UU FA Office

November 2016

by UU FA Office

Monthly Liaison Conference Call Minutes

November 2, 2016, 7:30 PM

In Attendance:

Gene Whitney (Princeton)

Al Stawsky (Palisades)

Ira Mendelsberg (Ridgewood)

Sally Gellert (Paramus)

Toby Tyler (Morristown)

Diane Finn (Montclair)

Laurice Grae-Hauck, Outreach/Administrator

Rev. Rob Gregson, Exec. Dir.

 

AGENDA:

Congregations Check-in: 

  • Gena (Princeton): Voter registration drive with 15 UUs at events in the area. Gena and Elaine went to the “Making A Killing” screening. Hoping to do a screening at UUCP. Had 19 members from Princeton at IssuesCon16.
  • Ira Mendelsberg (Ridgewood): Black Lives Matter group is working on programs for the congregation. Action Alerts forwarded to interested members. Congregation polled to gauge interest in issues.
  • Sally Gellert (Paramus): “When Guns are Outlawed…” book discussion. Had a screening of “Making A Killing” but did not feel it was a good film for ideas and motivation.
  • Al Stawsky (Palisades): YMCA initiative for police/community development is sending a letter to country officials asking for luncheon meeting with coalition members. Al will be there representing the congregation and the MLK Birthday committee. Thursday Nov 17, post-election discussion: how, why, what? Two first time IssuesCon attendees.
  • Toby Tyler (Morristown): Chris Crass preached after the IssuesCon which was well received. Followed by a panel including Sen. Lesniak and young man who has experienced solitary. Low Attendance for the panel. MUUF doing a youth group environmental effort measuring tire pressure (which increases fuel efficiency).
  • Diane Finn (Montclair): URC had an event, march and rally with an original theatre piece about racial profiling. Putting a notice in the order of service to join the Salsa list.

 

News:

  • Issues Conference We had a record 101 people in attendance, including a handful of youth. Good attendance across all task forces.
  • Supreme Court case is set to be argued before the New Jersey Supreme Court on either Monday, November 7, or Wednesday, November 9. The case emerges out of the shooting death of Kashad Ashford by police in Lyndhurst in 2014. More info at https://www.aclu-nj.org/news/2016/03/01/police-shooting-records-cannot-be-secret-aclu-nj-argues
  • Nonpartisan conversations with gubernatorial candidates With 467 days left until Chris Christie leaves office many are looking to prime gubernatorial candidates to step into office and be prepared to take immediate action on progressive legislation. If you have connections, please let us know.
  • Rob at YouthCon last Saturday with about a dozen interested youth. We’d love to get more of our Youth on board.
  • Liaison Training in Montclair on December 3: “How to Lobby” workshop and other useful tips.

 

Task Force:

  • Environment:
  • Economic Justice:
  • Criminal Justice: Solitary confinement has moved to the governor’s desk. Special prosecutor passed the senate, is in the Assembly Appropriations committee (A1115). Racial Impact Statement bill in the Law & Public Safety committee, faith based group working to push this through.
  • Reproductive Justice: New time for monthly call to be announced soon.
  • Gun Violence Prevention : revitalized and having monthly calls again. A4126 (domestic violence firearm bill) moved to the floor last week.
  • Legal Advocacy Project: Learn more.

 Reminders

  • Email Signup page is available on the website. Bookmark this and your new supporters go right into our system. If you have taken information on paper and did not capture mailing addresses, type NA in required fields. As we do major fundraising the information on the new user signup page is all important. Thank you in advance. http://salsa4.salsalabs.com/o/51510/c/301/p/salsa/web/common/public/signup?signup_page_KEY=9501
  • ACTION ALERTS! If you are printing UULMNJ drafted letters to representatives and mailing them from your congregation it is important that we have the sender information. As we expand our organization we need to have the full breadth of supporter info and engagement for fundraising purposes and efficacy analysis. Please send names and addresses for any of these mailings.
  • The next meeting will be Thursday, December 1 at 7:30.

