Statement of
Christopher Ahmuty, Executive Director
ACLU of Wisconsin
On
Mayor Tom Barrett’s
June 28, 2007 Signing Statement Approving Anti-Loitering Ordinance

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 29, 2007

The American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin is greatly disappointed that Mayor
Barrett has signed an ill-conceived gang loitering ordinance.
In the face of reasonable community concern about racial profiling and sound legal
opinion, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett has signed an anti-loitering ordinance that is
unnecessary and prone to abuse.
The Mayor’s own statement on the ordinance acknowledges that current laws are already
being enforced and that the new ordinance as passed has a very narrow application.
Restricting its enforcement mostly to the Gang Intelligence Unit and anti-gang officers
does not cure the ordinance’s bad features. In fact, such a plan makes the protection of
innocent residents’ rights dependent on a method of policing that has proven to be
abusive in other cities.
The ACLU of Wisconsin is glad that the Mayor is sensitive to some of the defects of the
ordinance, but we are greatly disappointed that he is not willing to put high quality police
protection for all neighborhoods above the Common Council’s political posturing. The
Mayor should have provided better leadership on addressing our community’s crime
problems and vetoed this ordinance.
The ACLU of Wisconsin will assess the legality of the ordinance as passed and as
implemented and remains prepared to take legal action to stop the violation of innocent
residents’ rights. The ACLU of Wisconsin continues to urge the City to use its law
enforcement resources more wisely for the benefit of all neighborhoods.
The ACLU of Wisconsin has nearly 9,000 members in Wisconsin.
-- 30 --

Press release in .pdf

ACLU of Wisconsin Calls on Milwaukee Mayor Barrett to Veto Unnecessary and Abuse Prone "Gang Loitering” Ordinance

June 22, 2007

MILWAUKEE: Today, the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin advised Mayor Tom Barrett to veto an ordinance passed by the Milwaukee Common Council on June 19, 2007 which purports to
address “gang loitering.” The gang loitering ordinance is a misguided attempt to deal with crime in Milwaukee neighborhoods.

In a letter to Mayor Barrett delivered today, ACLU of Wisconsin Executive Director Christopher Ahmuty writes that the ordinance before Barrett “suffers from the same defects as loitering ordinances invalidated in the past.”

The ACLU of Wisconsin, which testified before the Common Council against an earlier and less draconian version of the ordinance, believes that the current version would invariably lead to the violation of innocent citizens’ rights. Ahmuty wrote Barrett, “the police have more than sufficient authority to disrupt criminal gang activity under existing laws that target illegal behavior, rather than mere public association.”

“Residents of all Milwaukee neighborhoods deserve to get the best possible service from law enforcement. Some neighbors should not have to put up with second rate police practices, which require innocent individuals to give up their rights. The Mayor and Common
Council are justified in aggressively attacking crime, but they need to go back to the drawing board, so that effective and constitutional means are provided to our neighborhoods,” Ahmuty said today.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin is a citizen organization of nearly 9,000 members dedicated to the defense of civil rights and civil liberties.

Letter to Mayor Barrett  

Press Release in .pdf