From the campaign to Re-Elect Cecil Bothwell:
Asheville, NC— Asheville City Council’s Public Safety Committee will consider Councilmember Cecil Bothwell’s proposed Civil Liberties Resolution at its monthly meeting on Monday, June 24. The meeting will begin at 3:30 p.m. on the fourth floor of the Municipal Building at 100 Court Plaza. The Civil Liberties Resolution calls for protecting civil liberties and strengthening community-police relations by adopting a policy that prohibits discrimination and profiling based on race, immigration status, sexual orientation, mental or physical disability, ethnic origin, gender, religious or political affiliation, and homed or homeless status.
Bothwell has been working toward passing a Civil Liberties Resolution guaranteeing equal protection to all Ashevillians since he was elected to Council in 2009. When working on the first drafts of the Resolution, Bothwell met with representatives of Asheville’s Latino population, with homeless advocates, and with interfaith discussion groups comprised of representatives from Christian churches, Jewish synagogues, Islamic mosques, and others. A draft resolution was tentatively approved by Police Chief Bill Hogain in 2011, and it was again tentatively approved by Police Chief William Anderson in 2012. Bothwell first presented the Resolution to the Public Safety Committee in October of last year, and he presented an amended version in April based on the PSC’s requests.
In addition to guaranteeing civil liberties and equal protection under the law, the Civil Liberties Resolution also protects residents and businesses who are not under criminal investigation from having information about their social, political, or religious views and activities collected, maintained, or distributed by City officials. Further, the resolution seeks to mend relations between the police force and immigrant community by excusing local police force from the responsibilities of federal immigration officials. Click here to read more about the resolution and supporting our Bill of Rights: http://bothwell2013.com/slider/civil-liberties-supporting-the-bill-of-rights/.
The proposed resolution has been reviewed and supported by the leaders and representatives of several civil liberties organizations, including leaders of Stand Against Racism; Rev. Jasmine Beach-Ferrara, Director of the Campaign for Southern Equality; Sarah Nunez and the Asheville-Buncombe Community Relations Council; the WNC ACLU; representatives of Coalicion de Organizaciones Latino-Americanas; Rev. Amy Cantrell of the Beloved Community; Rabbi Rob Cabelli,formerly of Beth Israel Synagogue; the Bill of Rights Defense Committee; Occupy Asheville; Executive Director Lael Gray of the Jewish Community Center; Rev. Tyrone Greenlee of Christians for a United Community; and the Asheville Homeless Network.
Incumbent Cecil Bothwell is running for re-election for another four-year term on the Asheville City Council. Bothwell is an investigative reporter, builder, organic gardener and public servant.
For more information about Cecil Bothwell’s campaign, visit bothwell2013.com. You can also contact Holly Cian, Communications Director, at holly@cecilbothwell.com or 828-989-7257.
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