ACLU Action Update 06-25-98 -- Victory! (fwd)

[Anonymous <nobody@remailer.ch>]

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06-25-98
ACLU Action Update
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TO:	 Action Network
FR:	 Penny Crawley, Cyber Organizer (pcrawley@aclu.org)
DT:	 June 25, 1998

1. Victims' Rights Amendment
2. Child Custody Protection:/"Teen Endagerment" Act
3. New E-mail address

1.  We did it! With both the House and Senate now adjourned for the Fourth of
July recess,  "Amend the Constitution Month" in Congress has come to an end a
victory: the Constitution remains intact!

The Senate Judiciary met briefly this morning to consider the so-called
Victims' Rights Amendment (SJ Res. 44), the last of the three amendments
targeted by the Republican leadership for passage during June.  Although there
was a brief debate on this measure, the Committee adjourned for the recess
without taking action.  It is anticipated that it will take up the proposed
amendment shortly after Senators return to Washington on July 6.

A new website can be found on the Internet containing editorials and other
resources (testimony, position statements and letters to Congress) on why a
constitutional amendment is the wrong way to assist victims of crime.  The
site is located at:

http://soiroom.hyperchat.com/celestin/vrainfo.html

ACTION NEEDED:

A. Urge your U.S. Senators to honor the founding of our nation this Fourth of
July by preserving the original Bill of Rights and voting against the victims'
rights amendment by sending a FREE FAX from the ACLU website at:

http://www.aclu.org/action/victim.html

B. Because no advocacy tactic is more effective than personal interaction,
push home the point about preserving the Bill of Rights during any public
appearance your Senators make during the Fourth of July recess. 

2.  Child Custody Protection/"Teen Endangerment" Bill

Like the Victims' Rights amendment, action on the anti-choice Child Custody
Protection Act (S 1645/HR 3682), which was also on today's agenda in the
Senate Judiciary Committee, was postponed when the Committee adjourned for
recess.  It, too, is expected to be taken up when Senators return to the
Capitol.

ACTION NEEDED:

Urge your Senators to oppose this misguided bill, which would intrude into
Americans' private relationships, isolate young women by discouraging them
from seeking the caring support of a trusted adult, and endanger their lives
by forcing them to travel alone to an abortion provider and back home after
the surgery.  Send a FREE FAX from the ACLU website at:

http://www.aclu.org/action/custody.html

3. My e-mail address has changed!  All future e-mail should be sent to:

pcrawley@aclu.org 

Please update any listings in your address book to reflect the change.  (My
AOL address will remain active until July 31, 1998.)

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ACLU Freedom Network Web Page:  http://www.aclu.org.  
Constitution Hall on America Online (keyword ACLU)

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