From: Ari Schwartz <ari@private> Date: Thu, 2 Oct 2003 08:09:44 -0400 CDT Co-Sponsors "Grassroots America" Conference, Washington, DC, October 18-19 Grassroots activists from around the country will gather outside Washington in mid-October to plan responses to the PATRIOT Act and other infringements on constitutional liberties occurring in the name of fighting terrorism. CDT is a member of the steering committee of the conference, "Grassroots America Defends the Bill of Rights," to be held in Silver Spring, MD on October 18 and 19. "The collaboration this event represents is extraordinary," said Kit Gage, president of the National Coalition to Protect Political Freedom (NCPPF) and main organizer of the event. "Across the country, there is deep-seated concern about the rollback of civil liberties that occurred after the September 11 attacks. At this conference, local groups and national organizations will pool their knowledge. This conference represents a turning point for the grassroots movement to defend the Bill of Rights." Under the loose guidance of the Bill of Rights Defense Committee, http://www.bordc.org, a conference organizer, more than 170 communities and three states have passed resolutions or ordinances expressing support for constitutional freedoms and condemning the excesses of the PATRIOT Act and related measures. The movement has affected the thinking of policymakers in Washington, as witnessed by the introduction of a number of bills in Congress that would put limits on the PATRIOT Act. The conference will include panels, plenary sessions, and keynote addresses. Many of the sessions will be in the form of interactive workshops where activists will share their experiences and strategies in the struggle to protect the rights of ordinary Americans. On Sunday, the conference will culminate with a "left/right" panel" discussion featuring People For the American Way president Ralph Neas, Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform, and David Keene, chairman of the American Conservative Union. The panel will be chaired by actor/activist Alec Baldwin. Conference organizers include the American Civil Liberties Union, the American Library Association, the Council on American Islamic Relations, the National Lawyers Guild, and People For the American Way. See http://www.grassroots-america.org for more information. CONTACT: Lara Flint, CDT: 202-637-9800 x 113 Gabe Rottman, ACLU: 202-675-2328 Mark Baven, BORDC: 413-586-7698 Tarek Rizk, PFAW: 202-467-4999 _______________________________________________ http://www.cdt.org/mailman/listinfo/update _______________________________________________ Politech mailing list Archived at http://www.politechbot.com/ Moderated by Declan McCullagh (http://www.mccullagh.org/)
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