Law, Justice, and Ethics (LJE) Policy Committee

A RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF A NATIONAL REENTRY PROGRAM

WHEREAS, every person is endowed with human dignity and value;

WHEREAS, redemption and second chances are American values;

WHEREAS, approximately 65 million Americans have a criminal record;

WHEREAS, people with a history in the criminal justice system face significant barriers including an inability to secure housing, transportation, education, meaningful employment and must pay for the significant debt that arises as a result of their conviction and incarceration;

WHEREAS, these barriers can contribute to recidivism, which increases victimization, increases taxes and decreases public safety;

WHEREAS, formerly incarcerated individuals should have access to resources meeting their basic needs, housing, transportation, clothing, mental health, substance abuse counseling, family reunification programs, education, job training, and life-coach mentorship all conducted by smart reentry service providers;

WHEREAS, public safety is improved when the formerly incarcerated have ample opportunity for employment that provides for a sustainable quality of life; and

WHEREAS, communities are restored, poverty and homelessness are reduced when individuals are emotionally and financially stabilized and reunited with their families.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that legislators and municipalities should seek to fund and otherwise support comprehensive reentry service providers that promote public safety, reduce recidivism rates, restore families and offer the formerly incarcerated second chances;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the National Black Caucus of State Legislators (NBCSL) support the judicial order of certificates of release to immunize employers or landlords that provide employment or housing opportunity for those re-entering from incarceration; and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that copies of this resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States, the Vice President of the United States, members of the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate, State Attorneys General, and other federal, state, and local government officials as appropriate.

• SPONSOR(S): Representative Billy Mitchell (GA) and Senator Floyd McKissick (NC)
• Committee of Jurisdiction: Law, Justice, and Ethics Policy Committee
• Certified by Committee Chair: Representative Reginald Meeks (KY)
• Ratified in Plenary Session: Ratification Date is November 30, 2018
• Ratification is certified by: Representative Gregory W. Porter (IN), President

A RESOLUTION ON GUN CONTROL IN THE WAKE OF MASS SHOOTINGS

WHEREAS, 36,252 people died by gun violence in 2015; subsequently, there has been a spike in gun violence as the death toll alarmingly rose to over 38,000 deaths in 2016;

WHEREAS, a study conducted in 1998 by Emory University found that every time a gun in the home was used in self-defense or for a legally-justifiable shooting, there were four unintentional shootings in the geographical areas of the study and, according to the U.S. Department of Justice from 2007 to 2011 there were 235,700 self-protected behaviors involved a firearm;

WHEREAS, a 2013 study found that a one percent increase in gun ownership correlates with a roughly 0.9 percent increase in the firearm homicide rate; a 2013 study reports that across all 50 states, “during 1981 and 2010, states that had higher rates of gun ownership had disproportionately large number of deaths from firearm-related homicides.’ A 2015 study reported that firearm assaults were 6.8 times more common in states with the most guns versus those with the least;

WHEREAS, in a 2009 study, individuals in possession of a gun were 4.46 times more likely to be shot in an assault than those not in possession; among gun assaults where the victim had at least some chance to resist, this adjusted the odds ratio and increased it to 5.45; a 2015 study found that people who had access to firearms at home were nearly twice as likely to be murdered as people who did not;

WHEREAS, recently, several horrific school shootings have occurred in the United States, including one on February 14, 2018, at the Parkland High School in Florida, which have caused to even greater concerns for the safety of children, staff, and faculty within the confines of school grounds;

WHEREAS, there have been proposals to give firearms to teachers and other school staff with the expectation that these personnel, while caring for frightened children in an emergency, would risk their lives, and the children’s lives, by engaging assailants who may be firing multiple rounds from military-style weapons;

WHEREAS, regardless of the length of firearm and safety training, it is not safe for teachers to possess guns in the classroom;

WHEREAS, teachers are trained as educators and are not required to be qualified to act as licensed or trained sheriff deputies or police officers; and

WHEREAS, firearms in the classroom will frighten students and interfere with the learning environment.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the National Black Caucus of State Legislators (NBCSL) adopt the following as its gun control legislative priorities and urges their adoption nationwide:

