Capitol Watch

Look for Fall 2007 Newsletter Soon!

Read the Spring 2007 Newsletter Online

Read the Spring 2006 Capitol Watch Update

The ACLU of Wisconsin tries to defend civil liberties by preventing the Wisconsin Legislature from abridging the rights of Wisconsin residents.

ACLU of Wisconsin members are encouraged to ask their representatives about civil liberties issues, including those tracked by the ACLU of Wisconsin. Click here for sample questions.

For a full list of the bills and resolutions that the ACLU of Wisconsin has taken a stand on click here.

The 2006 ACLU of Wisconsin Legislative Scorecard

The ACLU of Wisconsin has created a legislative scorecard for its members to analyze how their legislators in the WI State Assembly and WI State Senate voted based on ACLU values. We chose five key pieces of legislation in which the ACLU of Wisconsin took a position in the 2005-2006 legislative session. The ACLU only takes a position on legislation that directly affects the civil liberties and civil rights of Wisconsin residents.

SB42 Required Wisconsin citizens provide an ID to vote. We opposed this legislation because its Intent and affect is to create barriers to the rights of WI citizens to exercise their right to vote. The ACLU believes that access to the ballot is fundamental to our democracy.

SB138 Required what was termed as “Informed Consent”. The bill required abortion providers to among other things tell a woman requesting an abortion that the fetus “feels pain". The evidence cited for this new requirement in the bill is faulty and is another cynical attempt by legislators to masquerade their religious doctrine behind bad science. The

ACLU opposed this bill on numerous points but specifically because it is another attempt to

infringe on a woman’s right to reproductive freedom, religious liberty and medical privacy.

SJR5 Created an advisory referendum on the November 7th ballot to reinstate the death penalty. The ACLU has always opposed the death penalty and supports a nationwide end to this brutal practice. This bill was very contentious in that some legislators on record as being opposed to the death penalty changed their position to place it on the ballot. The ACLU argues that Wisconsinites were not allowed enough time to fully consider the implications of a change this substantial to our criminal justice system. In addition the language of the referendum is intended to be misleading as its lead author admitted in an article published by the October 22, 2006 Wisconsin State Journal.

SJR 53 Passed the language of the ban on civil unions and marriage for a second time in the

legislature’s attempt to change the Wisconsin state constitution to a discriminatory document.

The ACLU  opposes all legislation that is discriminatory in nature. In particular this is the

first attempt to ban rights for individuals in the state's constitution. The measure is in the hands of the voters on November 7th. A vote no by Wisconsin citizens will kill this pernicious attack on civil liberties in Wisconsin.

SB567 Limited eligibility for public assistance programs by requiring among other things that US citizenship or alien status must be documented in order to receive food stamps, Badger Care, support for enforcement of child support, burial support for the economically disadvantaged, SeniorCare prescription drug coverage, and a host of other

programs. The Federal government already requires this documentation for many of these programs. This would further delay critically needed support for the neediest in Wisconsin by requiring people who are already economically disadvantaged to obtain documentation such as birth certificates and ID cards at a cost, and effectively making it cost money to thousands of Wisconsinites in desperate need of services to access these programs.

Review the record of your State Legislators as to your ACLU Values and remember to always

“Vote Your Values”!