======================================================================== CAMPAIGN TO STOP THE NET CENSORSHIP LEGISLATION IN CONGRESS (INCLUDING THE COMMUNICATIONS DECENCY ACT AND THE MGRS AMDT) Short Update: Calls are coming in, but not enough! What You Can Do Now: Call Congress, directions below! SYSOPS AND ISPS: Please place a short version of this alert in your welcome message! (directions below) WEBMASTERS: Please place a link to this alert in your page! (directions below) CAMPAIGN TO STOP THE UNCONSTITUTIONAL COMMUNICATIONS DECENCY ACT Nov 8, 1995 PLEASE WIDELY REDISTRIBUTE THIS DOCUMENT WITH THIS BANNER INTACT REDISTRIBUTE ONLY UNTIL December 1, 1995 REPRODUCE THIS ALERT ONLY IN RELEVANT FORUMS ________________________________________________________________________ CONTENTS The Latest News What You Can Do Now ________________________________________________________________________ THE LATEST NEWS The Religious Right is attempting to push legislation the Telecommunications Deregulation Conference Committee that would shut down most forms of speech online. Their proposal would: -Make internet providers, online services, and libraries criminally liable for expression online. -Create a standard for criminalizing "indecency" online, dumbing down every Web page, newsgroups, discussion forum, and chat system. -Give the FCC jurisdiction over speech in cyberspace and software that might be used to filter children's access to the net. For a full analysis of the Religious Right's proposal, and a copy of their proposed legislation and their letter to the Conference Committee, see the alert at URL:http://www.vtw.org/. Earlier this week the coalition started a phone campaign to let Dole and Gingrich know how important this is to us. Calls have been coming in strong, but not enough have come in to sway their opinion. Please call now. ________________________________________________________________________ WHAT YOU CAN DO NOW 1. If you run any sort of system that allows a welcome message for all users, please add the following: The Religious Right is attempting to shutdown the net by passing legislation that would make services like this one liable for what you say and read on the Internet. Please call Congress now; for more info URL:http://www.vtw.org/ or send mail to files@vtw.org with "send alert" in the subject line. (11/8/95) If you have a Web page that gets a lot of traffic, please add the following link: Stop the Religious Right from shutting down online free speech! (11/8/95) 2. The proposals from the Religious Right will literally destroy online speech as we know it. The odds of stopping this are not certain. There is a very real chance that this legislation will pass, and we will experience a period of uncertainty and chilling of speech while an appropriate test case attempts to reach the Supreme Court (should it even get there!) The Religious Right has a strong grass-roots network. We need to counter their energy and ensure cyberspace is not lost due to them. IMMEDIATELY CALL House Speaker Gingrich (R-GA) and Senate Leader Dole (R-KS) and urge them to oppose the Christian Coalition's proposal. (fax numbers have been corrected) Name, Address, and Party Phone Fax ======================== ============== ============== R GA Gingrich, Newt 1-202-225-4501 1-202-225-4656 R KS Dole, Robert 1-202-224-6521 1-202-228-1245 If you're at a loss for words, try one of the following: Please oppose the recent proposal from the Religious Right to censor the Internet. The only effective way to address children's access to the Internet is through parental control tools outlined by the Cox/White/Wyden approach. or As a religious person and a parent, I oppose the Religious Right's attempts to censor the Internet. I am the best person to monitor my child's access to the Internet using parental control tools as outlined in the Cox/White/Wyden approach. 3. Join the online fight by becoming a volunteer for your district! Check to see if you're legislator is in the list below. If they are not, consult the free ZIPPER service that matches Zip Codes to Congressional districts with about 85% accuracy at: URL:http://www.stardot.com/~lukeseem/zip.html The conference committee legislators are: House: Barr (R-GA), Barton (R-TX), Berman (R-CA), Bliley (R-VA), Boucher (D-VA), Brown (D-OH), Bryant (D-TX), Buyer (R-IN), Conyers (D-MI), Dingell (D-MI), Eshoo (D-CA), Fields (R-TX), Flanagan (R-IL), Frisa (R-NY), Gallegly (R-CA), Goodlatte (R-VA), Gordon (D-TN), Hastert (R-IL), Hoke (R-OH), Hyde (R-IL), Jackson-Lee (D-TX), Klug (R-WI), Lincoln (D-AR), Markey (D-MA), Moorhead (R-CA), Oxley (R-OH), Paxon (R-NY), Rush (D-IL), Schaefer (R-CO), Schroeder (D-CO), Scott (D-VA), Stearns (R-FL), White (R-WA) Senate: Burns (R-MT), Exon (D-NE), Ford (D-KY), Gorton (R-WA), Hollings (D-SC), Inouye (D-HI), Lott (R-MS), McCain (R-AZ), Pressler (R-SD), Rockefeller (D-WV), Stevens (R-AK) If your legislator is on the conference committee, you have a chance to influence their vote on this issue with your power as a constituent. Volunteer to help educate your legislator by sending mail to volunteer@vtw.org. A coalition volunteer will be in touch with you. You can starting working to help spread the word in your district by sending this letter to five friends. Ask them to call Dole and Gingrich as well. 4. The People for the American Way (PFAW) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) are organizing a letter from ORGANIZATIONS to the Conference Committee to oppose the censorship provisions. If you are a representative of an organization that would like to signon to this letter, you should contact jlesser@pfaw.org IMMEDIATELY. 5. We can't suggest relaxing at this point. The stakes are too high, and the risk is too great. Everything now hangs in the balance. ________________________________________________________________________ End Alert ========================================================================