Winter 2006 - New York Civil Liberties Union

Central New York Chapter
New York Civil Liberties Union
ISSUE NO. 9-HOLIDAY 2006
Yes, Virginia, Santa Claus Has the Right to Freely
Express His Religious Beliefs . . . and the ACLU Will
Gladly Defend that Right!
One way to know whether you have become a cultural icon, or better yet, a lightening rod, is to
find out how many times your name appears in the granddaddy of the urban legends web sites,
www.snopes.com.1 The ACLU pops up 14 times on snopes.com2, and the lead article concerns
an email that first circulated last year and is making the rounds again. The email asks readers
to punish the ACLU for its alleged anti-Christmas activities by sending millions of Christmas
cards with religious messages to the ACLU’s national headquarters in the hope that this would
freeze the ACLU’s operations and deter it from its efforts to “get rid of the CHRISTMAS part of
this holiday.” (This year our Central New York Chapter has alrady received a holiday card with
no return address but with “God Bless Christmas” on the front and “Leave Christmas Alone” on
the inside.)
A Publication by:
The Central New York Chapter
of the
New York Civil Liberties Union
Office:
753 James Street, Suite 8
Syracuse, New York 13203
Phone: (315) 471-2821
email: [email protected]
www.cnyclu.org
By now you have probably
received our recent appeal
for your financial support.
We hope you will decide to
help so that we can continue this newsletter and
the many other local efforts
that we describe in these
pages.
And “Happy Whatever”
to All of You
and
Peace on Earth.
We really do mean it.
The Editors
The people at Snopes.com point out that this is basically a silly idea, in part because the ACLU’s
national mail room is quite capable of opening and dealing with a lot of pointless cards without
freezing its operations, but, more important, because the ACLU has nothing to do with the fact
that a few national business chains have tried to recognize a broadened customer base during
November and December. by instructing their staff to say “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry
Christmas.” This industry trend has been dubbed “The War on Christmas” by a handful of
conservative commentators and religious groups, and the ACLU is more often than not named
as the villainous perpetrator.3
In fact, the opposite is true. The ACLU and its affiliates are engaged in what could accurately
be called a “War on Religious Oppression.” In the past few years, amidst all the rhetoric about
the alleged “War on Christmas,” this is what has really been happening:
•
The ACLU of Nevada defended the free exercise rights and free speech rights of
evangelical Christians to preach on the sidewalks of the Strip in Las Vegas.
•
The ACLU of New Mexico also joined forces with the American Family Association to
free a preacher, Shawn Miller, from the Roosevelt County jail, where he was held for
109 days for street preaching.
•
The ACLU of New Jersey filed an amicus brief asking a federal court to uphold an
second grade student’s right to sing the song “Awesome God” in a voluntary, afterschool talent show for which students selected their own material.
•
The ACLU of Louisiana filed a lawsuit defending the rights of a Christian man to public
protest based on his religious beliefs. The man was chased away from a Wal-Mart store
where he carried a sign that read: “Christians: Wal-Mart Supports Gay Marriage & Gay
Lifestyles. Don’t Shop There.”
•
The ACLU of Georgia filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of the Tabernacle Community
Baptist Church against the city of East Point, Georgia when city officials denied the
church a zoning permit needed to establish its house of worship. The ACLU of
Pennsylvania won a battle against a municipality southeast of Pittsburgh that repeatedly
denied an occupancy permit to a predominantly African-American church, which had
purchased the church building from a predominantly white church.
•
The ACLU of North Carolina filed a lawsuit challenging the state’s practice of refusing to
allow non-Christians to take an oath in court using a religious text other than the Christian
Bible.
Cont. on page 6
Page 2
DO YOU KNOW A “FREEDOM-SPIRITED” HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT?
! TELL THEM ABOUT THE CHAPTER’S BILL OF RIGHTS POSTER & ESSAY CONTESTS !
The deadline for submissions to the Bill of Rights poster and essay contest has been extended to January 5th, 2007.
Students may submit an essay in response to one of four questions:
1. If you had the power to make civil rights law and place it in action, what would it be and why?
2. Ben Franklin said “they that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor
safety.” Do you agree with Franklin’s statement? Why or why not?
3. What do you think about the statement, “Real Patriots Defend the Constitution.” What do you think it means to be
‘’patriotic” today in comparison to the days of the American Revolution?
4. George Bernard Shaw famously said that “youth is wasted on the young.” Are civil liberties “wasted” on the free?
Explain your response in light of current events.
