Our organizing campaigns
Make your town do what the federal government won't
The Local Civil Rights Restoration Act (LCRRA) was developed by BORDC for consideration by city councils across the country. The LCRRA, which will have the force of law where enacted, allows individual municipalities to do what the federal government will not: protect the Fourth Amendment rights of law-abiding Americans by creating enforceable protections against local police participation in racial and ethnic profiling, federal immigration enforcement, and government spying.
Demand torture investigations
While the Justice Department pursues a limited investigation, scapegoating junior officials who violated "approved" torture techniques, Physicians for Human Rights has documented a human experimentation program authorized by former officials who remain above the law. Sign our letter defending our nation's legacy from World War II.
After raising your voice online, raise your voice offline by organizing in support of a local declaration seeking transparency and accountability at the federal level, or an investigation of executive branch decisionmakers by your local prosecutor.
Seek transparency into fusion centers
The People's Campaign for the Constitution's legal professionals team is bringing light to fusion centers' activities by filing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests about their work. You can join this effort by submitting FOIA requests to federal, state, and regional fusion centers near you.
Civil liberties updates
Read our blog for more on the latest civil liberties issues.
The People's Blog for the Constitution features daily summaries of breaking news, insightful analysis and occasional original reporting by a team of grassroots bloggers.
Reject human experimentation: Demand accountability
Across the history of the medical profession, no maxim has been more important than that to "do no harm." A recent report by Physicians for Human Rights has revealed that, beyond merely participating in torture—which has long been decried throughout the medical profession, as well as by religious leaders from across the spectrum of faiths—psychologists and other medical professionals working with government officials also engaged in human experimentation.
Please sign our letter to the attorney general today to demand accountability for human experimentation programs.
PATRIOT Act extended to 2011
At the end of February 2010, President Obama signed a one-year extension of PATRIOT Act provisions that were originally set to expire at the end of 2009. The extensions did not include any of the civil liberties or privacy protections negotiated by the Senate and House Judiciary committees last fall.
While the reauthorization of even the expiring provisions was disappointing, the February 2011 expiration of the entire Act—and forthcoming battle over reauthorization—offers a compelling opportunity for grassroots activists to raise awareness about privacy and constitutional rights.
Want to take action on these civil liberties issues? Find your legislators' contact information.
In the News:
9/10, Michael Keegan, Huffington Post, Forget the Pastor. Let's Talk About the Extremists to Worry About
9/9, Andrew Sullivan, The Atlantic, The Untamed Prince
9/9, Elise Young, Star-Ledger (NJ), N.Y. man alleges Homeland Security violated his rights during Newark airport search
9/9, Kathleen Griesbach, News and Observer, A program at odds with federal immigration powers
9/9, Marc Ambinder, The Atlantic, The FISA Court Sends a Message to the Executive Branch
9/9, Lucile Malandain, Agence France-Presse, Nine years on, no trial in sight for alleged 9/11 plotters
