April 14, 2008: Voice Your Opinion on Several Pending Civil Liberties/Civil Rights Bills!

Dear ACLU-TN Legislative Alert Network:

The Tennessee General Assembly is moving full-steam ahead as they begin to close down committees. This week several bills will be heard in committees that require ACLU-TN voices to be heard. Please contact your legislators about the bills described below and let them know how you think they should vote. At the bottom of this message is information about identifying and contacting your legislators. Many thanks for using your voice to protect our civil liberties and civil rights.

Warm regards,

Hedy

Adoption Ban for Unmarried Cohabitating Couples – SB3910(Stanley)/HB3713(DeBerry, John) – Prohibits unmarried couples from adopting a child (for talking points, please click here). This bill will be heard in the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, April 15 at 3:30 p.m. OPPOSE

Racial Profiling Prevention Act – SB3459 (Marrero)/HB4001(Jones, U) – Defines racial profiling, prohibits racial profiling by law enforcement officers and mandates departments adopt policies prohibiting racial profiling. While this bill has been greatly weakened, we are still supporting its passage and are committed to monitoring racial profiling taking place for talking points, please click here). This bill will be heard in the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, April 15. SUPPORT

Death Penalty Study Committee Extension – SB2718(Jackson)/HB2733(Coleman) – Extends the life of the death penalty study committee for another year so that a comprehensive study can be pursued. The Committee chairs are requesting this additional time so that the committee can hear from experts and digest the information presented before they present recommendations to the legislature. The bill will be heard in Senate Judiciary on Tuesday, April 15. SUPPORT

Bible Curriculum – SB4104 (Herron)/HB4089 (Maddox) – Authorizes the state board of education to approve a state-funded course focusing on nonsectarian academic study of the Bible. While this proposal seems fine on first blush, it raises concerns about who will teach the course (i.e. the educational background of those teaching) and what texts will be used. SB4104 will be heard in Senate Education on Wednesday, April 16 and HB4089 will be heard in the House K-12 Subcommittee on Tuesday, April 15. OPPOSE

Electronic Recording of Custodial Interrogations – SB3878(Jackson)/HB3733 (Coleman) – Requires all custodial interrogations of a suspect be electronically recorded and preserved until a conviction is final. These bills are good safeguards for both law enforcement and suspects. SB3878 will be heard in the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, April 15. SUPPORT

Many thanks,

Hedy

The easiest way to identity your legislators is to go to http://www.congress.org and simply type in your zip code and click “Go.” You will get a list of all your elected officials. (You may have to type in your street address if your zip code is split between more than one district).