The individuals represented by Keshen are “involuntarily homeless,” she argues, and forced by circumstances to live on public land.

To read the complaint filed by Barbara Keshen, click here.

To read more about the lawsuit and homeless population, click here.

Barbara Keshen will be speaking about the NHCLU’s lawsuit filed against the state on behalf of the homeless community. The rally and lawsuit are in response to state officials recent efforts to clear homeless camps from public land, although the people in these camps have nowhere to go.

You can read more about the evictions and lawsuit here.

Click here to read about the event.

May 8, 2013

CONTACT:
Devon Chaffee, New Hampshire Civil Liberties Union, (603) 224-5591, Devon@nhclu.org
Joan Flood Ashwell, League of Women Voters of New Hampshire: 603-397-8128
Jess Clark, America Votes, 603-545-1881, jclark@americavotes.org

Concord, N.H. –The New Hampshire Civil Liberties Union (NHCLU), the League of Women Voters of New Hampshire, and America Votes urge the Senate Public and Municipal Affairs Committee to oppose two amendments that target student voters that are expected to be offered in Committee on Wednesday, May 8, during executive session after 9:15 A.M. in Room 102, LOB.

Senator David Boutin, Chair of the Committee, is expected to offer the two amendments Amendment 1571s and 1587s.  Amendment 1571s to House Bill 595 would eliminate student IDs from the list of forms of identification acceptable at the polls under phase two of the voter ID law. Amendment 1587s to House Bill 119 would reinsert language that creates confusion for student voters about the relationship between their decision to vote and certain motor vehicle requirements.

The New Hampshire Civil Liberties Union, along with the New Hampshire League of Women Voters, and America Votes call on the New Hampshire Senate to oppose such efforts that would disempower New Hampshire’s young voters. “Youth are more passionate than ever about voting” said Devon Chaffee, Executive Director of the NHCLU. “New Hampshire should be fostering that enthusiasm, not curbing it.”

“HB 595 and HB 119 are critical bills intended to ensure that all eligible voters, including students, are able exercise their fundamental right to vote,” said Joan Flood Ashwell, Election Law Specialist with the League of Women Voters. “The amendments expected to be offered today create unnecessary obstacles between eligible voters and the polls.”

HB 595, as passed by the House, would eliminate phase two of the voter ID law requirements, restoring a longer list of acceptable IDs and eliminating the costly photo taking process for those without ID. In addition to eliminating student IDs from that list, Amendment 1571s would also restore the photo taking provisions, delaying their implementation.

HB 119, as passed by the House, would remove confusing and misleading references to motor vehicle requirements from the voter registration form. The NHCLU challenged that language in Strafford County Superior Court on behalf of four students and the League of Women Voters. Superior Court Judge John Lewis issued an injunction prohibiting enforcement of the law for the 2012 election finding the language on the voter registration forms inaccurate, confusing and unconstitutional.

“These two amendments will cost the state of New Hampshire time and money,” said Jess Clark, of America Votes. “They will result in the voter registration forms continuing to be challenged in the courts and will require costly expenditures to purchase cameras and printers to take pictures of voters who don’t have one of only four ID’s right before our next presidential primary.”

For further information, contact Devon Chaffee (603) 225-3080, Devon@nhclu.org
Joan Flood Ashwell, League of Women Voters, (603) 397-8128
Jessica Clark, America Votes, (603)545-1881, jclark@americavotes.org

Update (3:30pm 5/8/13)

The Public and Municipal Affairs Committee passed amendment 1571s today in committee on HB 595.

Click here to contact members of the Public and Municipal Affairs Committee today and tell them to support the passage of HB 595, without the amendment, and repeal Phase II of the Voter ID law before it wreaks more havoc on our state.

Gov. Hassan cited concerns from law enforcement about the state’s ability to regulate a home cultivation option. It is likely that the provision will be stripped in the Senate, to avoid a veto from the governor. This marks a change in Hassan’s attitude towards home growing: in 2009, she voted for a medical marijuana bill that included the home-grow option.

The NHCLU is working together with organizations and legislative allies to come to a compromise that the governor will be willing to sign. This Tuesday, May 7, the Senate Health, Education and Human Services Committee will be meeting to discuss HB 573 in Room 103 of the Legislative Office Building (LOB) in Concord (behind the State House). Only legislators will be able to speak at this session, but media will be present so it’s important for patients and supporters to observe. After the committee meeting, there will be a press conference at 10:00 in the lobby of the LOB. We encourage you to attend and show your support for these efforts.

Also, please call Governor Hassan’s office and urge her to reconsider her position on home cultivation provisions. Or you can sign this petition to voice your support.

Click here for more information about this provision and other helpful links.

New Hampshire comes in last in New England when it comes to equal pay for men and women. In our state women make an average of 71 cents to every dollar earned by men. The Paycheck Fairness Act, an update of the 1963 Equal Pay Act, would close this dramatic gap by requiring employers to demonstrate that wage differentials are based on factors other than sex.

