source

While the ACLU’s rhetoric and efforts to use international law to rewrite, undermine, and bypass the Constitution has already gone beyond academic debate into the realm of actual use. As stated earlier, there are plenty of judges that have already adopted the philosophy and the ACLU are already participating in court cases where the judge uses international law in their decisions. It isn’t only at the federal level, but has penetrated even into the state level.

All through the confirmation process of Justice Alito, the ACLU and leftards were screaming that Alito was a racist bigot that would undermine judicial precedent. However, this judicial philosophy has more potential to undermine judicial precedent than any current philosophy being espoused, and it has already proven to do so. The purpose of the judicial branch is to interpret the law and determine if laws are constitutional. There are several major flaws in the use of international law in our courts. Not only does it undermine the very authority of the Constitution deeming it impotent of any power, but it also gives the judicial branch a power that was never intended to be granted to it; the power to write law. Followers of this philosophy view the Constitution merely as a persuasive authority, equated with foreign law, to be relied upon if they are in line with her predetermined beliefs. It doesn’t really matter if their beliefs are inconsistent with the Constitution itself, they can simply find a foreign law that is.

New rights, such as gay rights, or abortion should not be stretched from our Constitution that never granted them. If new rights like these are to be given, then the people should have some say in that. There is a process set in place by the founders to do just this. They should be granted through law or a constitutional amendment. They should not be granted via judicial fiat.

Besides the issues within our own judicial system and its decay, the ACLU is also turning to international sources to undermine our nation’s sovereignty and national security.

    For instance, the ACLU filed a formal complaint with the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention against the United States, stating that the United States violated international law when it detained 765 Arab Americans and Muslims for security reasons after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack on our nation. Eventually, 478 were deported. ACLU Executive Director Anthony Romero said, “With today’s action, we are sending a strong message of solidarity to advocates in other countries who have decried the impact of U.S. policies on the human rights of their citizens. We are filing this complaint before the United Nations to ensure that U.S. policies and practices reflect not just domestic constitutional standards, but accepted international human rights principles regarding liberty and its deprivations.” Source

Romero, of course, makes the United States sound like some rogue nation with no regard for human rights, not the beacon of liberty that so many have come to escaping from tyranny and the bonds of oppression.

And as we stated earlier, just yesterday The American Civil Liberties Union and the U.S. Human Rights Network urged the U.N. Human Rights Committee to hold the U.S. government accountable for “flagrant and repeated violations of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.”

All of this should concern you. You may think that it doesn’t directly affect you in your everyday life, but it will eventually. The ACLU’s embrace of international law seeks to hypocritically do the opposite of what the ACLU claim to protect, and the Constitution forbids; prohibit the free exercise of religion.

    In spring 2003, a group from the United Nations Human Rights Commission, of which former ACLU officials Paul Hoffman and John Shattuck are a part, met and discussed a resolution to add “sexual orientation” to the UNHRC’s discrimination list. Homosexual activists at the meeting called for a “showdown with religion,” clearly intending to use international law to silence religious speech that does not affirm homosexual behavior. Source

It is a direct threat to our very freedom of speech, and religious exercise. In some countries, laws are being pushed, and in some cases, enacted that essentially criminalize forms of religious speech and activity that does not affirm homosexual behavior.

If we are going to turn the interpretation of our laws to international jurisprudence, and decisions of foreign courts, judges, and legislatures, the question begs…why did we fight a war of independence? If the ACLU are successful in their agenda for international law, the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution will eventually become irrelevant documents. More and more of America’s freedoms, and our very sovereignty will be sacrificed for international law. Our freedoms will vanish. The ACLU’s vision of freedom that includes the public sale of child pornography, the silencing of churchs and ministries, and unlimited abortion and euthanasia will replace them.

[Soldier4Christ]

ACLU: Sex Offender Billboards a 'Waste of Money'

About 100 billboards are going up around Mississippi that show photographs of convicted sex offenders, along with their names, sentences, and descriptions of their crimes, according to the Jackson (Mississippi) Clarion-Ledger. The billboards are a part of the state Department of Human Services' effort to raise public awareness about sex crimes against children, but the American Civil Liberties Union in Mississippi has called the move a waste of taxpayer funds.

