Take Action: Ask Senator Kohl to Sponsor Paycheck Fairness Now!

In this economic downturn, there is nothing more urgently needed than helping families bring home fair wages. Unfortunately, a pernicious wage gap remains between women and men doing the same job, making this hard time even more difficult. According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau women, on average, make only 77 cents for every dollar earned by a man. For women of color, the wage gap is even wider.

The Paycheck Fairness Act (S. 182), a much needed update to the Equal Pay Act of 1963, sits in the U.S. Senate and is poised for passage. The Equal Pay Act was intended to ensure equal pay for equal work, but over time, because of weak remedies and loopholes in the law, significant disparities in pay persist. The Paycheck Fairness Act would give employees the legal tools they need to finally close the wage gap.

With just a few days remaining to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act in this Congress, we need Senator Kohl to act now. Senator Feingold is already a sponsor and we want Wisconsin's Senators to both support this important bill.

In Washington D.C., toll-free - 1-877-667-6650

Appleton - (920) 738-1640

Eau Claire - (715) 832-8424

La Crosse - (608) 796-0045

Madison - (608) 264-5338

Milwaukee - (414) 297-4451

The bill already passed the U.S. House of Representatives with bipartisan support and now has 40 co-sponsors in the Senate—more than it has ever had in any previous Congress. President Obama, Vice President Biden and other senior members of the administration have announced their support for this important legislation, citing the passage of the Paycheck Fairness Act as an important step towards the economic security of women and our nation’s families. And when recently polled, 84% of American voters expressed support for a new law to create more avenues for women to receive fair wages.

We need our Senators to act now, which means they need to hear from you.

For the ACLU of Wisconsin members across the state who received this action alert last week and called Senator Kohl to ask him to co-sponsor this bill, thank you! Didn't receive the action alert? Sign up today to get the civil liberties news and action alerts that impact the residents and legislators in Wisconsin.

On Mother's Day, Do Mom a Favor - Take Action to Ratify CEDAW for Women's Equality Worldwide

Happy Mother's Day from the ACLU of Wisconsin! Today, you can do your mom and women around the world a favor....

CEDAW - The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women is the international treaty dedicated to gender equality. The U.S. played a major role in drafting the treaty and President Carter signed it in 1980, but we are one of only seven countries that has not ratified CEDAW.

Let's make 2010 the year we of ratification. For the first time, there is a strategic, well-resourced coalition leading the effort, and we have strong support within the current administration and the US Senate. But getting 67 Senators to vote yes to ratification wont be easy and well need your help over the next 5-7 months.


Young people from Milwaukee created this video to help spread the word.

Please do your part to help:
Go to the ACLU's action page on CEDAW to contact your Senators and urge them to ratify this treaty in 2010. You can also upload a video response to the ACLU of Wisconsin's video to support CEDAW - forward it to your friends and keep the word going.

Visit the ACLU's national page on CEDAW for more information. Or check out womenstreaty.org or ratifycedaw.org for updates on this movement.

Stand Up For Women's Rights in Health Care Reform

Negotiations on the final health care bill pick up speed this week. As you may know, anti-choice forces in Congress have used this legislation as a vehicle for advancing their agenda.

We must make sure that the final bill will protect reproductive freedom, not put it in peril.

Tell Sen. Russ Feingold, Sen. Herb Kohl and your state legislator in the House to protect women’s access to abortion in health care reform.

Health care reform should improve people’s lives. That’s why we have to make the most of our last opportunity to insist that health care reform should improve women's health and lives -- not interfere in their ability to get the health care they need.

Representative Bart Stupak and other architects of the severe restrictions on women’s health in both the House and Senate bills are campaigning hard, threatening to derail health care legislation altogether if anyone tampers with the severe restrictions they forced into both bills. Even our allies in Congress are feeling pressure. That’s why it’s so urgent that you take action today.

Both bills stigmatize abortion coverage and ignore the reality that abortion services are basic health care for women.

Tell your members of Congress that Stupak-style restrictions must not be part of any final legislation that goes to President Obama’s desk.

Anti-choice forces are working round-the-clock to keep severe abortion restrictions in the health care bill. We have to work just as hard to get those restrictions out.

Negotiations on a final bill are happening now. Please act immediately to insist on health reforms that will protect reproductive freedom, not put it in peril.

Thank you for standing with us.
Sincerely,
Vania Leveille
ACLU Legislative Counsel

Stop the Abortion Coverage Ban - Rally for Women’s Health

Join us today at noon:

Stop the Abortion Coverage Ban
Rally for Women’s Health

Wednesday, December 2 at Noon
Capitol Square – State Street Steps
Featuring Lt. Governor Barbara Lawton

Email Sen. Russell 'Russ' D. Feingold and Sen. Herb Kohl right now to protect all women's health options in health care reform.

