North Dakota Human Rights Coalition
Working to effect change so that all people in North Dakota enjoy full human rights
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North Dakota Human Rights Coalition Working to effect change so that all people in North Dakota enjoy full human rights |
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~NDHRC PAUR Report~ March 31, 2003 Programs ~ Announcements ~ Updates ~ Resources Hello members and friends of the North Dakota Human Rights Coalition! In this week’s PAUR Report:
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1.) Fargo Forum Letter re: Defeat of SB 2306
Sarah Hassell letter: Senate’s decision will drive youth out The Forum - 03/16/2003 http://www.in-forum.com/articles/cache/?id=29659
I was appalled and saddened to read that the North Dakota Senate killed the bill to create a Human Rights Commission.
As much as I love North Dakota, it is decisions like this that encourage me to take my skills, talent, and family out of the state. Personally, I don’t want to live in a state that refuses to create an agency whose sole purpose is to investigate human rights violations and enforce human rights laws. I don’t want to live in a state that gives me no refuge if my human rights are violated. If I am discriminated against, harassed, or oppressed in any way, it would give me great comfort to know that there is a state agency which specializes in making things right, and ensuring that justice is done.
Republicans and Democrats alike continue to espouse the evils of partisanship, that evil is personified in the North Dakota legislature. That we would be so politically divided on something as basic as human rights is truly frightening.
I have heard a myriad of reasons to establish a human rights commission, but I have yet to hear one reason why not to. I ask all who voted to kill this bill “Why?” Why would you vote against something so inherently right; legally, politically, and morally? As a North Dakota voter I ask you to explain yourselves.
Sarah Hassell Fargo
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2.) Bismarck Tribune Article: There Isn’t Even Always ‘Standing Room Only’ at the Capitol
Subject: There isn't even always 'standing room only' at the capitol Bismarck Tribune 3/12/03
They say they want you to come. That's what legislators say. And then they hold committee hearings in rooms that don't have a place for you.
Please see full article here.
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3.) News Articles on Safe Schools Bill SB 2216
School Policy: Lawmaker stands up against discrimination
Every North Dakota school district should have a anti-harassment policy, and such policies should list the categories of characteristics that should not be discriminated against, a Grand Forks legislator said.
View full article here.
House passes safe schools legislation bill By Janell Cole The Forum - 03/18/2003
BISMARCK – All North Dakota school students deserve to be treated with respect, House members heard Monday, and agreed by passing Senate Bill 2216.
The bill passed 55-37 after a half hour debate. It now goes back to the Senate for concurrence with House amendments.
View full article here.
Legislature: Can respect be legislated?Associated Press - Grand Forks Herald 3/18/03
BISMARCK - Legislation that requires North Dakota's schools to promote respect among students and employees won approval in the state House, with backers saying it will encourage some districts to write anti-bullying policies. "It's too bad that we have to put a law like this on the books," said Rep. RaeAnn Kelsch, R-Mandan. "It's sad to think that we have students out there that are harassing other students ... I don't think that it's fair for students in the school to bully someone else, just because they're different." Opponents of the legislation, which the House approved 55-37 on Monday, said its purpose was too subjective, and that it would invite litigation from students or teachers who felt slighted at school.
View full article here.
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4.) Home and Community-Based Services Rally
A RALLY has been scheduled for APRIL 1st in Bismarck to show support for Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS). The primary sponsors are the ND Disabilities Advocacy Consortium and the AARP of ND. The rally will be on the front steps of the Capitol (if the weather cooperates) or in the Memorial Hall inside the Capitol (if it doesn’t). The starting time is planned for 11:30 a.m. A large crowd is expected. Traffic will be congested and parking may be sparse. You are encouraged to take this into consideration when planning your arrival time at the Capitol.
The formal rally will last for 45 minutes to an hour. Following, it is hoped that participants will try to hook up with their legislators to pass on a positive message about Home and Community-Based Services. Individual legislators may or may not be available. Participants are encouraged to bring a personalized note along to leave for each legislator in their district, just in case…
It is not too early to start organizing transportation and ride-sharing. If you (and/or a group of people) are planning to attend, it would be very helpful if you could let me or the NDDAC office know so we have an idea of how many people to expect. NOTE: It will NOT help the cause for HCBS to have a small crowd. PLEASE plan to attend!!!
More information will be passed on to you as it is made available.
Teresa Larsen, Executive Director Protection & Advocacy Project 400 E. Broadway - Suite 409 Bismarck, ND 58501
phone: (701) 328-2950 toll free: 1-800-472-2670 TDD relay: 1-800-366-6888 fax: (701) 328-3934 website: www.ndpanda.org
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5.) Fargo Forum Article: Adoption Refusal Bill OK
Adoption refusal bill OK The Forum - 03/20/2003 http://www.in-forum.com/articles/cache/?id=30035
BISMARCK – A bill allowing North Dakota’s adoption agencies to refuse service to some families is constitutional, the state’s attorney general says.
Supporters of Senate Bill 2188 say it will put into law current practices, in which private adoption agencies licensed by the state are free to pick and choose clients.
All adoptions in North Dakota are done through private agencies licensed by the state. Three of the six licensed agencies are affiliated with religious denominations and a fourth is religiously based.
