News & Commentary

 My sister is a moderate Democrat. My mom is a Republican. They had the same reaction when I told them

 

Citizen-to-system trust lies at the core of a successful civil society, and yet, as tensions among law enforcement, the government, and Missourians increase, our politicians seek to create even more barriers to transparency between the public and our state institutions. SB 1061 (R – Dixon), HB 2344 (R – Wilson), and HB 2364 (R – Rhoads) epitomize this counterproductive policy effort. These bills write hurdles into Missouri’s Sunshine Law, work against building the trust our community needs to operate smoothly, and possess considerable momentum in the legislative process.

Jeffrey Mittman, Executive Director of ACLU of Missouri, issued the following statement:

Jeffrey Mittman, Executive Director of ACLU of Missouri, issued the following statement regarding pro-discrimination legislation currently being debated on the Senate floor:

Late yesterday, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri issued a permanent injunction in Clary v. Cape Girardeau that prohibits the city from enforcing its unconstitutional “noise” ordinance. The law strictly prohibits “noise-producing activity” which it vaguely defines to include “yelling, shouting, hooting, whistling or singing on any public street… so as to annoy, disturb the quiet, comfort or repose of any persons in the vicinity.”

Vehicle Stop Reports, released annually by the Attorney General’s Office, reveal the dire state of racially biased policing in Missouri. According to the 2014 data, Black drivers were 1.75 times more likely to be stopped, 1.89 times more likely to be searched, and 1.84 times more likely to be arrested than white drivers. However, police discovered contraband in the vehicles of white drivers 1.26 times more frequently than in those of Black drivers. The trend is indisputable and disheartening, and it also only reveals the tip of the iceberg.

On Tuesday, February 23, the Missouri state legislature will hear five abortion-restriction bills. House bills 2068, 2069, 2070, and 2071 (R-Franklin) and HB 2371 (R-Koenig). These bills, along with SB 644 which awaits debate on the senate floor after quickly passing out of committee, ride on the coattails of the misleading videos released last summer by the Center for Medical Progress questioning Planned Parenthood’s medical ethics, allegations of which the organization has since been repeatedly cleared both at the state and federal levels.

Senate Bill 916 (Schaefer - R) proposes alterations to the Missouri Human Rights Act that purport to protect religious freedom but in fact merely expand opportunities for discrimination. The language of this bill essentially removes all reasonable parameters for qualification as a religious organization, stating that any entity which “holds itself out to the public in whole or in part as religious,” even unaffiliated entities such as hospitals and schools, may discriminate against formerly protected populations under the tenuous guise of religious freedom.