Students entering the poster contest may address one of four civil liberties themes:
1. “ It’s Your Constitution - Learn About the Bill of Rights ”
2. “ Young People Don’t Give Up Their Rights at the Schoolhouse Door ”
3. “ Speak Up – Speak Out – Free Speech is an Essential American Activity ”
4. “ In America, the Government is Supposed to Respect Your Basic Right to Privacy ”
Students are allowed to participate in both contests and can be winners of both. The panel of judges for both contests will be
drawn from the Chapter and the Central New York community. The judges include writers, journalists, attorneys, performers,
artists and members of the Chapter Board. Judging of entries for both contests will be completed by January 20th and
prizewinners will be notified by January 26, 2007. Notice of the winners will also be provided to media outlets in the central
New York area by the end of January. Certificates and cash prizes of between $25 and $100 will be awarded to the top three
entries in each contest. Two of the winning essays will be published in future editions of this newsletter. Winning posters will
be displayed at our Annual Spring Dinner event in June, and at least one of the winning posters will be made into a billboard
ad, which will be displayed in the Syracuse area.
Remember, the deadline for submission has been extended to January 5th, 2007. Both the essay and poster contests
are open to high school juniors and seniors. Essays should be no more than 500-800 words in length, typed single spaced on
white paper. Posters should be no more than 30 inches high by 22 inches wide, displayed in black & white or color on poster
board.
Posters will be judged on:
Essays will be judged on:
· Conveyance of a message that supports or promotes
· articulation of a position that
civil liberties
supports or promotes civil liberties,
· Originality of images and textual elements
· validity of evidence presented and
· Impact and persuasiveness of overall design
persuasiveness of argument,
· Communicative clarity of message chosen as the focus
· eloquence of statements whether
of design.
through formal prose or unique
presentation of ideas,
Note: The exact wording of these themes does not have to
· the degree to which the question
appear verbatim, but the design should include enough text to
chosen as the focus of the essay is
link the overall message with the images portrayed.
addressed
Barrie Gewanter and Chantal Wynter, Chapter Intern
Or Do You Know a “Freedom-Spirited” Senior? Tell Them About
the Upcoming OASIS Class on the Work of the CNY Chapter
On Tuesday, January 16, 2007, from 1 to 2:30, CNY Chapter Board member Annette Guisbond and Chapter Director
Barrie Gewanter will present ”The ACLU—Being Civil About Your Liberties” as part of the OASIS educational program for
mature adults.
Find out about the work of the CNY Chapter of the ACLU and how the chapter has aided Central New Yorkers from 16
to 60+ in litigation, advocacy and public education. Learn about the mission and methods of the ACLU, a national organization
that has defended your constitutional rights since 1920.
To find out how to sign up for the class go to http://www.oasisnet.org/syracuse/index.htm
What You Should Know about Tasers
Have police in your city or county begun to use tasers? Are
they considering the purchase of these electroshock
weapons? Police may use a taser to subdue a non-compliant
person who is threatening or especially dangerous. When
fired, a taser sends out two small barbs that attach to the
person’s clothes and may penetrate slightly into skin. Wires
attached to the barbs stay connected to the taser. The weapon
delivers a burst of electricity - at 50,000 volts but at very low
amperage. The shock is brief–a few seconds–but it is painful
because muscles will spasm all over the body. A person
shocked by a taser will probably fall to the ground, but should
be able to move and talk again as soon as the shock is over.
A police officer can deliver more than one burst of electricity,
as they see fit, until the individual complies and is safely
restrained.
Tasers are weapons. They are not supposed to be lethal
weapons, but it is more accurate to think of them as lesslethal rather than non-lethal. Most people who are shocked
with a taser recover quickly and have no lasting effects.
However, tasers have been known to cause or contribute to
injury and death when used against people who are especially
vulnerable. Tasers can be more deadly if the barbs hit a
particularly vulnerable part of the body such as the neck.
Tasers can be harmful if used on someone multiple times or
for an extended time. However, tasers may also be a viable
less-lethal alternative in situations where a police officer’s
only other choice would be to fire their gun, and to do so, as
trained, aiming at the center mass of the body.
There have been reports from around the country of police
using tasers in questionable and/or inappropriate ways–
against children, against people already restrained, more than
3-4 times in a row against the same person, or for much
longer than recommended. Each police department that
chooses to use tasers should establish clear policies and
training so that officers know when and how to use a taser,
and when to avoid using one. However, all departments do
not follow the same guidelines, and some department policies
are not adequate. In the past year, the Syracuse Police
Department has begun to use tasers. The Department’s
written policy is very general and it is not clear what additional
information is provided to officers through internal training.
