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You can help the ACLU-CT protect and promote civil liberties. Mark your calendars and get ready for our second annual Lobby Day, to be held on Leap Day-- Feb. 29, 2012.
You're invited to join us at the state Capitol for a program to prepare you to lobby your representatives directly on legislation that will affect civil liberties.
Participants will hear a guest speaker, learn about the ACLU-CT's 2012 legislative agenda and get instructions on how to lobby. Lunch will be included. This year the focus will be on four important issues:
Legalization of marijuana for medical purposes
It's time to legalize the compassionate use of marijuana for medical purposes. Sixteen states and the District of Columbia already allow it. A Quinnipiac University poll earlier this year found that 79 percent of Connecticut residents believe marijuana use should be legal with a doctor's prescription. A bill legalizing the use of marijuana for medical purposes passed the state Legislature in 2007 but then Gov. M. Jodi Rell vetoed it. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, however, supports the legislation.
Abolition of the death penalty
The state House and Senate passed repeal of the death penalty two years ago, only to have the bill vetoed by Rell. Malloy has said he'll sign a repeal bill but another attempt was blocked in the Senate earlier this year, when two senators switched sides. Meanwhile, concern is growing around the nation about the execution of Troy Davis in Georgia, other questionable convictions and racial disparities in capital punishment. We must not abandon this fight to end capital punishment, the ultimate denial of civil liberties.
Prohibition on the use of traffic cameras
The companies that sell traffic camera systems make a lot of money from tickets for traffic infractions, so it's no wonder they've hired a pack of powerful lobbyists to push the state Legislature to allow them in Connecticut. The trouble is, this robotic policing fails to identify the drivers of cars and automatically punishes the vehicle's owner, who has no opportunity to confront an accuser. The ACLU-CT will continue to resist efforts to allow traffic cameras so that Connecticut can continue to be entitled to due process.
Strengthening and enforcement of laws against racial profiling
Collecting data should be the first step in finding out how pervasive the problem of racial profiling is in Connecticut, especially when it comes to traffic stops. But that's not happening. Since 1999, police departments in Connecticut have been required to report each occasion when they pull a car over, including information about the race of the driver. Unfortunately, enforcement of this law - the Penn Act - has been lax and compliance has been poor. It's time to put more teeth into Connecticut's anti-racial profiling laws.
The program will begin at 10 a.m. in the Old Judiciary Room at the Capitol, 210 Capitol Ave., Hartford. RSVP to Field Organizer Isa Mujahid at imujahid@acluct.org or at 860-523-9146, ext. 8473
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