The bill says the state Department of Human Services can’t deny an adoption agency a state license on the basis of an agency’s objection to placements that violate the agency’s religious or moral convictions.
Gay families have testified against the bill, saying it is aimed at them. It passed the Senate earlier this session and has been held up in the House Human Services Committee awaiting Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem’s opinion.
House Minority Leader Merle Boucher, D-Rolette, asked for the opinion on behalf of the committee’s Democrats and Rep. Mary Ekstrom, D-Fargo, who is not on the committee. Boucher asked Stenehjem if all North Dakotans are “entitled to fair and equal consideration regardless of religion, race, ethnic origin, gender, sexual preference or physical appearance” in adoption services.
Committee Chairwoman Rep. Clara Sue Price, R-Minot, said the committee will work on the bill next week.
In the opinion, released Wednesday afternoon, Stenehjem cites court cases involving religious freedom, then writes, “By permitting child-placing agencies to not participate in placement activities that violate their religious or moral convictions or policies, SB 2188 permissibly accommodates the religious or moral beliefs of child-placing agencies.”
That the state licenses the agencies doesn’t enter the constitutional equation. “A child-placing agency’s decision not to perform or participate in a particular placement would be a decision made by the agency and not the state,” he wrote. He also said SB 2188 doesn’t prevent potential foster or adoptive parents from seeking services from a different agency if one turns them down.
Boucher said the opinion was not what he had hoped to hear, but “we respect what the attorney general tells us.”
Readers can reach Forum reporter Janell Cole at (701) 224-0830
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6.) (Reminder) “Famous Dave” Anderson to speak at NDSU March 28
American Indian restaurateur “Famous Dave” Anderson will pay a special visit to North Dakota State University next month. Please mark your calendars.
Anderson, owner of the national “Famous Dave’s” restaurant chain, will present a public address at Century Theater, Memorial Union, on Friday, March 28, at 7 p.m. The program will be free and open to the public.
Anderson’s visit to Fargo will be sponsored by the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs, the College of Business Administration, SIFE, and NASA. It will be his first appearance on the NDSU campus.
In addition to his evening presentation, while he’s on-campus Anderson plans to visit with students, including members of NDSU’s Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE) organization, Native American Student Association (NASA), and Indian students from the tri-college campuses.
A success story The son of a Chotaw father and Chippewa mother, Anderson was raised in a blue-collar Chicago neighborhood. His notable achievements and accolades over the past 30 years are numerous and impressive.
The founder of a chain of 52 restaurants stretching from Utah to Georgia, Anderson’s culinary talents have long been recognized with “Best Barbecue in America” and “Best Ribs” awards at Kansas City’s American Royal Barbecue Contest, Cleveland’s Great American Rib Cook-off, and the Twin Cities’ Ribfest. His “Famous Dave’s Backroads and Sidestreets” won the National Barbecue Association’s Award of Excellence as the best new barbecue/grill cookbook.
During the past decade, Anderson has founded three publicly traded companies on Wall Street and helped create more than 18,000 jobs. He has been awarded a Bush Leadership Fellowship and was recognized as the “Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year” in Minnesota and the Dakotas by Ernst and Young, NASDAQ, and USA Today.
In addition to the success he’s enjoyed from his restaurants and extraordinary recipes, Anderson has managed businesses for the Lac Courte Oreilles Lake Superior Band of Ojibwa in Wisconsin and helped found and manage Grand Casinos and the Rainforest Café.
For more information about “Famous Dave” coming to NDSU, call Paul Boswell, Multicultural Student Services, at 231-7314.
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7.) (Reminder) “Coffee with the Legislators” Sessions hosted by the Dickinson Chamber of Commerce (Dickinson)
The Dickinson Chamber of Commerce is hosting several “Coffee with the Legislators” sessions during the 2003 Legislative Session. All Legislators from Districts 36 & 37 are asked to attend. The upcoming sessions will be on Saturdays February 22, March 8, March 22. All sessions will be held at Dickinson City Hall. Anyone who misses a session can view replays of the most recent session on Cable Channel 19 in Dickinson at 1:00PM and 10:00PM each day unless preempted by other special programming.
Greg Sund, City Administrator 99 Second Street East Dickinson, ND 58601 701-456-7744, 701-456-7723 (fax), gsund@state.nd.us
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8.) (Reminder) The Gandhi Peace Network of North Dakota Sponsors “A Season for Nonviolence” (Bismarck)
“Nonviolence should mean a complete freedom from ill-will, anger and hate and an overflowing love for all.” “The nonviolence I teach is active nonviolence of the strongest. But the weakest can partake in it without becoming weaker.” - Mohandas K. Gandhi
Carry the Vision: A Season for Nonviolence, January 30 through April 4
For more information, please contact Aruna and Vinod Seth at 701/223-42434
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9.) (Reminder) Sisters of the Presentation at Sacred Heart Convent Presents “Peace Studies”(Various Locations in ND and MN) Sr. Yvonne Nelson has begun a Peace Studies program at Sacred Heart convent and lectures will take place at Presentation Center through May 30: View Schedule of lectures here.
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***Member Reminder*** Please keep us in mind for your group or church social action/social justice meetings! We’d be happy to provide a presentation at a meeting or provide newsletter articles for your organizations.
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