War/Conflicts
Individuals invited to sign ETAN letter opposing training of Kpoassus: LCWR is one of 50 national organizations who signed a letter from East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN) calling on the US government to oppose restarting training of KOPASSUS, Indonesia's Special forces which has a history of human rights abuses. Now individuals are invited to sign on the same letter. To sign go to http://www.gopetition.com/online/29600.html.
The LRA/Northern Uganda: Over the past two months a bipartisan group of Senators and Representatives has united in support of a recently introduced legislation focusing on the LRA/Northern Uganda. The LRA Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act (S.1067/H.R. 2478) is aimed at permanently putting a stop to the LRA and contributing to sustainable peace in central Africa by increasing US diplomatic engagement of the crisis and assisting communities affected by the violence. Sr. Sheila had visited the area twice in the last few years and was appalled at the living conditions. This is one of the most violent and longest running conflicts in Africa.You can read more about action regarding this legislation by go to www.resolveuganda.org/legislation.
Urge your member of Congress to support H. Res. 278, Resolution reduces the number of nuclear weapons and directs savings to address global hunger.
Urge Congress to Support White House Middle East Peace Efforts, H. Res 130 - This resolution concerns the troubling conditions prevailing in Kenya in the run-up to its next general elections. Violence in July surrounding pro-democracy demonstrations claimed lives, as has recent ethnic violence. This subcommittee held a hearing on Kenya in July in the aftermath of the initial bloodshed. While the situation has calmed somewhat, there is fear that as the time nears for upcoming elections, there will be another outbreak of violence.
The Mathew Shepard Act, is a proposed bill in the United States Congress that would expand the 1969 United States federal hate-crime law to include crimes motivated by a victim's actual or perceived gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability. Support the Matthew Shepard Act! Thinking of supporting or learning more about the Matthew Shepard Act? Visit http://www.matthewshepard.org/site/PageServer?pagename=Erase_Hate_Crimes_Legislation
But there is more that you can do!
You can call the Senate Switchboard on 202-224-3121 (before 5 p.m. E.T.) and ask the operator to speak to the Senator from your state. You can check who your Senators are by using this link http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm. Just select your state and the website will do the rest.
It's probable that you'll get to speak to one of the Senator's interns, and they will ask you where you are calling from and why. What should you say? Well, you can simply state that you are urging the Senator in question to vote for the Matthew Shepard Act (S. 909). This is all you need to say and it is most likely that the call will end right there, unless, that is, you would care to elaborate as to your reasons why you believe the Matthew Shepard Act is important.
But wait, don't forget to make the call to your second Senator and repeat the process. It takes about 90 seconds, that's all, and your actions will let the Senate know just how important the Matthew Shepard Act really is for a fair and equal society.