Lamar Outdoor Advertising, which charded $37,000 for the signs, said it gave the state a 75 percent discount on the job.

One 12-foot-by-24-foot billboard above U.S. 49 in Richland was pasted up on Wednesday, over a previous ad showing Girl Scouts selling cookies.

[Soldier4Christ]

ACLU joins opponents of Arlington ordinance on assemblies
Thursday, March 16, 2006
By Rod Smith
Special to the Gazette

BANGOR -- The Arlington Township Board of Trustees has relaxed language in a proposed ordinance governing public and private gatherings, but even the less stringent version has failed to quiet critics, including members of a pagan church.

At a meeting Wednesday packed mostly with vocal critics and a few advocates of the proposed ordinance, the board announced that it would delay making a final decision on the ordinance until April.

A representative of the American Civil Liberties Union told the board that he believed the ordinance would be unconstitutional.

Jim Rodbard, of Kalamazoo, who said he was working with the Bangor-based Caer na Donia y Llew, a local pagan church, told the board that even the more relaxed version of the controversial ordinance distributed at the meeting would not ``pass constitutional muster on the First Amendment.''

Rodbard said it would place a burden on the exercise of religion.

``It's not narrowly tailored to advance a state interest,'' he said.

Planning consultant Kenneth Dettloff detailed the latest draft of the proposed ordinance.

``The first draft was way too strict,'' he said. ``It prevented or may have impacted people with private parties such as pig roasts, outdoor church functions. So we made another attempt.''

Under the new proposed language, a site-plan permit would be required for gatherings of more than 30 hours with more than 150 people. Bonds would no longer be required, and the minimum site size was reduced from 10 acres to five.

The old language would have required a permit when there were 50 or more people for at least 14 hours.

Rodbard said the ACLU is willing to provide the township with an analysis of the proposed ordinance before it is adopted. If adopted as is, Rodbard said, the ACLU might sue.

"If we're successful (in a lawsuit), we will seek attorney fees,'' he said, which the township could be forced to pay.

The most vocal opponents were representatives of the local pagan church, who were concerned the ordinance could be used to discriminate against them because it had come about after noise complaints from a pagan church festival held last summer named ``Paganstock.''

One of the opponents who spoke was AC Fisher-Aldag, who said pagans had been falsely accused of nudity, drug abuse, cult activity and animal sacrifice when getting permission to hold the festival.

Caer na Donia y Llew, the name of the church, is Welsh for ``House of Goddess and God.''

``There's great potential for abuse and prejudice in the application process, which we Caer (church) members have already seen,'' she said.

In addition to the religion-rights argument, the earlier draft of the ordinance had been criticized on grounds that it could mean that people holding graduation parties or family reunions might have to secure township permits.

Supervisor William Colgren said the ordinance's purpose was just to regulate large gatherings.

``We've had three times now where we've had a big gathering,'' he said. ``All the township wants to know is where it takes place and to make sure we have the safety precautions in there.''

``Paganstock'' drew about 150 people last summer, according to literature from the pagan group. Several local residents complained about the music, which Fisher-Aldag described as Celtic, and a farmer complained it affected the milk production of his cows.

While there were audience members who applauded the board on its efforts to find a balance, there were others who said the proposed ordinance did not address the actual complaint.

``If you have problems with noise, why don't you just pass a noise ordinance?'' Rodbard asked.

Resident Chuck Jordan said the less-strict ordinance was still discriminatory.

``This issue of safety and health -- that's all a red herring,'' he said. ``It's not the township's responsibility to protect people from themselves.''

After an hour of discussion, Colgren said the matter would be tabled until April. ``We got a lot of good input tonight,'' he said.

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This is another reason why the bill to prevent frivilous lawsuits and paying attorney's fees needs to be passed.