“Senator Ayotte’s vote and statements are disheartening,“ said Devon Chaffee, Executive Director of the NHCLU. “New Hampshire citizens deserve equal pay for equal work, regardless of gender. The Paycheck Fairness Act would help make equal pay a reality.”

The NHCLU will continue to promote gender equality in New Hampshire and fight for equal pay for all New Hampshire citizens.

To learn more about the Paycheck Fairness Act, click here.

To learn more about the gender gap in earnings in New Hampshire, click here.

“There are two things the president should do,” said Anthony D. Romero, executive director at the ACLU. “One is to appoint a senior point person so that the administration’s Guantánamo closure policy is directed by the White House and not by Pentagon bureaucrats. The president can also order the secretary of defense to start certifying for transfer detainees who have been cleared, which is more than half the Guantánamo population.”

Numerous prisoners in Guantánamo are on a hunger strike to protest the president’s failure to close the facility, despite prior promises to do so. The military states that 100 of the 166 Guantánamo prisoners are currently on strike, with 21 of those being force-fed and five have been hospitalized. Lawyers, however, put the number of strikers at over 130.

To read the ACLU’s full statement on the president’s statements, click here.

To read a rare first-person account of torture at Guantánamo, click here.

To read more about the prisoners hunger strikes, click here.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, April 25, 2013

CONTACT:

Devon Chaffee, New Hampshire Civil Liberties Union, (603) 224-5591, Devon@nhclu.org

Concord N.H. – The New Hampshire Civil Liberties Union filed public records requests today to determine the extent to which New Hampshire police departments are using federally subsidized military technology and tactics that are traditionally used overseas.

“Equipping local law enforcement with military weapons and vehicles, military tactical training, and actual military assistance to conduct traditional law enforcement erodes civil liberties and encourages increasingly aggressive policing, particularly in poor neighborhoods and communities of color,” said Kara Dansky, senior counsel for ACLU’s Center for Justice. “We’ve seen examples of this in several localities, but we don’t know the dimensions of the problem.”

The NHCLU filed public records requests with five local law enforcement agencies, seeking information on the use of:

• SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) Teams, including:
  • Number and purpose of deployments
  • Types of weapons used during deployments
  • Injuries sustained by civilians during deployments
  • Training materials
  • Funding sources

• Cutting edge weapons and technologies, including:
  • GPS tracking devices
  • Unmanned aerial vehicles (“drones”)
  • Augmented detainee restraint (“shock-cuffs”)
  • Military weaponry, equipment, and vehicles obtained from or funded by federal agencies such as the Departments of Defense and/or Homeland Security

“The American people deserve to know how much our local police are using military weapons and tactics for everyday policing,” said Devon Chaffee, NHCLU’s Executive Director. “The militarization of local police is a threat to Americans’ right to live without fear of military-style intervention in their daily lives, and we need to make sure these resources and tactics are deployed only with rigorous oversight and strong legal protections.”

The NHCLU joins affiliates from 24 other states, including Maine and Massachusetts, that filed similar public records requests last month.  Once the information has been collected, the NHCLU and ACLU will analyze it and recommend changes in law and policy governing the use of military tactics and technology in local law enforcement.

Now is the time to pass immigration reform that provides a timely and fair road map to citizenship and protects the rights of workers!

For more information contact Eva Castillo: ecastillo@miracoalition.org

“The ACLU shares the public’s relief that the suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings has been apprehended,” said Anthony D. Romero, ACLU executive director. “Every criminal defendant is entitled to be read Miranda rights. The public safety exception should be read narrowly. It applies only when there is a continued threat to public safety and is not an open-ended exception to the Miranda rule. Additionally, every criminal defendant has a right to be brought before a judge and to have access to counsel. We must not waver from our tried-and-true justice system, even in the most difficult of times. Denial of rights is un-American and will only make it harder to obtain fair convictions.

“Our thoughts remain with the victims of this tragedy and with the entire Boston community.”

Even though they’ve been in our families since the dawn of man, our genes do not belong to us. They’ve been claimed by companies that hold patents on the DNA from our cells. Over the past 20 years, at least 41 percent of our genes have become the intellectual property of corporations. These patent claims contradict an intuitive sense that our DNA is no less ours than our lungs or kidneys. More importantly, these patents, covering thousands of human genes, restrict our doctors’ ability to look at our DNA and plan ahead for our medical treatment.

Today the Supreme Court will hear arguments on the issue, to determine whether we have the right to own our genes. The case, filed by the ACLU and the Public Patent Foundation (PUBPAT), charges that patents on two human genes associated with breast and ovarian cancer, BRCA1 and BRCA2, are unconstitutional and invalid.

For more information about the case, and the science behind it, click here.