Action Alert
This shows a list of all the action alerts we have posted on the site. Some of the older ones may be out of date, but we retain here as part of the archive of our work.
Help South Dakota Preserve Reproductive Rights
10.22.08
Have you been reading about the South Dakota abortion ban in your local newspaper or on the ACLU website? On Election Day, South Dakotans will vote on a ban on virtually all abortions. What can you do to help defeat this ban?
You can phone bank in your own living room for three hours on November 1 or 2.
That’s right – three hours in your own living room (all you need is a computer with web access and a phone) – it’s that easy to make a difference in this election. The South Dakota Campaign for Healthy Families (SDCHF), of which the ACLU is a part of, has spent the past three months making over 170,000 persuasion phone calls to highly-targeted voters across the state. They’ve identified a large percentage of supporters and now it’s time to Get Out the Vote (GOTV)! The Campaign has asked for your help on November 1 and 2 to call all identified supporters and encourage them to get to get to the polls to vote NO on Measure 11.
Invite your members to make a difference.
Initiated Measure 11 is a ban on virtually all abortions and is a direct challenge to Roe v. Wade that More >
Let’s Talk About Sex
7.7.08
By Tamya Cox, Program Director
The federal government spent 206 million dollars on abstinence-only-until-marriage programs during 2006. Oklahoma received $690,342 for fiscal year 2005. Yet, as many of us know and the statistics show, not all teenagers are abstaining. In 2005, 48% of Oklahoma female high school students and 50% of male high school students admitted to having sex. These numbers clearly show that our teens are having sex, and now is not the time to turn a blind eye. We must arm our children with the knowledge and tools needed to prevent those who do have sex from unwanted pregnancies as well as contracting Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs).
Oklahoma schools are not required to teach sex education but must teach HIV/AIDS prevention. Many school districts who decide to teach sex education do so by teaching an abstinence-only-until-marriage curriculum. This curriculum gives medically inaccurate and biased information about the benefits of abstinence; it gives little or no instruction to those who do have sex about birth control and STD prevention. Young adults under the age of 25 are contracting the HIV virus an alarming rate.
Nationally and locally, we have seen a decline in the number of teen pregnancies, yet Oklahoma still ranks More >
LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM RISES FROM THE ASHES
6.26.08
Legislative Panel
Following the untimely death last fall of longtime lobbyist Keith Smith, the ACLU of Oklahoma found itself at a crossroads when the Oklahoma Legislature prepared to begin its 2007 session. There was no easy choice for finding a successor to Smith, whose skills, knowledge and political savvy were irreplaceable. As a result, the affiliate’s leadership decided to refocus the legislative program by recruiting more activists at the grassroots level to lobby for civil liberties.
The ACLU of Oklahoma hosted a legislative training workshop on January 27, 2007 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the First Unitarian Church in Oklahoma City. The event drew more than 100 participants, who were eager to become more involved in affecting legislation.
State Legislative Counsel Charles Mitchell of the ACLU National Legislative Office in Washington, D.C. presented information on effective grassroots lobbying techniques. Political strategist Linda Murphy gave advice on organizing around particular issues. Former Governor David Walters, former State Senator Bernest Cain, former State Representative Opio Toure and former State Representative Wanda Jo Stapleton were joined by current State Senator Andrew Rice and current State Representative Al McAffrey in a session that provided the perspective of lawmakers on lobbying.
Attendance at the workshop was free. More >