[Soldier4Christ]

Student Appeals Against Anti-Harassment Training


A student from Boyd County High School is appealing a ruling allowing required attendance of Anti-Harassment Training.  U.S. District Judge David Bunning wrote that "to address the issue of harassment at school, including harassment based upon actual or perceived sexual orientation, is rationally related to a legitimate education goal, namely to maintain a safe environment"

The Training had been agreed in a settlement between the school and gay rights group over an extracurricular gay group.  It mandated that all students and facility must attend the training.  Students who refused to attend would be penalized with an unexcused absence.

The student, Timothy Allen Morrison II, and his parents, Timothy and Mary Morrison, sued the school claiming the training violated his religious rights to tell others they were going to hell.  They also claimed the training was meant at changing his beliefs without parental consent.

"Just telling students not to pick on others because of their sexual orientation or gender identity doesn't force them to change their beliefs, and the judge agreed with us about that," said Sharon McGowan, a staff attorney with the ACLU's national Lesbian and Gay Rights Project.  The ACLU represented the school in the case.

[Soldier4Christ]

ACLU backs brothels in lawsuit


LAS VEGAS (AP) - The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court challenging legislation that bars brothel owners from advertising in other counties.

Along with two newspapers and Bobbi Davis, the owner of the Shady Lady Ranch brothel near Beatty, Nev., the group argues the legislation violates owner's constitutional rights.

The issue first arose after Davis attempted to put an ad with a $50 coupon in the Las Vegas weekly Citylife newspaper and was refused.

The newspaper said it had no choice under a Nevada law intended to keep bordellos from advertising far and wide for customers. While prostitution is legal in several rural Nevada counties, it is unlawful to advertise it in counties such as Clark, where prostitution is illegal.

"We can only advertise locally," Davis told the Las Vegas Review-Journal on Friday. "I live outside a town that has 1,100 people in it. We don't want the locals, we want the tourists."

The law limiting advertising to counties where prostitution is legal is "an old state law and is unconstitutional," said Allen Lichtenstein, general counsel for the ACLU of Nevada. "Once a business license is issued, that business has the same First Amendment rights as anyone else."

CityLife and the High Desert Advocate newspaper in Wendover joined Davis as plaintiffs in the lawsuit filed this week. CityLife is owned by Stephens Media Group, which also owns the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

But most of Davis' fellow brothel owners hope the regulations that limit their advertising remain intact.

George Flint, a brothel industry lobbyist, called the advertising limits a "life insurance policy." Flint said owners fear angering legislators with overly sexy ads.

"Our fear is that some people in our industry will go insane with dramatic advertising and it's going to incense legislators and threaten our long-term survival."

CityLife Editor Steve Sebelius said other brothel owners are being too skittish.

"They have learned to keep things under the radar and not to make waves," he said. "They're worried there will be more regulation and they'll go out of business. That's just intimidation. Voters have continued to keep prostitution legal over the years."

Sebelius said the money brothel advertising could bring to his newspaper wasn't a consideration in joining the lawsuit.

[Soldier4Christ]

ACLU Sues Bush Workers


The American Civil Liberties Union filed suit on Monday against workers for an event with President Bush, saying they violated the civil rights of two people who were ejected because of their political views.

According to court documents, Leslie Weise, 40, and Alex Young, 26, were thrown out from the March 21 event where President Bush was promoting his retooling of Social Security after it was noticed the car they arrived in had a bumper sticker reading "No more blood for oil," while wearing T-shirts saying "Stop the lies" under other clothes.
The suit names Michael Casper, Jay Bob Klinkerman and five-other unknown workers as defendants the ACLU claim conspired in the decision to remove the two.

[Soldier4Christ]

ACLU backs brothels in lawsuit


The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit challenging a Nevada law barring brothel owners from advertising outside their home county.

Along with two newspapers and the owner of the Shady Lady Ranch brothel near Beatty, the group argues the legislation violates an owner's constitutional rights.

The issue first arose after Shady Lady owner Bobbi Davis attempted to put an ad with a 50 dollar coupon in the Las Vegas Citylife newspaper. Davis was refused.

The newspaper says it had no choice in the matter because a law prohibits brothels from advertising far and wide for customers.

UCLU attorney Allen Lichtenstein says the law is unconstitutional -- the First Amendment protects a business's right to advertise.