Last week we participated in a nationwide call about USA PATRIOT Act reform for all ACLU affiliates with the national office.  The Senate Judiciary Committee began its review or "mark-up" of USA PATRIOT Act reauthorization last Thursday.  They will continue their deliberations and voting this week.  The bad news is that Senate Democrats and Republicans alike have rejected sweeping reforms promised by Senator Feingold's JUSTICE Act.  The good news is that modest reforms may still be possible.  Last week, Senators voted to require the government to notify citizens seven days after conducting a secret "sneak and peek search" of their home.  The Maine Civil Liberties Union is holding in-district meetings with the Maine delegation.  Now is the time to weigh in with our Congressional delegation or through letters to the editor.  If you would like to write a letter to the editor or participate in a meeting with a Congressional office, please contact Claire Cooper at ccooper@mclu.org.  Or Take Action right now here.  Check out www.reformthepatriotact.org for more information.  Or read Shenna's blog post on the issue here.

Many thanks to the volunteers who have signed up to help with the Family Ambassador Project.   It's not too late to join the project, which is a grassroots educational initiative to promote understanding of how marriage for same-sex couples will help Maine children, families and communities.  Family Ambassadors commit to peaceful dialogue in which people are free to express their questions about marriage equality. This is not part of the political campaign.  Rather, Family Ambassadors engage parents of school-aged children, friends and community members in respectful conversations that provide nonjudgmental space for people to think and learn.  Ambassadors are provided with a Toolkit and are asked to give a simple weekly report of their conversations.  No meetings!  Ambassador conversations are woven into your ordinary activities.  This 501c3 educational project is sponsored by the Maine Civil Liberties Union Foundation, Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders and Equality Maine Foundation.  You can join the Family Ambassador Project by contacting one of the three coordinators:  Aroostook County:  Kate Quinn-Easter at kquineaster@hotmail.com.  Downeast and Northern Maine:  Heather Martin Zboray at heather@instigus.com.  Southern Maine:  Betsy Parsons at bparsons@mclu.org.  The Family Ambassador Project also hosts a Facebook page here. 

The Maine Civil Liberties Union Foundation achieved an important privacy victory for students earlier this school year when the Department of Education agreed to postpone for one year their plans to collect and store students' social security numbers in a centralized database system.   The MCLU lobbied against this proposal in the statehouse last year.  At the beginning of school, we issued a privacy alert to parents and schools notifying them of parents' rights to refuse to participate in the new program.  Read more from Zach Heiden here.  We will use this year to continue to educate parents and schools about the privacy risks associated with misuse of the social security number.

Healthcare reform may endanger abortion coverage and comprehensive sexuality education.  Currently, the Hyde Amendment, prohibits the use of federal funds for abortion, except in the case of rape, incest and life endangerment, but most private insurers cover abortion.  Health care reform under discussion in Congress may take another step backward.  It may lead private insurers to drop abortion coverage, especially if new rules prevent any public subsidy of a plan that does cover abortion. This would create another significant barrier for women seeking access to abortions, a right guaranteed by law.

On another scary note, anti-abortion advocates are using health care reform to fund abstinence-only education programs that don't work.  Just last week, Senators on the Finance Committee, including Senator Snowe, voted for the Hatch amendment, which provides funding for Title V Abstinence Only Grant program.  To read more about this amendment, check out Brianna's blog on the issue here.

As with many issues in DC right now, Maine's Senators are at the center of the action.

To make sure abortion rights aren't further restricted, and young people aren't exposed to harmful abstinence-only education, call Senators Snowe and Collins.  Tell them you oppose any reform that would take away abortion coverage from women that already have it or fund abstinence-only education. They can be reached through the Congressional Switchboard at 202-224-3121.