Each Friday, we’ll bring you updates on the latest civil liberties news from Maine and the nation.
News from Texas
Abortion
This week, Texas passed some of the most restrictive abortion laws in the country. According to this New York Times article, the bill could force the closure of a majority of the state’s clinics. Terri Burke, executive director of the ACLU of Texas, was quoted in the times article, saying that the bill “leaves 35 percent of the population without access to abortion care and those are rural and, often, poor women.”
Capital Punishment
Texas executed two people this week, bringing Texas’s total to 10 executions this year, fully half of the total number of executions in the United States this year. Texas executes more people than any other state. A few weeks ago, Texas executed Kimberly McCarthy, the 500th execution since the death penalty was reinstated 37 years ago.
News in Maine
Median Strips
On Monday, the City of Portland passed an ordinance regulating presence on median strips. By regulating, I mean completely banning except when en route to the other side of the street. The ordinance bans any presence in any median strip. As Zach astutely points out, you can’t be on a median strip to hold a sign on Election Day, hold a petition to collect signatures, or even just to stop and chat with a friend you bumped into while crossing the road. Read a more thorough discussion of the ordinance in Zach’s blog.
Trayvon Martin Rally
There will be a rally in Portland's Monument Square on Monday at 5:00p.m to honor the memory of Trayvon Martin and call for an end to violence in our communities. Shenna Bellows will speak. Check out our Facebook page for more information on the event.
Nationwide
Police Scanning License Plates
This week, the ACLU released a report on police use of Automated License Plate Readers. These devices scan license plates of all passing vehicles--sometimes capturing the information and storing it indefinitely. Read more here or check out the slideshow below. As you can see from this map, Maine is one of two states with positive laws governing Automated License Plate Readers, thanks to the work in recent years of the ACLU of Maine.