Adjourned at 8:34

Minutes submitted by Laurice Grae-Hauck, UULMNJ Outreach/Administrator

ACTION ALERT: Protect Families from Gun Violence

by UU FA Office

children-dv-infographic

In New Jersey, homicides were up 4% in 2015. Tamara Wilson-Seidle was shot and killed by her husband in broad daylight while their seven-year old daughter looked on. On June 25, 2015, nine days after Tamara lost her life, both houses passed a bill to prevent domestic violence gun deaths with overwhelming majorities. Unfortunately for New Jerseyans, Governor Chris Christie has twice vetoed these bills. Join us in supporting broader firearm restrictions for domestic abusers.

take action button

A bill aimed at protecting families from the threat and potential of gun violence will come before the Assembly on Monday, November 21.  In a conditional veto from Chris Christie in the spring he “[urged] the Legislature to join with [him] in a bipartisan manner to broaden this bill’s approach to reducing domestic violence while simultaneously empowering victims to protect themselves through lawful means.” The Governor’s proposal would give victims of domestic violence expedited access to their own firearms.

women-5x-more-likely1Why is this so important? A woman is 5 times more likely to be murdered by an intimate partner if there is a gun in the house. Of the female homicides reported in New Jersey in 2011, more than half of them were committed by intimate partners and a third involved the use of a firearm. Domestic violence offenses involving a gun increased 10 percent in 2013 when compared to 2012.  And 216 women were killed in a domestic violence homicide between 2010 and 2013. There were 2,962 total arrests involving domestic violence restraining orders reported by police in 2011.  Of these, 1,804 were arrests for violations of a restraining order only, while 1,158 were arrests for violations of a restraining order with an offense arrest. Children were involved or present during 31 percent of all domestic violence offenses.

Among other provisions, the bill (S2483/A4126) would:

  • Require domestic abusers who have been convicted of a domestic violence offense to surrender their firearms and provide a receipt and affidavit to the prosecutor demonstrating that they have done so;
  • Require a law enforcement officer to accompany an abuser who has become subject to a restraining order to the location of the abuser’s firearms and take possession of the firearms, or if the abuser is prohibited from going to the location by restraining order, require the officer to seize the firearms;
  • Require the application for a restraining order to allow the victim to list firearms owned by the abuser;
  • Require any identification card and permit issued to an abuser to be immediately revoked and require the court to establish a process for notifying the appropriate authorities of the revocation;
  • Enhance penalties for domestic violence offenses.

take action button

Under current law, the above are provisions the Courts CAN take but are not required. The new legislation tightens that gap, closing a potential loophole.

If you or someone you care about is in danger, please contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233.

For a listing of local services, visit the New Jersey Coalition to End Domestic Violence.

Resources

Time to stop being blind to domestic violence epidemic in N.J.

Laurice Grae-Hauck is the Outreach Coordinator of the Unitarian Universalist Legislative Ministry of NJ.

ACTION ALERT: Senate Vote on S2469 for Independent Prosecutors this Thursday

by UU FA Office

s2469

The New Jersey Senate is scheduled to vote on Thursday, October 20th, on S2469, the legislation to require independent prosecutors when there is a killing by police or a death in police custody. We have just the next 24 hours to make our voices heard…. please TAKE ACTION and write to your State Senator urging them to VOTE YES on this important legislation.

Button Write Senator

Reforms such as the one proposed by S2469 are important steps toward enhancing police accountability and will reduce actual and perceived conflicts of interest when a death occurs at the hands of law enforcement officers.

Such reforms would have the effect of bolstering the legitimacy of law enforcement, fostering more trusting relationships between police officers and community members, and helping prevent excessive use of force.

By removing the perception that local prosecutors are reluctant to investigate the police departments they work with, S2469 allows officers who commit criminal acts to be held accountable and removes an important barrier to fostering trust between officers and residents.

Read More:

NJ Activists Want More Transparency for Police-Related Shootings

NJ Bill Would Mandate OAG Review of Police-Related Deaths

Sweeney legislation would require state AG to investigate police-involved killings

Laurice Grae-Hauck is the Outreach Coordinator of the Unitarian Universalist Legislative Ministry of NJ.

ACTION ALERT: Limit Solitary Confinement By Voting YES This Thursday!

by UU FA Office

In January, President Obama put major limits on solitary confinement in federal prisons. But New Jersey is still lagging far behind.

The Assembly will vote on the Isolated Confinement Restriction Act this Thursday The Senate bill, S51, passed by a vote of 23-16 on June 23, 2016.

take action button

This bill, S51/A547, would dramatically limit when New Jersey subjects people to extreme isolation for long periods of time and create a total ban on the practice for vulnerable populations who suffer most from it.

This bill would:

  • Require facilities to use isolated confinement only as a last resort, when less restrictive treatment would pose too much of a risk;
  • Prohibit isolation for more than 15 consecutive days or 20 days in a 60-day period;
  • Ban isolation for members of vulnerable populations, such as people who have mental illnesses, pregnant women, and people with various disabilities;
  • Require medical clearance and daily evaluations when a prisoner is held in isolation.