There have already been some complaints. The Onondaga
County Sheriff’s Department has also recently been given
funding to purchase tasers for patrol deputies. We will be
contacting the Onondaga County Sheriff to request
information about the policy and procedures they intend to
adopt.
Here are some guidelines that should be included in any
department’s policy and training:
• A taser should not be used against someone who is
already in handcuffs and under control. A taser should
never be used to deliver a punishment.
• A taser should be not be aimed to hit a person in the
head or neck.
•
•
•
•
•
Page 3
Officers should avoid using a taser against children,
someone who is elderly, or someone who is known to
have a heart condition. If an officer feels it necessary to
use a taser against a woman who is pregnant, the weapon
should not be aimed at or near the abdomen.
A taser should not be used against someone who could
fall from a significant height, or on someone who is
operating a vehicle or machinery.
A taser burst should not be delivered for longer than one
standard cycle of about 3 seconds.
Multiple taser shocks should only be used if absolutely
necessary. A police officer should give a clear warning
and give the individual time to comply with instructions
before activating the taser again.
A taser should not be used when there are flammable or
explosive materials in the area, or when a person has
flammable liquid on their clothes or body. A taser should
not be used on someone in a pool or body of water or
when a person could fall into water after being shocked.
Police should also be required to file a report on each
activation of a taser, with details that would allow for later
examination of the circumstances by police superiors and by
the public. Such reports should include:
• the name of the officer who used the taser and the
other officers who were present
• the reason why the taser weapon was activated
• the number of times the taser was used and for how
long
• where the taser barbs hit the person’s body
• whether the person was injured as a result of the
shock or fall, how they were injured, if they received
medical treatment, and what kind of treatment was
needed.
Police policies should also provide for adequate followup
should someone require medical attention after being shocked
with a taser. It is important that doctors know exactly when
the person was tasered, and have a description of the person’s
condition and behavior before the shock was delivered. A
doctor will also need to know if the person fell after being
shocked, and if they hit their head or injured any part of their
body in the fall. Some municipalities also have specially
trained EMT’s that are called to respond when someone is
tasered by a police officer.
If you are tasered or see someone being tasered by police in
a way that seems harmful or excessive please report the
circumstances to the Central New York Chapter office at 4712821 or [email protected]. Also please let us know if your
local city or county police are considering or about to begin
using tasers.
Barrie Gewanter - Chapter Director
Page 4
Curfews
The Rights of Teens Do Not Appear in the Morning & Disappear at Night
You have probably heard recent news reports in the Central
New York Region about proposals to enact late night curfews
for teenagers. The ACLU has fought teen curfews in the
past, and won. Our Chapter actively and successfully
opposed curfew proposals in Syracuse in 1994, 1996, and
2004. Here’s why:
1
Teen curfews penalize young people for otherwise
normal and lawful behavior.
2
Curfew ordinances may subject teens to detention
and/or search based solely on their age and without
a warrant or any suspicion that they have committed
a crime.
3
Imposing a curfew is an extremely drastic step. A
curfew should only be a temporary action taken by
local authorities in times of clear and imminent
emergency, or, in even rarer circumstances as a tool of martial law.
4
Teen curfew ordinances are enforced at the discretion of the police. This can result in selective enforcement,
especially in low income or high minority neighborhoods.
5
The 14th Amendment of the Bill of Rights guarantees all persons equal protection under the law. Young people are
no less entitled to this constitutional right than others. Government bodies in the U.S. are entitled to adjust provisions
in our legal system to account for the vulnerability or special needs of children (Belotti v. Baird 1979). The courts,
however, have made clear that there are limits on a government’s ability to restrict the constitutional rights of young
people.
6
Curfews are not effective methods to address the multifaceted problem of youth crime. For instance, national
studies show that most youth crime occurs between the hours of 3 to 6 pm. This is well before the hour when most
teen curfews go into effect. Police actions to enforce teen curfews can also exacerbate tensions between local
youth and police, and delay consideration of programs which might more effectively address the problem.
7
Enforcement of teen curfews can significantly divert essential police resources from crime prevention and other law
enforcement activities. When citations are issued to youth and parents, this can generate time-consuming court
proceedings and paperwork that place additional burdens on parents and the courts
8
Teen curfews interfere with the rights of parents to direct and guide their children into adulthood as each parent sees
fit. Parents have a right to decide which restrictions to impose in order to teach their children skills that will be
necessary in adulthood. Some curfew ordinances actually penalize parents for these parenting decisions with
citations or orders to appear in court. A municipality can only interfere in parental decision-making when there is
evidence of abuse or neglect.