Report from D.C. at the prochoice rally from a public policy staffer from the Maine ACLU:

"I’m here in Washington, D.C., after a long bus ride from Maine that took me nearly nine hours -- and more than 500 miles. But nothing could have stopped me from getting here because the fight to protect reproductive rights is too important, and it’s personal.

"My own commitment to reproductive freedom is rooted in my grandmother’s story about her difficult decision to have an abortion when it wasn’t even legal. I’m sure that the hundreds of other women and men who have joined me in Washington today to take part in this lobby day have their own reasons for caring so deeply.

"But we’re all here to send a powerful message to our senators: we want health care reform that will protect reproductive freedom -- not put it in peril as the House did with their Stupak-Pitts Amendment, banning abortion coverage.

"We’re going to be heading to Senators’ offices to deliver this message in just a few moments, but it would be great if they could hear from all of you, too!

"Email Sen. Russell 'Russ' D. Feingold and Sen. Herb Kohl now. Let them know you want health care that will improve women’s lives -- not interfere with them.

"Just off the bus, my fellow bus-mates and I are ready to fight for women's reproductive freedom. Tell your senators that you want health care that will improve women’s lives not interfere with them.

"Many people have come to D.C. today because they’re alarmed by a recent rise of extremism that is influencing decisions on Capitol Hill.

"When the Stupak-Pitts Amendment was added to the House bill, it drastically altered and interfered with a woman’s ability to get the health care she needs. But what’s possibly even more alarming is that a reinvigorated extremist movement is determined to advance their own personal ideology and use the power of our government to force their own narrow view of morality on the rest of us.

"So now we all need to join together and let our senators know that this kind of thinking has no place in our government -- and it doesn’t belong in our health care reform.

"We need to come together -- whether it’s riding a bus to D.C. or clicking a button to email your senators and make sure they know we won’t let the same thing happen in the Senate.

"Whatever your reason for getting involved in this critical fight today, I hope you’ll join with me and let your senator know how strongly you feel about this. Together, we can make a real difference in the lives of millions of women.

"Thanks for standing with us."
Alysia Melnick
Public Policy Counsel
Maine Civil Liberties Union

When government patents limit women's health - the ACLU lawsuit over breast cancer testing and research

Imagine you are a woman who may have breast cancer. The cancer runs in your family and you need a diagnosis to know if you have one of the two genes associated with breast cancer. The test can tell you if you are at risk for cancer, but there is only one diagnostic test for the gene and therefore no way to get a second opinion on the life-changing test results.

Or imagine you are a woman who is a breast cancer survivor and who has had a double mastectomy. The gene that is linked to the breast cancer could mutate and be the cause of ovarian cancer. Whether or not you have a chance of having the ovarian cancer gene will affect your decision to have your ovaries removed along with your future option to have children.

There is only one company in Salt Lake City that offers the test for $3000.


These choices are facing women across the country. Testing for genetic links to breast and ovarian cancer is possible. But there is only one company that holds the patents to the genetic test. The government, through the patent system, has granted one company a monopoly over the gene (and its mutations), future testing and research.

The ACLU’s website on the breast cancer gene patent says that: “The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) has granted thousands of patents on human genes – in fact, about 20 percent of our genes are patented. A gene patent holder has the right to prevent anyone from studying, testing or even looking at a gene. As a result, scientific research and genetic testing has been delayed, limited or even shut down due to concerns about gene patents.”

On May 12, the ACLU filed a lawsuit (along with partner, the Public Patent Foundation) against the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Myriad Genetics and the University of Utah Research Foundation, holders of the gene patents. The lawsuit charges that the patent is a virtual monopoly over something in nature, a human gene and its variations, that cannot be patented.

Want to learn more? Details on the lawsuit can be found on the ACLU website. You can also read more about the implications of the gene patent in this CNN article.

Want to do more? Become a member of the ACLU – your membership supports our important litigation work like the patent lawsuit. You can also sign a message of support on this issue.

Stimulate public transit, updates on voting rights, US Senate approves equal pay, and more

Civil liberties news in review...

Environmental Justice
The ACLU of Wisconsin has many suggestions for the Governor to make our state government less discriminatory, protective of civil liberties and better for all people. But while the federal stimulus bill is being debated by the national legislature, we suggest that any “shovel-ready” projects we spend federal dollars on go into programs for public transit, rather than more highways. “For civil rights and environmental justice reasons, transit development should be one of Wisconsin’s highest priorities,” stated ACLU of Wisconsin Executive Director Chris Ahmuty. “For too many years, communities of color - who are much more likely to be transit dependent than other groups - have been left behind by transportation spending.” For people without cars or drivers licenses, getting to jobs the stimulus is supposed to produce would be impossible without public transportation. Making this a priority will be a better environmental and economic investment.