Solitary infographic(1)Long-term isolated confinement poses extremely harmful effects on any prisoner, but especially members of vulnerable populations, such as people with mental illnesses, pregnant women, people under 21, and people over 55. It can worsen existing mental illnesses and inflict psychological trauma where it didn’t exist before. Alternatives to isolated confinement have proven to be successful, because they don’t come with the socially destructive side effects that result from psychological torture.

Most prisoners will re-enter society once they’ve served their time. Once they emerge, who do we want those people to be? Most likely your answer does not include someone whose time in isolated confinement has left them more psychologically wounded and socially ill-equipped than before they entered prison or jail.

This bill won’t eliminate isolated confinement if it’s deemed necessary. But it will put much-needed protections in place to make sure that its use is humane and rare.

Learn more about solitary confinement in New Jersey

Read our Criminal Justice Task Force’s Solitary Confinement Statement.

Learn more about our Criminal Justice Reform Task Force

“Out of the Box,” a solitary confinement cell replica is being hosted at Morristown Unitarian Fellowship throughout early October. The cell was sponsored by the Unitarian Universalist Legislative Ministry of New Jersey and the Undoing Racism Committee of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Montclair. The cell will be open to the public and Fellowship members at the following days and times for information, viewing, and an opportunity to experience solitary confinement. Your last chance to visit the cell in Morristown is Tuesday, October 18, 5 – 7 pm.

 

Laurice Grae-Hauck is the Outreach Coordinator of the Unitarian Universalist Legislative Ministry of NJ.

October 2016

by UU FA Office

Monthly Liaison Conference Call Minutes

October 5, 2016, 8 PM

In Attendance:

Gene Whitney (Princeton)

Nick Mellis (Washington Crossing)

Laurice Grae-Hauck, Administrator

Rev. Rob Gregson, Exec. Dir.

Congregations Check-in: 

  • Nick Mellis (Washington Crossing): Charles Stevens preaching this Sunday on the separation of Church and State. Regular FAQ groups on racial justice/Black Lives Matter. Members are split on whether or not to hang a banner on the church. Conversations continue. UUCWC is working with the local police department. Rev. Kim talked about UULMNJ from the pulpit on Sunday.
  • Gena (Princeton): Bill has made announcement from the pulpit regarding the Issues Conference. Mark your calendar postcards have been very helpful for tabling.

News:

  • Issues Conference We have 49 people currently registered. Please get congregation members to Morristown! Group discount available for groups of 15 or more and for students. There will be a table for congregational events. Please bring flyers or information on events, racial justice activity, etc. if you would like to spread the word.
  • Nonpartisan conversations with gubernatorial candidates With 467 days left until Chris Christie leaves office many are looking to prime gubernatorial candidates to step into office and be prepared to take immediate action on progressive legislation. If you have connections, please let us know.
  • Local Policing Initiative Looking for key acting members to be a part of the local policing initiative. With lots of initial interest, we are looking for the few committed members of this group to move this task forward.
  • Liaison Training November 12 Nick suggest civics 101 training for liaisons. Effective grassroots organizing in congregations. Helping the organization enrich our data landscape.

 Task Force:

  • Environment: Lead abatement, legal petition to force millions of dollars into action to replace piping in low income and urban communities.
  • Economic Justice:
  • Criminal Justice: Racial impact statements are at the top of the list. Similar to environmental impact statements, categorical legislation would require a statement of racial impact. Also lots of movement on solitary confinement restrictions.
  • Reproductive Justice: Promotion for LARC (Long-acting reversible contraceptives)
  • Legal Advocacy Project: Learn more. Previously we have filed amicus briefs in law suits. We are looking to do a pilot program to begin writing our own legislation. One possibility is with the criminal justice task force civilian oversight board for department of corrections. Reproductive Justice task force is looking at a “copy cat” law to protect the information of abortion patients in a manner similar to the contact information of domestic violence victims/survivors. Nick would like to see constitutional protection of abortion access.

