Subscription to Main Coalition List

[lharris@womensagenda.org]

Activists,

PRISON MORATORIUM COALITION IN CYBERSPACE!!  Thanks to Lisa from the
Colorado Women's Agenda and the Fund for Nonviolence, the Prison
Moratorium Coalition now has two web sites: one which is open to the
general public (www.prison-moratorium.org) and another which is a
private web site that can only be accessed by members of the Coalition
(www.prisonmoratorium.wego.com).    The rationale behind having two
sites is that we want to have a public site to help spread the word
about our work far and wide but we also wanted some way we could
communicate among ourselves privately.  We also hope that being in
cyberspace will help facilitate communication with our members who are
outside the Denver metro/front range area that aren't able to attend
meetings.   So this is the Coalition's first announcement via our
private web-site.  So,  WELCOME TO WEGO!  

WHAT IN THE WORLD IS WEGO!  WeGo is an internet based program that is
designed to help groups of people working together to communicate more
effectively.  As you will see, we can send announcements out to
coalition members, generate an accessible membership list, and you can
join discussion boards and chat rooms, if you'd like.  There is also a
centralized calendar of upcoming events.  Most of the general campaign
information, fact sheets, legislative agenda information, and
resources will be posted on the public web site so make sure to look
at both sites.    

WHAT TO DO FIRST!  The first time you go to the Prison Moratorium
Coalition's WeGo site, go to the upper left corner where there is a
box that says "Welcome Guest" that gives you two choices, either to
join or to log in.   WeGo allows each member to specify a password and
whether they want their contact information to become part of the
membership list or whether you would like that to be confidential.
Because there are personal decisions to be made,  you will need to
click on "join" even though you are already a member of the coalition.
 You will be guided through this short process.   Since this is a
private site, each membership request needs to be approved by Lisa who
has agreed to serve as the web site administrator.   You will get a
confirmation email from her and then you are ready to explore.    You
only need to click on "join" the first time, after that you can "log
in" by using your user name and password.   There are "help" options
that help to explain the various aspects of WeGo.  If you have
technical difficulties contact: Lisa Harris at lharris@chickmail.com. 
If you have comments, send them to me at cdonner2@juno.com    We are
still designing both the public and private web sites so let me know
if you have suggestions/comments.   Happy surfing.

NEXT COALITION MEETING.  Don't forget that our next coalition meeting
is scheduled for Saturday, February 3rd from 1-5 p.m. at the Colorado
Progressive Coalition's office, 1420 Ogden St., Denver.  Hope you can
come.

STATUS ON LEGISLATIVE CAMPAIGN!  
(1)   Drug Sentencing Reform & Prison Moratorium Bill- Sen. Tate will
introduce the "omnibus" bill by today and it will be assigned to the
Senate Judiciary Committee.  Sen. Tate will request that the first
hearing happen sometime the week of February 12th and we will plan a
big press conference a few days before then.   You'll get much more
info on this bill shortly.
(2)  Racial Profiling Data Collection Bill Update (HB 1114)  ACTION
ALERT!
CPC Legislative Action Alert:  January 26, 2001

STOP  RACIAL  PROFILING  IN  COLORADO
Racial Profiling Data Collection Bill up for first committee hearing
1/30 at 1:30p.m. in the House Civil Justice & Judiciary Committee
(room 0112-basement of capitol).  

BACKGROUND
Many people of color in Colorado and across the U.S. have experienced
racial profiling by law enforcement officers.  This profiling often
takes the form of traffic stops that harass innocent people of color
drivers because they fit a misguided, and racist, criminal "profile".

Colorado Progressive Coalition's Campaign to Stop Racial Profiling
began with a summer 2000 community surveying project and the
publication of a report, Racial Profiling in Denver:  Survey Responses
and Real Life Experiences in Denver's Cole Neighborhood.  This report
attracted a great deal of attention and agreement--as well as denials
from law enforcement agencies.

COLORADO HOUSE BILL 1114 INTRODUCED
State Representative Peter Groff (D-Denver), a friend of CPC, has
decided to sponsor legislation to address racial profiling in
Colorado.  His bill, House Bill 1114, will require all local and
county law enforcement agencies (serving 25,000 or more people) and
the Colorado State Patrol to collect data on traffic stops that they
make.  This data must include the race, gender, and age of the person
stopped and what enforcement action, if any, was taken.  Rep. Groff's
bill will also set up a toll-free hotline for people to call the
Colorado Bureau of Investigation if they believe that they have
experienced racial profiling.

MAKE A CALL TODAY-COMMITTEE VOTE ON WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 30
House Bill 1114 has been assigned to the House Civil Justice and
Judiciary Committee and will have its first committee hearing on
Tuesday, January 30 at 1:30 P.M..  CPC is asking you to make a call
(or calls) to members of this committee to ask them to vote "Yes" on
HB 1114.  Also, if you are able, please attend the committee hearing
in State Capitol room 0112.

WHY COLORADO LEGISLATORS SHOULD VOTE "YES"
From civil rights leaders to John Ashcroft, most people agree that
racial profiling is wrong and that it violates the civil rights of too
many people, mostly people of color who are men and young.  This bill
is a simple one and would only require that law enforcement agencies
collect information on their stops and release this information to the
public.  This data may give statistical proof, as many civil rights
supporters suspect, that racial profiling does exist in Colorado. 
This will help our state to address law enforcement practices with
people of color and could begin to build trust between police and
communities.

MAKE A CALL (OR CALLS) TODAY!  VOTE YES ON HB 1114!
The committee will vote on HB 1114 on Tuesday, January 30.  It will be
a difficult vote and your calls could make the difference!  Call the
committee member nearest to you or call all of them.

Civil Justice and Judiciary Committee Members (call 800.811.7647 if
outside the Metro area)

Rep. Shawn Mitchell (R-Broomfield/Adams County; Chair)		303.866.4667
Rep. Don Lee (R-Littleton/Jefferson County; Vice-Chair)		303.866.2939
Rep. Bob Bacon (D-Fort Collins)					303.866.2917
Rep. Betty Boyd (D-Lakewood)					303.866.2923
Rep. Cheri Jahn (D-Wheat Ridge/Jefferson County)			303.866.5522
Rep. Steve Johnson (R-Fort Collins/Larimer County)			303.866.2907
Rep. Alice Madden (D-Boulder)					303.866.2915
Rep. Jim Snook (R-Alamosa/San Luis Valley)			303.866.2963
Rep. Joe Stengel (R-Littleton/Arapahoe, Jefferson
Counties)		303.866.2953

THANK YOU!
Thank you for your commitment to civil rights in Colorado.  For more
information on HB 1114 or the Campaign to Stop Racial Profiling,
contact the Colorado Progressive Coalition at 303.866.0908 or
coprogressive@aol.com.



To browse or (un)subscribe, visit the following url:
http://www.wego.com/go/wego.discussion.disc?groupId=274658&view=threads&discId=445694

You have been automatically subscribed by the administrator.
A new membership was created for you with username and password as
follows:
	USERNAME: grns-gpoc
	PASSWORD: cybjgqex

To unsubscribe, follow the link above and click the 'my subscription'
link in the upper right hand corner of the newly loaded web page.


This message is a service of Colorado Prison Moratorium Campaign
http://prisonmoratorium.wego.com -- Powered by WeGo.com

Sent via grns-gpoc
To unsubscribe, send "unsubscribe grns-gpoc" to majordomo@greens.org