The controlling case on this issue is Ramos vs. Vernon, Connecticut, a 2003 decision in the 2nd District of the U.S. Court of
Appeals. The court found the Vernon ordinance unconstitutional because it violated the right of youth to be out on the streets
during curfew hours with the permission of their parents. Here are some of the points made by the judges:
1
Juveniles have a right, “with parental consent to walk the streets, move about at will, meet in public with friends, and
leave their houses when they please.” The judges stated that “this right to free movement” is a “vital component of
life in an open society” for both juveniles and adults.
2
Absent clear evidence of a direct and substantial connection to a specific danger to juveniles present during the
hours specified in a curfew ordinance, and addressed directly by the imposition of that curfew, the constitutional
Cont. Page 5
Page 5
You Win Some, You Lose Some. . .
And sometimes you just gotta be a watchdog!
On the day before the November election, the Chapter was contacted by a disabled woman in East Syracuse
who had been informed by the Board of Elections that her absentee ballot had been one of Aa couple of
thousand@ that Adid not reach their intended destinations@ because of Aa problem at the Post Office.@ The
Board of Elections told her that her only option was to come to the Civic Center to pick up her ballot,
something she could not do because of her disability. Chapter Director Barrie Gewanter contacted an
Elections Commissioner, picked up the voters=s absentee ballot at the Civic Center, delivered it to her
home, and then turned it in at a polling place on election day. While this was one success for voters= rights,
we wonder about all the other disabled voters who did not receive their absentee ballots in the mail and did
not contact our office. If you would like to help us monitor and respond to election day and polling place
issues, please contact the Chapter office.
In early September, the Chapter was contacted by two property owners in East Syracuse about a proposal
for a new registration and inspection program for all rental properties in the Village. After consulting with
Chapter and NYCLU attorneys, Chapter Director Barrie Gewanter contacted the attorney for the village.
This attorney sent the Chapter written confirmation that the Village would not create a database of tenants,
as had been previously stated by Village zoning officials in a public presentation. Gewanter=s communication
with this attorney also resulted in several important changes to a AConsent to Inspect@ form that, as originally
written, could have been interpreted as asking tenants to provide a blanket consent to multiple inspections
of an unspecified nature over an unlimited number of years.
In October, the Chapter received a call for help from a mother of a woman imprisoned in a county jail in the
Southern Tier for a drunk driving conviction. Her daughter had been placed in jail a few days before she
was scheduled to have an abortion near the end of the first trimester of a pregnancy. The judge refused to
provide her with a medical furlough so that she could have the procedure. Then jail officials denied her
access to prescribed medications, ostensibly to protect the fetus. Chapter Director Barrie Gewanter contacted
attorneys for the NYCLU=s Reproductive Rights project, who then provided the woman=s defense attorney
with cases and legal briefs supporting the well-established principle that incarcerated women have the right
to receive necessary medical care, including abortion. Using this information, her attorney was successful
in getting her released pending an appeal of her sentence. She was then able to obtain the abortion in time.
To date, a total of 7 school districts out of the 19 contacted by the Chapter have made changes to the forms
and procedures that allowed parents to remove their children=s names and contact information from lists
provided to military recruiters. As a result of the Chapter=s continuing efforts, students in these school
districts will now be able to sign and submit these opt-out forms on their own. The Chapter continues to
contact school districts in Central NY about this aspect of the No Child Left Behind Act. If you are interested
in helping with this effort by making phone calls from the Chapter office, please contact Barrie Gewanter.
rights of juveniles “do not appear in the morning and disappear at night.” When evidence suggests that a curfew law
targeting juveniles does not benefit them, and was instead passed for the benefit of others, the constitutionality of
that law is even more suspect.
3
Parents have the discretion to decide whether to allow their children to be out at night. The government cannot sit
in judgment of a parental approach that allows children to be out at night without demonstrating a potential harm to
the children high enough to override parental rights to direct or approve of a child’s movement. The judges also
stated that they “cannot help but observe the irony of the supposition that responsible parental decision making may
be promoted by the government removing decision making authority from responsible parents and exercising that
authority itself,”
If your town or city is talking about a new teen curfew please call the Chapter office at (315) 471-2821 or send us a copy of
the proposed ordinance.