 Reminders

  • Month of Resistance If your congregation is holding any events for the Month of Resistance to Mass Incarceration, please let Laurice know ASAP so your even can be included in the statewide notice.
  • Email Signup page is available on the website. Bookmark this and your new supporters go right into our system. If you have taken information on paper and did not capture mailing addresses, type NA in required fields. As we do major fundraising the information on the new user signup page is all important. Thank you in advance. http://salsa4.salsalabs.com/o/51510/c/301/p/salsa/web/common/public/signup?signup_page_KEY=9501
  • ACTION ALERTS! If you are printing UULMNJ drafted letters to representatives and mailing them from your congregation it is important that we have the sender information. As we expand our organization we need to have the full breadth of supporter info and engagement for fundraising purposes and efficacy analysis. Please send names and addresses (either street or email) for any of these mailings.
  • We will be keeping the 1st Wednesday of the month. We will be pushing the time up by half an hour. Next call will be November 2 at 7:30.

Adjourned at 9:03

Minutes submitted by Laurice Grae-Hauck, UULMNJ Administrator

ACTION ALERT: Support A547 Limiting Solitary Confinement

by UU FA Office

In January, President Obama put major limits on solitary confinement in federal prisons. But New Jersey is still lagging far behind.

The NJ Assembly Law and Public Safety Committee will hold a hearing on a bill to restrict solitary confinement this Thursday, September 22. The Senate bill, S51, passed by a vote of 23-16 on June 23, 2016.

EmailCommitteeButton

This bill, S51/A547, would dramatically limit when New Jersey subjects people to extreme isolation for long periods of time and create a total ban on the practice for vulnerable populations who suffer most from it.

This bill would:

  • Require facilities to use isolated confinement only as a last resort, when less restrictive treatment would pose too much of a risk;
  • Prohibit isolation for more than 15 consecutive days or 20 days in a 60-day period;
  • Ban isolation for members of vulnerable populations, such as people who have mental illnesses, pregnant women, and people with various disabilities;
  • Require medical clearance and daily evaluations when a prisoner is held in isolation.

Solitary infographic(1)Long-term isolated confinement poses extremely harmful effects on any prisoner, but especially members of vulnerable populations, such as people with mental illnesses, pregnant women, people under 21, and people over 55. It can worsen existing mental illnesses and inflict psychological trauma where it didn’t exist before. Alternatives to isolated confinement have proven to be successful, because they don’t come with the socially destructive side effects that result from psychological torture.

Most prisoners will re-enter society once they’ve served their time. Once they emerge, who do we want those people to be? Most likely your answer does not include someone whose time in isolated confinement has left them more psychologically wounded and socially ill-equipped than before they entered prison or jail.

This bill won’t eliminate isolated confinement if it’s deemed necessary. But it will put much-needed protections in place to make sure that its use is humane and rare.

Learn more about solitary confinement in New Jersey

Learn more about our Criminal Justice Reform Task Force

You can step in “the box” and get a glimpse of the solitary experience at the Unitarian Society of Ridgewood on Sunday, September 25 from 9-10aand 11 -1pm. Event details

 

 

 

 

 

 

Laurice Grae-Hauck is the Outreach Coordinator of the Unitarian Universalist Legislative Ministry of NJ.

Members of the Boards of UULMNJ and UULMNJ-PPN support Alison Miller for UUA President

by UU FA Office

Members of the Boards of the Unitarian Universalist Legislative Ministry of NJ (UULMNJ) and the Unitarian Universalist Ministry of NJ Public Policy Network (UULMNJ-PPN) support Alison Miller for UUA President. Alison’s unique experiences and skills will add much to the governance of the UUA. Alison’s experience as the minister of the Morristown Unitarian Fellowship provides her with an understanding of the day to day issues of UUA ministers, parishioners, and governance of a congregation. Serving as a Board member of the UULMNJ and as the president of the UULMNJ-PPN, Alison has experience in both activism and governance of a social justice organization.

Alison has also shown a clear vision for social justice during her service on the UULMNJ and UULMNJ-PPN Boards. She has been a dynamic spokesperson for the organization and our work and has demonstrated strong team building skills, energy and multifaceted skills at organizational development.

The UULMNJ and UULMNJ-PPN Boards will be sorry to lose Alison’s contributions to our work but look forward to benefiting from her contributions as UUA President.

You can follow Alison’s campaign on Facebook and Twitter. You can also learn more about Rev. Miller in a recent article in UU World.

You can also meet Alison at the UULMNJ 2016 Issues Conference at her home congregation, Morristown Unitarian Fellowship. Learn more or register today!

*Board member Andrea Lerner has abstained from the vote to support Rev. Miller. As UUA staff, Ms. Lerner is not permitted to publicly endorse any cadidate.

