WASHINGTON, D.C., December 12, 2014-On December 9, 2014 the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law (Lawyers’ Committee) participated in a hearing convened by the Senate Subcommittee on Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights. The Lawyers’ Committee submitted testimony at the hearing which served as an overview of the many civil and human rights challenges still confronting this nation and some of the ways the Lawyers’ Committee is tackling these critical issues.
Since its inception, the Lawyers’ Committee has stood against discrimination based on race, national origin, and religion and supports the national and international movement to finally bring an end to racial discrimination in the United States. Laws which impose burdens on other fundamental and civil rights have no place in a democratic society, especially those which disproportionately burden individuals and communities of color. A fair criminal justice system – one which respects the human rights of all individuals and treats all under it equally, irrespective of race – is impossible without an overhaul of the systemic racially-biased policing, harsh sentencing policies, and the patchwork of criminal disenfranchisement laws, as they exist in the United States today. The foundation of our democracy is weak without the restoration of voting rights to individuals of color.
We thank Senator Durbin and all the members of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Human Rights for holding this critical hearing to examine the state of civil and human rights in our nation, progress that has been made in these areas over the past several years, and what Congress and the Executive Branch can do to further address these pressing issues.
Please click here for the Lawyers’ Committee Written Testimony.
