Bill of Rights Defense Campaign

BILL OF RIGHTS Defense Committee - Working with communities to uphold the Bill of RightsWe the People
Working with communities to uphold the Bill of Rights
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Action Suggestions For Reclaiming the Message!

Independence Day 2006 is fast approaching! As we make plans to celebrate 230 years of liberty and democracy, we must reclaim the spirit of our founding principles and stand up for the freedoms that we've lost in recent years. Let's bring awareness to our communities about the erosion of constitutional protections and insist that our representatives help us fight to restore the Bill of Rights.

We have compiled some suggestions from a recent conference call with community activists. BORDC will post all of your events on our website, so others in your town or around the nation can see what’s happening in your area. Please send your Independence Day event information to Linda Stone or to Hope Marston.

1. Meet with your Congressional representatives July 1-9

  • While Congress is in recess, July 1-9, it’s a good time to set up local meetings, or attend their town hall meetings. Take lots of allies!
  • Find Congressional contact information at: http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/
  • In preparation for the meeting, attend BORDC's telephone workshop, “Reclaiming the Message: Building Relationships with Your Congressional Representatives.”—Thursday June 29 (8:30 EDT, 7:30 CDT, 6:30 MDT, 5:30 PDT, 4:30 AKDT, 2:30 HDT). We'll also exchange tips and challenges to setting up appointments with members of Congress.
  • Click here for more

2. Connect with Independence Day events already occurring in your area.

3. Ask your local officials to hold public hearing/fact-finding sessions

  • Public utility commissions and attorney generals can hold such sessions to determine local reaction to domestic surveillance, and whether local and state laws have been abridged. In many states, the ACLU has already begun this process.

Recent News coverage:

Oregon

Story I
Story II

Washington

http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2006/06/05/1669288.htm

Maine

http://morningsentinel.mainetoday.com/view/columns/2761019.shtml

Hawaii

http://www.khnl.com/Global/story.asp?S=4920944

  • Organizers in Aspen, CO are holding a June 29 fact-finding hearing on post-9/11 laws including the PATRIOT Act, and orders such as NSA warrantless wiretapping and enemy combatants. They are asking public officials to re-take their oaths of office, to re-commit to upholding the Bill of Rights. For more, see: http://www.bordc.org/involved/woodycreek.pdf

4. It’s not too late to pass a civil liberties resolution.

  • If your community has not yet passed a resolution affirming civil liberties, draft a petition to demonstrate support for a local resolution and circulate it at local July 4th events.
  • Convert your community resolution into an ordinance, which has the force of law. Take a look at the following ordinances from eight communities: http://www.bordc.org/ordinances.php
  • Start work on a statewide resolution: http://www.bordc.org/involved/states/toolkit.php

5. Join the movement to pass local resolutions against warrantless wiretapping.

6. Call on your local public utilities to disclose whether or not they are releasing customer phone records to the government’s domestic spy program.

  • Send a letter to the Federal Communications Commission demanding the FCC investigate AT&T and BellSouth's role in domestic spying for the NSA at a time when these two companies are seeking approval for a merger.
  • Send a complaint to the Federal Communications Commission

7. Start a Circle of Scribes for a Letter to the Editor campaign.

8. Organize a "FOIA Request Party."

  • Since the government seems so interested in gathering data on political activists, let’s flood them for requests for information about what they’ve found! Gather a group to fill out forms for Freedom of Information Act requests to find out what information is in your government files, as the Pittsburgh Bill of Rights Defense Committee is doing in conjunction with the local ACLU. You may contact Dean Gerber of the Pittsburgh BORDC for more information.
  • Oregon attorney Dan Stotter, who has a website to guide you through the process, will provide an initial consultation at no charge.
  • Keep in mind, however, that the FOIA process is a marathon, seemingly designed to test your endurance. If you really want to get the documents from the government, you have to be willing to run the entire marathon, and work the paper trail. BORDC plans to engage volunteer organizers in a phone workshop on this subject in the near future. Let us know if this is something you’d be interested in participating in!

Another important part of any event is to have good media coverage. Please let us know if you would like some help drafting a news release.

And don’t forget to tell us what your community is doing on our 230th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence!

Thanks for all you do!

Linda and Hope