E-News Nassau

Bringing it Home: The Annual June Membership Meeting

NYCLU Nassau's Annual June Membership meeting will be held on June 25th, 2008 at Hofstra University Law School. The topic will be "Bringing it Home: Applying Human Rights Laws in America." The meeting will explore how Human Rights and Civil Liberties overlap and will focus on the case of Jessica Lenahan, nee Gonzales, whose daughters were abducted by her estranged husband and killed after the police repeatedly refused to enforce her domestic violence restraining order against him. Though the Supreme Court ruled that she had no Constitutional right to police enforcement of her restraining order, the ACLU has taken the case to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. This is the first time an individual complaint by a victim of domestic violence has been brought against the United States for international human rights violations.

Ms. Lenahan will be joined at the meeting by ACLU Human Rights Program attorney Steven Watt and Carrie Bettinger-Lopez, fellow at Columbia School of Law's Human Rights Clinic.

Join us on June 25th, 2008 at 7:30 p.m in the Sidney R. Siben & Walter Siben Moot Court Room of Hofstra Law School. For legal professionals, Two CLE credits in professional practice for transitional and non-transitional attorneys will be available for attending. The event and credits are free of charge.

Safe, Free and LGBT

Join the NYCLU Nassau at the Annual Long Island Pride Parade on June 8th at 1 p.m. The parade runs down Main Street in Huntington Village and draws around 5,000 spectators! Come early to get a spot and show your support of the LGBT community! Visit http://www.liprideparade.com/ for more information.

Talk of the Town

Sunday, June 1st
"Ideas into Action: A Look Back at the Ethics of Organizing for Civil Rights in the 1960's" will be the topic of a talk given by Tara Keenan-Thomson, the Executive Director of the Nassau Chapter.

11 a.m., Ethical Humanist Society of Long Island, located at 38 Old Country Road, Garden City

Wednesday, June 4th
Security in a Post 9/11 America: Guantanamo. Extraordinary rendition. Waterboarding. Wiretapping. If we look in the mirror, can we recognize ourselves? As America moves into a new administration we all have questions about security and civil liberties. Nassau Chapter Executive Director of the NYCLU Tara Keenan-Thomson will speak on the issue of post 9/11 security legislation focusing in on the erosion of civil liberties. This program includes a short video presentation tracing the key components of these laws. Afterward, Keenan-Thomson will analyze today's security legislation and our legislature's prospects regarding the future of civil liberties.

7 p.m., Wantagh Public Library, located at 3285 Park Avenue, Wantagh

Thursday, June 5th
Faces of Liberty, our traveling exhibit, will be in Bellmore all through June and Tara Keenan-Thomson will kick off the month by speaking about the exhibit, the Bill of Rights, civil liberties and New Yorkers.

7p.m., Bellmore Memorial Library, located at 2288 Bedford Avenue, Bellmore

ACLU Membership Conference is Coming Up!

Stand Up for Freedom! The ACLU Membership Conference is June 8th-10th in Washington D.C. You can register until June 2nd, 2008 so hurry up and visit http://www.aclu.org/conference /2008/ to reserve your spot!

Save the Date!

To see Judy Blume at our annual September Party, September 14th 2008. It's an event you wont want to miss.