For reals. The ACLU completely stabbed the animal advocacy community in the throat when it failed to take a stand against the AETA. Even now, 2 1/2 years later, a search of the ACLU’s website turns up one pithy reference to AETA – this despite the government’s use of AETA, as feared, to prosecute First Amendment activities. Like, WTF, ACLU?
Luckily, the BORDC has had our backs from the beginning, and since the persecution of the AETA 4, CCR has become increasingly vocal in its opposition to AETA as well (as evidenced by their latest action alert, which I’ve included below).
So, seriously, who needs the ACLU when you’ve got the BORDC and the CCR? Yawn. ACLU, I’m so over you.
If you’ve got any extra money to throw around and would like to make a donation to a civil liberties group, please consider supporting our real allies, namely, the Bill of Rights Defense Committee and the Center for Constitutional Rights – as well as the Civil Liberties Defense Center, which is listed as an ally on abolishtheaeta.org – and/or drop them a note to let them know you appreciate their solidarity.
Further recommended reading/agitating:
———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Center for Constitutional Rights – abolishtheaeta [at] gmail.com
Date: Tue, May 26, 2009 at 1:33 PM
Subject: Take Action: End Criminalization of Animal Rights Activists
Dear Supporter:
Last week, the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), Civil Liberties Defense Center (CLDC) and civil rights attorneys moved to dismiss the federal indictment against animal rights activists Joseph Buddenberg, Maryam Khajavi, Nathan Pope and Adriana Stumpo (the AETA 4), for conspiracy to commit animal enterprise terrorism. Charges against the AETA 4 include protesting, chalking the sidewalk, chanting and leafleting -, and the alleged use of “the Internet to find information on bio-medical researchers.” These actions are clearly and traditionally protected by the First Amendment.
The Department of Justice brazenly calls these young activists “terrorists” under the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (AETA). Passed by Congress near the end of the Bush administration, the AETA aims to suppress speech and advocacy by criminalizing activities protected by the First Amendment, including protests, boycotts, picketing and whistleblowing. While the AETA targets animal rights activists, its language is so broad and vague that it could be easily be used to prosecute labor activists who might engage in peaceful activities such as picketing or organizing a successful boycott of a large, corporate supermarket that exploits its workers. The AETA criminalizes a broad swath of protected First Amendment activities – and CCR and the defense team have asked the Court to strike down the AETA as unconstitutional.
The case of the AETA 4 is the first application of this dangerous, Sedition Act like law. It is clear that the law can and will be used both to criminalize lawful protests and to overcharge pretty offenses. It is of critical importance that the case against the AETA 4 be dropped in order to protect our Constitutional right to dissent.
Take action today in solidarity with the AETA 4 by doing the following:
1. Call the Department of Justice at (202) 514-1057 and ask Assistant Attorney General David Kris to stop using counter-terrorism resources to criminalize animal rights activism.
2. Write your senator and representative and demand that they repeal the AETA which will only lead to violations of our Constitutional rights; and,
3. Join the Coalition to Abolish the AETA and work with us to protect everyone’s Constitutional right to dissent.
Stand with us today and call for justice for the AETA 4.
Sincerely,
Annette Dickerson
Director of Education and Outreach
Center for Constitutional Rights ll 666 Broadway 7th floor NY, NY 10012 ll 212-614-6464 ll www.ccrjustice.org
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Tagged: animals animal rights animal welfare environment environmental environmentalism environmentalist action alerts ccr center for constitutional rights bordc bill of rights defense committee aclu american civil liberties union civil liberties aeta animal enterprise terrorism act censorship war on terra terrorism animal rights terrorists eco-terrorists green scare aeta 4
