Talk:Civil Liberties

Greetings Civil Liberties Activists,

This is Megan Joiner, Legislative Assistant for Civil and Human Rights in the UUA Washington Office for Advocacy.

I am writing to invite you to join a growing network of Unitarian Universalists doing work on civil liberties issues including post-9/11 intelligence reform, immigration issues, and electronic and privacy issues.

If you would like to be involved at a national level on the UUA's work on civil liberties, please send an email to mjoiner@uua.org. Please let me know your congregation and your address. A phone number is also helpful. You will be added to a distribution list kept here in the Washington Office that will be used only periodically to alert and update you to developments in the ongoing effort to protect civil liberties. There are also occasional times when swift action is needed to connect with specific members of Congress, and we will use the Civil Liberties Network to reach our most dedicated civil liberties activists. I will be the only person posting to the list, but I always appreciate feedback and enjoy hearing from activists in the field. And I am open to suggestions for postings.

Many congregations and individuals have been active since the 2001 passage of the USA PATRIOT Act and the 2004 passage of the UUA Statement of Conscience on Civil Liberties. I want to personally thank you for your work and continued dedication to these issues. If your congregation has been active and has not been in communication with our office or with Susan Leslie, Director of Congregational Advocacy and Witness, please send me an email or give a call to let us know what you've been doing! Our work must continue, and to that effect, we are taking this opportunity to develop and organize our grassroots network. We certainly have our work cut out for us!

Here in the UUA Washington Office, we are involved in a number of coalitions that are currently strategizing for legislative opportunities on many civil liberties issues. Intelligence Reform, the Civil Liberties Restoration Act, the SAFE Act are all bills that provide venues for action and input from UUs nationwide. The UU Civil Liberties Network will allow us to raise our voices in a unified call for justice in Washington and around the country.

As the Civil Liberties Network Distribution List will not be an open forum, I encourage you to continue to use the Civil Liberties Mailman List (http://lists.uua.org/mailman/listinfo/civilliberties) as a forum for discussion and reflection on the fundamental rights and liberties we all hold dear.

Again, I invite you to join us as we work to protect the civil liberties and civil rights of all. Please email mjoiner@uua.org to join the UU Civil Liberties Network or for more information.

In Faith, Megan

Megan Joiner Legislative Assistant for Human and Civil Rights Unitarian Universalist Association Washington Office for Advocacy 1320 18th St NW Suite 300B Washington, DC 20036 (202)296-4672 x12 Www.uua.org

"The primal principle of democracy is the worth and dignity of the individual." -Edward Bellamy