 

ACTION ALERT: Tell Gov. Christie to Support Prison Phone Justice

by UU FA Office

average cost of a 15 minute phone call

S1880/A1419 passed both houses of the NJ legislature on June 27. The vote was 57-21 in the Assembly and 35-2 in the Senate. This bill passed both houses in January of this year (S1771/A4576) with votes of 47-22 with 1 abstention in the Assembly and 36-0 in the Senate but was pocket vetoed by the Governor.  The Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee reported favorably with amendments on June 6, 2016. The legislation caps interstate and intrastate rates at 11 cents per minute and international calls at 25 cents, and bans commissions, or kickbacks, on calls currently at 50% to 70% in some New Jersey jails. Commissions drive up costs for families with loved ones in jail or prison.
In October, 2015 the FCC voted to drastically lower prison phone rates. Under these rules, a 15-minute prison phone call that used to cost up to $17 will be just $1.65. (View the fact sheet) Some families with loved ones incarcerated at a distance spend $20,000 on phone bills during a prison sentence. A recent study found that more than one in three families with a member in prison go into debt due to the cost of phone calls and visits. For children who know their incarcerated parents only through phone calls the new rates will be life-altering. Studies have shown that regular phone communication drastically reduces a prisoner’s risk of recidivism.
button governor
The substitute prohibits a State department, county, or private correctional facility from accepting or receiving a commission or any other payment from the telephone service provider based upon an amount the provider billed for telephone calls made by inmates in the correctional facility. The substitute also requires the Department of Corrections (DOC), the counties, and private correctional facilities to make available a prepaid or collect call system, or a combination of the two, for telephone services.  Under a prepaid or “debit” system, funds may be deposited into an inmate account in order to pay for telephone calls, as long as the department, county, or private correctional facility is not required to provide for or administer that prepaid system.  The provider of the inmate telephone service, as an additional means of payment, is to permit the recipient of inmate collect calls to establish an account with that provider in order to deposit funds for advance payment of those collect calls.

Now we need Governor Christie to sign the bill. Please write or call the governor’s office, (609)292 6000, today and urge him to sign S1880/A1419.

 

Laurice Grae-Hauck is the Outreach Coordinator of the Unitarian Universalist Legislative Ministry of NJ.

National Moral Day of Action

by UU FA Office

On Monday, September 12, 2016 (as a part of The Revival: Time for a Moral Revolution of Values) at State Capitols around the nation, at 11 AM in every time zone, justice will roll across the country as faith leaders from diverse traditions, people impacted by poverty, racism, and injustice, advocates, and activists come together rally and to deliver to our elected leaders and candidates the Higher Ground Moral Declaration, which calls on governors, senators, state legislators and candidates for office to move away from extremist politics and policies that benefit the few and move toward policies and laws that are just and fair and guarantee a better life for the majority of the people.

The Moral Declaration that has already been delivered to the RNC as well as the DNC will be read, proclaimed, and delivered to our Governors, US Senate candidates and state party officials. You can show your support in advance by signing the declaration.

At this time, we will not engage in civil disobedience because the first step must be petition.  We will be acting as one to send the same message to our state leaders and through the media to our communities and nation that it is time for a moral revolution of values that challenges the narrow construct of those who purport to represent the, so-called, “religious right.”

We will sing the same opening and closing songs, recite the same litany, and the same chants on the walk around the all US State Houses.

MORE DETAILS COMING SOON!

ACTION ALERT: March for Immigrant Rights

by UU FA Office

On Thursday, September 8, starting at 3:30 pm, there will be a march from the Hudson County Jail to the County Freeholders’ meeting to call for humane treatment of migrants who are being detained there for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Hudson County is paid a fee for each detainee held by the county, and the more they hold the more money ICE pays. There are reports that the conditions in the jail are terrible, including rat infested food. The County has a 287(g) agreement with ICE, which gives county law enforcement – sheriff’s officers and police – the ability to make arrests for immigration offenses. This agreement prevents immigrants in Hudson county from contacting law enforcement for problems like domestic violence.

Join UULMNJ and other members of the New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice (NJAIJ) as we urge elected officials to stop making money from the incarceration of immigrants.

I will be joined by other UU clergy to march from Hudson Co. Jail at 30-35 Hackensack Avenue in Kearney to 567 Pavonia Avenue, Jersey City.  A rally will be held at the start and ending points. If you are not able to walk the approximately 3.5 miles but wish to show support, please join us outside the Jersey City ralyying point around 5 pm.  This is a great opportunity to show your support for vulnerable people confronting a conflicted law enforcement system and especially inhumane prison in our home state.

For news and updates join the conversation on Facebook.

In Faith and Abiding Hope,

Rev. Rob Gregson, Executive Director