Racial Justice
And I know that this blog usually focuses on Wisconsin state civil liberties news or really important national ACLU action alerts, but I was really shocked to see this story about how a school in Mississippi just had their first integrated high school prom. Actor Morgan Freeman footed the bill for the shin dig and a documentary crew was there to make a film which premiered last week at Sundance. Some families still had a whites-only, separate prom. We shouldn’t forget that even though millions of people celebrated a historic election and a victory for racial justice this week, fighting racism continues to be at the heart of the ACLU’s commitment to civil rights from Brown v. Board of Education to today’s struggle for educational adequacy and equity.

Voting Rights
Did you hear that Senator Herb Kohl is a co-sponsor of a Weekend Voting Act? He just introduced it as an option for voters who can’t get to the polls on the first Tuesday of November. More voting options help democracy. Good job!

Van Hollen drops GAB lawsuit appeal after they agree to do back checks, in the more reasonable post-election clean up period anyway.

The state Supreme Court said they won’t pull together a plan to settle disputes on pending redistricting after the 2010 census. They are leaving the legislature to hash it out. For a citizen-friendly resource on redistricting and the implications for both democracy and partisan controversies, check out the Brennan’s Center report.

Separation of Church and State
FFRF drops Green Bay lawsuit appeal after no nativity in 2008 season, but takes up the issue of MATC closing for Good Friday.

Women’s Rights
Hey. The US Senate thinks women should get equal pay. Radicals! Now the bill goes back to the House for final consideration. The ACLU applauds the vote.


And in case you missed the national ACLU director on the Colbert Report...

Indiana ID at polls OK by SCOTUS, border searches of electronics OK, Day of Silence under fire and more

Homelessness
Madison's discussion on homelessness registers in the Chicago Trib radar screen. The article describes other civil liberties concerns such as the "banned from State Street" list enforced by local police and describes how cities nationwide have cracked down on visible homelessness via law enforcement measures.


Immigration
Another citizen and Wisconsinite gets snagged in the flawed immigration/Homeland Security system.

At the border, agents can search laptops and electronics without cause. An appeals court ruling agreed that electronics weren't too personal to search. However it was left unclear how individuals would be required to help agents with their search by providing passwords to protected devices. How do I set a passcode lock on my iPhone again?

A vet group is making a fuss over a Spanish class recital of the flag pledge in espanol. Didn't Jon Secada sing the Star Spangled Banner in spanish at the white house for the inaugural back in 2001?


LGBT rights
Gay-Straight Alliance sponsored Day of Silence promotion is attacked at a Janesville school district board meeting. Anyone else fatigued by people who pit religion against gays and lesbians? U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin's office issues a statement in support of the Day of silence and how it recognizes LGBT rights, especially as anti-gay violence and school harassment is a lingering problem.


Privacy
Some of the more conspiracy-minded might think that citizens should be leary of giving the government their private indentity data because of the risk of its misuse. Actually the biggest threat these days is simply a lack of oversight of keeping that data secure and private. After some data bungles earler this year, the Governor set out to increase data security. Here is some of the new news about a report that assessed the state's privacy regs, Doyle's reaction and the ACLU of Wisconsin's response.

The story didn't end in January though. Here is another story about gaps in security for database info on Wisconsin seniors.

Taped fight at Toki makes it to YouTube, but admins say that security cameras may be next. Example may introduce the need for communities to discuss how to handle new technologies and privacy protections.


Voting rights
There is bad news on the voting rights front. The US Supreme Court upheld the Indiana voter ID legislation. While this will be heralded as a victory for “election integrity,” it should be pointed out that Indiana had no cases of fraud via in-person voter misrepresentation. Indiana also does have free IDs, however the dissenting justices’ opinions clearly laid out reasons why obtaining an ID is a barrier to voting. The ACLU got involved in the case on behalf of Indiana voters.

The ACLU of Wisconsin will continue to fight efforts to require photo IDs at our polling places. This is especially important because currently WI state DMVs charge money for state-issued ID cards ($28 for an ID; $34 for a renewal – up ten dollars to pay for the Real ID program that hasn’t been implemented yet).

Read the full opinions from the Supreme Court.


Reproductive rights
The pharmacist who denied patient birth control will seek a State Supreme Court review. While forum posts on on-line articles tend toward the bizarre if not psychotic, trends in reader feedback tend to reflect an understanding of the importance of not allowing religious beliefs to impede a woman's access to birth control.

Heard of cybersquatting? A fake family planning site makes cybersquatting hit close to home (namely, Wausau).


Women's rights
What explains the difference in our paychecks? Wisconsin Women still make only 78 cents on a man's dollar.


Other news
Hey look! It's our board president! Guenther gets interviewed about his involvement in a project to teach Afghan lawyers about civil liberties and the rule of law.

Watch for ACLU Legal Observers at the May Day march. The rally starts at 11:30am at Brittingham Park on Thursday, May 1. For more information about how legal observers serve as volunteer witnesses at public protests, or to find out how to become a legal observer for the ACLU of Wisconsin, contact the Community Advocate, Stacy Harbaugh.