Barrie Gewanter, Chapter Director
Page 6
This cartoon is just one particularly obnoxious, and perhaps
anti-Semitic, example of the effort of the right wing press to
associate the ACLU with perceived attacks on Christmas
traditions.
•
The ACLU of Michigan filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of
Joseph Hanas, a Catholic, who was criminally punished
for not completing a drug rehabilitation program run by a
Pentecostal group. Part of the program required reading
the Bible for seven hours a day, proclaiming one’s salvation
at the altar, and being tested on Pentecostal principles.
Staff confiscated Mr. Hanas’s rosary and told him
Catholicism was witchcraft.
•
The ACLU of Louisiana also filed suit against the
Department of Corrections on behalf of a Mormon inmate,
who was denied access to Mormon religious texts,] and
Mormon religious services.
•
The ACLU of Rhode Island filed a federal appeal on behalf
of an inmate who was barred from preaching during
Christian religious services, as he had done for the past
seven years with the support and under the supervision of
prison clergy.
•
The ACLU of Oregon filed suit on behalf of high school
basketball players from a 7TH Day Adventist school. The
ACLU argued that the basketball players who made it to
the state tournament should not be required to play
tournament games on Saturday, their Sabbath.
At the same time, the ACLU continues to fight for the rights of
religious minorities. Some examples:
•
The ACLU of Maryland wrote a letter urging Howard County
school officials to allow Muslim students to leave school to
pray each Friday, when Muslims traditionally gather for
communal prayer.
•
The ACLU filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of the widow of
a soldier killed in Afghanistan who seeks to have a Wiccan
symbol included on her husband’s headstone. The suit
challenges a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs policy
that allows many different religious symbols on headstones
in military cemeteries, but excludes Wiccan symbols such
as the pentagram.
•
The New York Civil Liberties Union challenged a New York
State policy forbidding State prison guards to wear religious
head coverings. The plaintiff, a devout Muslim, had worn a
kufi while on duty for many years before he was told to
remove it.
•
The ACLU of Pennsylvania also sued on behalf of a devout
Muslim firefighter, who had been suspended for refusing
to shave his beard as required by city regulations.
•
The New York Civil Liberties Union also worked with the
New York University Law School Civil Rights Clinic to file a
federal lawsuit challenging a Coast Guard regulation under
which people could not receive merchant marine licenses
unless they removed religious head coverings for
photographs.4
In addition to all this support for mainstream and minority religious
groups, the ACLU and its affiliates have been instrumental
supporters of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons
Act (RLUIPA), a federal law passed in 2000 which protects religious
organizations from restrictive zoning laws and enhances the
religious rights of prisoners and other institutionalized persons to
follow their religious practices. Most recently the ACLU of Southern
California filed suit on behalf of a Vietnamese Buddhist against
the City of Garden Grove for violating RLUIPA and affecting the
congregation’s First Amendment rights to religious exercise.
The First Amendment to the Constitution provides that “Congress
shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or
prohibiting the free exercise thereof . . . “ In legal shorthand we
refer to these clauses as the establishment clause and the free
exercise clause. The ACLU is best known, and most often vilified,
for its efforts to enforce the establishment clause, i.e. prayer in
schools, the Ten Commandments on the courthouse roof. The list
of cases cited in this article amply demonstrates that the ACLU is
equally vigilant in its protection of freedom of religious exercise
and expression.
At first blush, these two constitutional precepts appear to be
contradictory. How can you oppose the establishment of religion
and advocate for the free exercise of religion at the same time?
The answer lies in a clear understanding of the constitutional
difference between private, governmental and public space. Private
space is simply that—my front yard or our church or synagogue or
mosque or temple. We can all put whatever we want there to
express our religious beliefs even if such displays offend everyone
else who sees them. Governmental spaces are spaces like the
courthouse, the public school, city hall, where any displays or other
activities are funded by and/or controlled by a governmental entity.
In these governmental spaces, religious displays cannot be
supported or paid for by public funds under governmental control.
In addition, the government cannot coerce an exercise of religious
practice or belief. Both are constitutionally forbidden.
There is another kind of public space, what we think of as the
modern day equivalent of the “public square,” I.e. the sidewalk in
front of a store, the airwaves used for religious broadcasting, the
streets and sidewalks used by door to door missionaries, even
government buildings when they are opened to voluntary
community activities. A government cannot prevent religious
believers or non-believers from using these public spaces to
express and promote their own beliefs. Thus, the ACLU opposes
school-sponsored prayer in the classroom but fought to uphold
the right of a second grader to sing a religious song in an after
Cont. Page 7
Page 7
UPDATE ON “DID THE COMPUTER
EAT MY VOTE?”
