Here's what some of our New Year's resolutions look like.
- Joining the gym (really!)
- Stopping the school-to-prison pipeline
- Making Missouri a place where women want to work (and not be afraid of someone sexually harassing them and getting away with it)
- Protecting privacy for all Missourians
- Reforming racial profiling in policing
- Recreating some of Dad's best recipes (seriously, his Challah bread is no joke)
- Sharing the stories of transgender Missourians across the state
- Not drowning in emails and policy briefs
A new year also means a new legislative session in Jefferson City. We're one of the busy organizations each year, as we track several hundred bills.
But most of our best work are things you'll never hear about in the news, like the behind-the-scenes conversations that change minds and hearts. Often, our wins are bills that never see the light of the House or Senate floor.
Here's some of our to-do list for 2018.
Stopping children from being prosecuted as adults for crimes. We've joined a broad coalition of organizations to raise the age for being charged as an adult for a crime from 17 to 18-years-old. This can have a huge impact on the lives of young people by giving teens the access to rehabilitative services that the juvenile justice system provides. We support HB 1255 and SB 793.
Ending racial profiling in Missouri. We're working to advance bills in the Missouri House and Missouri Senate that prioritize reducing racial disparities in policing and promoting accountable, collaborative, community-centered law enforcement. We strongly support SB 828.
Stopping the shackling of pregnant, imprisoned women. Shackling pregnant women is dangerous, inhumane and still legal for Missouri's prisoners. We must stop it. We support HB 1627, which will make it illegal to shackle a pregnant woman before, during or after labor.
Protecting privacy for all Missourians. We believe in the constitutional right to privacy. Schools, employers and landlords must not force Missourians to reveal their social media passwords. That's why we support HB 1358.
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for the latest updates on the fight for civil liberties. We need you in this fight for our rights.
Sincerely,
Sara Baker
Legislative and Policy Director
ACLU of Missouri