Archive for September, 2011
Long-time Activist to Receive ACLU’s Highest Honor
9.26.11
The ACLU of Oklahoma is excited to announce this year’s Angie Debo Civil Libertarian of the Year is Jana Lewis Harkins of Oklahoma City.
Harkins is no stranger to the ACLU. She has served on the board of directors twice and also served as the board president. While serving as board of directors in 1987, she received the distinct honor of becoming the first African-American president of any ACLU affiliate in the country.
“Harkins has dedicated a lifetime to fight for equality, and her passion has inspired many,” said Ryan Kiesel executive director of the ACLU of Oklahoma. “We are excited to honor such a trail-blazer.”
In addition to Harkins’ commitment to the ACLU, she has dedicated her life to civil rights. Witnessing the unfair treatment of women within the Southwestern Bell Telephone Company, she began her fight for the fair treatment of women and workers. She became heavily involved with the Communications Workers of America Union, and she would ultimately become the first African American and first female elected as the Executive Vice President for the CWA Local 6016.
She has worked tirelessly to increase voter participation and to educate the masses about women’s rights, racial justice, and human rights.
In 2005, she co-hosted an More >
ACLU Says Denial of Clemency for Troy Davis Exemplifies Death Penalty’s Systemic Injustices
9.20.11
Execution in Face of Serious Doubts Unconscionable and Unconstitutional
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: (212) 549-2666;media@aclu.org
ATLANTA – The Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles today denied clemency to Troy Davis, despite serious concerns that he was wrongly convicted of killing a police officer in 1989.
“The refusal today by the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles to grant Troy Davis clemency underscores the vast systemic injustices that plague our death penalty system,” said Denny LeBoeuf, director of the ACLU Capital Punishment Project. “No innocent person should ever be put to death, and it is unconscionable and unconstitutional to carry out an execution where, as in Troy’s case, significant doubts exist. The death penalty system in the United States is arbitrary, discriminatory and comes at an enormous cost to taxpayers, and it must be ended.”
Visit www.aclu.org for more information.
ACLU of Oklahoma and CAIR to Ask Appeals Court Monday to Uphold Ruling
9.8.11
ACLU of Oklahoma and CAIR to Ask Appeals Court Monday to Uphold Ruling Blocking Implementation of Oklahoma Ban on Sharia and International Law
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 8, 2011 CONTACT: Robyn Shepherd, ACLU national, (212) 519-7829 or 549-2666; media@aclu.org DENVER – Counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) will present arguments before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit Monday, September 12 at 1:00 p.m. MDT to ask that the court uphold a ruling blocking implementation of a discriminatory and unnecessary Oklahoma state constitutional amendment that prohibits courts from applying – or even considering – what is broadly described as Islamic “Sharia law” and “international law.”
The measure, officially titled the “Save Our State Amendment,” was temporarily enjoined last year by a lower court for blatantly disfavoring an entire faith and denyingOklahoma’s Muslims access to the judicial system on the same terms as every other citizen. The ACLU and CAIR are seeking to have the amendment permanently struck down.
More information on the case is available at: www.aclu.org/religion-belief/muneer-awad-v-paul-ziriax-oklahoma-state-board-elections-et-al
WHAT: Arguments in appeal of lower court ruling blocking implementation of anOklahoma state constitutional amendment prohibiting courts from applying or considering Sharia law and international law.
WHO: Daniel Mach, director More >
ACLU 9/11 Anniversary Report Warns of Threat to American Freedom
9.8.11
Report, “A Call to Courage: Reclaiming Our Liberties Ten Years After 9/11,” Details Dangers of Establishing Permanent War Footing
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 7, 2011
CONTACT: Josh Bell, (212) 549-2508 or 2666; media@aclu.org
NEW YORK– A decade after the September 11th attacks, theUnited Statesis at risk of enshrining a permanent state of emergency in which the nation’s core values are subordinated to ever-expanding claims of national security, the American Civil Liberties Union warns in a new report released today.
“A Call to Courage: Reclaiming Our Liberties Ten Years After 9/11,” shows how sacrificing America’s values – including justice, individual liberty and the rule of law – ultimately undermines the country’s safety. “It is our fundamental values that are the very foundation of our strength and security,” the report says.
“We have titled it ‘A Call to Courage,’ because we believe that a defining element of our national identity – embodied in our national anthem’s pairing of ‘the land of the free’ with ‘the home of the brave’ – has been imperiled by our leaders’ promotion of (or capitulation to) a politics of fear,” the report explains.
It challenges the contention that theU.S.is engaged in a “war on terror” that takes place everywhere and will last forever, and More >
Defending the Indefensible: Oklahoma Struggles to Salvage Its Unconstitutional Sharia Ban
9.13.11
Posted by Allie Shinn in Commentary
Last November, the federal district court rejected this attempt to use the state constitution to condone bigotry and blocked the amendment from taking effect. Yesterday, a federal appellate court in Denver heard arguments in the state’s appeal of that decision, but the state should fare no better this time around.
Click Here to Read the Entire Post at the ACLU’s Blog of Rights