Live chat with director of ACLU today...

[LeahMira]

Laura Murphy, director of the ACLU's National Legislative Office in
Washington, D.C., will conduct a live online audio chat today from 2 -
3 p.m. EST. Featured topics will include the proposed marriage
amendment, the PATRIOT Act, legislation to repeal its most infamous
provisions and other hot legislative issues.

If you are unable to listen to the chat live, it will be available
later this afternoon in our new multimedia section at
http://www.aclu.org/multimedia/multimediamain.cfm

You can submit questions to the chat at
https://www.aclu.org/feedback/feedback.cfm?r=42&ip=0

Some of the topics Laura is expected to address include:

1) Federal Marriage Amendment -- the President and his radical allies
have endorsed an amendment to the Constitution which would force the
states to discriminate against their citizens. Gay Americans serve in
the military, keep our communities safe as firefighters and police
officers, staff our hospitals, build our cities, and pay taxes. Denying
gay couples the right to marry takes away legal rights in pensions,
health insurance, hospital visitations and inheritance that other
committed couples enjoy. You can visit www.aclu.org/marriageamendment
for more information and take action at
http://www.aclu.org/LesbianGayRights/LesbianGayRights.cfm?ID=9977&c=101

2) PATRIOT Act -- This infamous law expands terrorism laws to include
domestic terrorism which could subject political organizations to
surveillance, wiretapping, harassment and criminal action for political
advocacy. It also expands the ability of law enforcement to conduct
secret searches, gives them wide powers of phone and Internet
surveillance, and access to highly personal medical, financial, mental
health, and student records with minimal judicial oversight. You can
visit www.aclu.org/patriot for more information and to get active.

3) SAFE Act -- This legislation would amend the PATRIOT ACT and fix its
most infamous provisions. For example, it would to require
"individualized suspicion" that the records being sought are related to
someone who is acting for a foreign government or terrorist
organization. It prohibits the government from embarking on fishing
expeditions where they examine a large number of peoples records
without any reasonable suspicion in the hopes that they might find a
potential terrorist. You can find out more and take action at
http://www.aclu.org/NationalSecurity/NationalSecurity.cfm?ID=13907&c=24

4) CAPPS II -- Despite widespread opposition, the Bush Administration
is moving forward with a secretive new system for conducting background
checks on all airline passengers that threatens to create a blacklist
of Americans who cannot travel freely. This new government program,
called Computer-Assisted Passenger Pre-Screening System or CAPPS II --
would search secret intelligence and law enforcement databases and rate
every airline passenger a red-, yellow- or green-level threat. You can
find out more and take action at
http://www.aclu.org/Privacy/Privacy.cfm?ID=12108&c=39

5) Unborn Victims of Violence Act -- This would be the first federal
law to recognize a fetus at any stage of development, from conception
forward, as an independent "victim" of a crime with legal rights
distinct from the woman who has been harmed by a violent criminal act.
This unprecedented elevation of the status of a fetus in federal law
erodes the very foundation of the right to choose. You can get more
information and get active at
http://www.aclu.org/ReproductiveRights/ReproductiveRights.cfm?ID=9988&c=1
43