The August issue explained the importance of a voting
system which will count every vote as cast. The League
of Women Voters and other organizations continue to
try to convince the counties of New York State to choose
a system of paper ballot marked by hand (or ballot
marking device for voters with disabilities) and counted
by precinct-based optical scanners.
In Onondaga County, a significant showing of voting
integrity activists came to the Ocober 4th public hearing
on the county budget. Lenore Rapalski of the League
of Women Voters told the county legislators that
computer voting machines have an abysmal record in
other states and that they are more expensive than the
optical scanner system. She distributed an analysis indicating that the computer voting system would cost the county about
$6 million more than the optical scanner system. The “Raging Grannies” sang in support of optical scanners.
Your County Legislator and County Executive still need to hear from you! You can get contact information for them and
learn more from Lenore Rapalski, 652-9112, [email protected] She may also be able to give you a contact for the voting
integrity campaign in counties other than Onondaga.
Linda A. DeStefano
school talent show. Similarly, the ACLU advocates for the right of
families to choose their own religious symbols on the military graves
of their loved ones, but opposes the erection and maintenance of
a huge cross on federal park land. 5
What the ACLU’s critics don’t understand (or are perhaps too
cynical to acknowledge) is that enforcement of the establishment
clause is inextricably intertwined with, and essential to, the
preservation of our right to free exercise and expression of our
religious beliefs. A recent “intelligent design” decision is a classic
example. In 2005, the ACLU of Pennsylvania (in conjunction with
Americans United for the Separation of Church and State) won a
federal court case on behalf of parents of public school children
who objected to a school district’s attempts to impose religious
beliefs on their children, Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District.
The court decided on Establishment Clause grounds that members
of the school board had used the public schools to promote their
particular religious belief under the name of “intelligent design.”
Several of the plaintiffs, however, were willing to challenge the
teaching of intelligent design in large part because it offended their
deeply held Christian religious beliefs, not because of any concern
about the Establishment Clause per se. In essence, every time
the government gets involved in promoting someone’s religion,
the free expression of someone else’s religion (or lack of religion)
is jeopardized.
So is there a “War on Christmas” led by the ACLU? NO, but
there are important legal battles to be fought each year against
religious zealotry of any kind that moves to insinuate itself into
all levels of government. Santa Claus , I am certain, is a liberal6
and I am positive he would approve.
Jo Piersma
CNY Board Chair
(Endnotes)
1
Snopes.com tracks urban legends, common fallacies,
misinformation, strange news stories, rumors, celebrity gossip,
and similar items.
2
If you type in Bill O’Reilley you get 4 hits. Wal-Mart gets 23.
The USA Patriot Act gets 1.
3
Snopes.com refers the reader to a 2005 article by Fran
Quigley, Executive Director of the ACLU of Indiana,
How The ACLU Didn’t Steal Christmas,
at http://www.aclu.org/religion/gen/22324res20051207.html.
4
For more detailed information about these cases go to
http://www.aclu.org/religion/govtfunding/
26526res20060824.html.
For more information about the history of the Mt. Soledad Latin
Cross controversy go to http://www.aclu.org/religion/govtfunding/
26524res20060824.html
5
Just think about it. He delivers toys to all the children all over
the world for free. So, he’s not that great on animal welfare
issues or employees’ rights, but no one is perfect.
6
A TRUE PATRIOT’S ACT
We Need a Little Help
from Our Friends
Can you volunteer to help
screen
and
summarize
incoming cases? We get 15-25
cases in the mail each month
plus numerous calls each day
on the phone. Each person
deserves a review of their issue
and a response, but it is really
hard to keep up with this, and
there tends to be quite a
backlog. Consider becoming a
casework volunteer. Barrie will
provide training, guidance, and
supervision in conjunction with
the Chapter=s Legal Committee.
Call the office if you are
interested.
Central New York Chapter
New York Civil Liberties Union
753 James Street, Suite 8
Syracuse, New York 13203
Page 8
Support the Central New York Chapter
New York Civil Liberties Union
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Work Phone: __________________
________________________
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I am enclosing a tax-deductible contribution payable to the
NYCLU Foundation in the amount of:
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other $______
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the NYCLU Foundation. Enclosed is my first check.
Mail Your Contribution
Check to the CNY Chapter Office
(Please Include This Form with Your Check)
CNY Chapter NYCLU
753 James Street, Suite 8
Syracuse, NY 13203
The NYCLU Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, and
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