• Raise the age to purchase a firearm to 21 years old;
• Ban future purchases and possession of bump stocks and other automatic capacity conversion kits, accessories, and parts;
• Ban future purchases and possession of military-style assault guns, and military high capacity ammunition clips exceeding 11 bullets;
• Banning Straw purchases;
• Conduct universal background checks to include the alerting and reporting of mental health issues that should disqualify an individual from gun possession;
• Ban domestic terrorists or animal abusers, the seriously mentally ill, and those on the Transportation Security Administration terror watch lists from purchasing firearms;
• Allocate increase resources to mental health programs for children enrolled in the educational system from K-12;
• Restore funding to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention to study gun violence as a major public health crisis;
• Allocate federal resources to incentivize and assist states in improving reporting to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS);
• Continue requiring background checks and permits for gun silencers;
• Require microstamping or ballistic fingerprinting of all new firearms and ammunition sold in the U.S.;
• Repeal all state “stand your ground” laws, restoring the use of deadly force as a last resort;
• Encourage local jurisdictions to utilize their “buyer power” to create incentives for firearm manufacturers to employ “counter-marketing” strategies to ensure that their retailers are using all available procedures to prevent illegal firearms diversion;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the NBCSL support the use of gun violence protective orders that temporarily remove firearms from residences where a threat of violence has been made until a judicial hearing that determines if the firearms should be removed for an extended period of time or permanently;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the NBCSL opposes arming teachers, faculty and staff with firearms on school campus grounds or any attempt to increase the presence of armed guards inside schools;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the NBCSL support safe, sane, and sensible measures to end gun violence; and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that the NBCSL send a copy of this resolution to the President of the United States, the Vice President of the United States, members of Congress, and other federal and state government officials as appropriate.

• SPONSOR: Representative Brenda Gilmore (TN)
• Committee of Jurisdiction: Law, Justice, and Ethics Policy Committee
• Certified by Committee Chair: Representative Reginald Meeks (KY)
• Ratified in Plenary Session: Ratification Date is November 30, 2018
• Ratification is certified by: Representative Gregory W. Porter (IN), President

A RESOLUTION ON JUSTICE FOR ERIC GARNER AND THE URGENT NEED FOR POLICE ACCOUNTABILITY

WHEREAS, in July 2014, Eric Garner, a 43-year-old Black man was killed by New York City Police Department (NYPD) officers, including Daniel Pantaleo, who applied a choke-hold to the neck of Eric Garner;

WHEREAS, before dying, Mr. Garner was able to say 11 times that he could not breathe;

WHEREAS, a Staten Island grand jury came back with no indictment against Officer Pantaleo, and the grand jury minutes remain sealed despite numerous attempts by advocacy groups to unseal them;

WHEREAS, since July of 2014, the U.S. Department of Justice has had the case under investigation, but despite the recommendation of federal civil rights prosecutors, U.S. Justice Department officials have not approved the filing of federal charges;

WHEREAS, In July 2018, New York City began disciplinary proceedings on Thursday against Police Officer Pantaleo; however, in the meantime, he has been relieved of his gun and badge but remains on desk duty where he has earned at taxpayers’ expense $105,061 in fiscal year 2015 and $119,996 (including $23,000 in overtime pay) in fiscal year 2016;

WHEREAS, Mr. Garner’s daughter, Erica, became a national figure in the fight for justice for her father and against police mistreatment of Black people in America, and it is quite possible that the huge amount of stress she endured in this struggle contributed to her death in December 2017, at the young age of 27;

WHEREAS, Mr. Garner is one of the approximately 1,000 men, women, and children killed by police violence each year, and a disproportionate number of victims of police violence are Black;

WHEREAS, California, New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Hawaii lack the authority to revoke police officers’ licenses to serve, a process known as “decertification;” and other states with decertification authority have weak decertification laws that do not effectively remove problematic officers;

WHEREAS, in states without an effective decertification authority, officers removed or disciplined by one law enforcement agency or department are not prevented from obtaining employment in other agencies or departments; and

WHEREAS, in order to end the epidemic levels of police violence against Black people, states must have tools for the removal of problem officers along with appropriate recruitment, training, transparency, accountability, and community oversight.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the National Black Caucus of State Legislators (NBCSL) reaffirms its positions on police accountability, community oversight, justice for victims of police violence, and models for police reform;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the NBCSL calls for the creation of model police decertification standards and processes;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the NBCSL calls for all states to develop and implement an efficient and effective process to decertify law enforcement officers that violate the law or fail to meet public standards for law enforcement professionals;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the NBCSL calls for all states to: (1)  report decertified officers to the National Decertification Index to ensure the effects of decertification across state lines; (2) require law enforcement agencies and agencies hiring security officials to search the National Decertification index and use the information in their hiring decisions; 3) urges the federal government to discontinue funding support via the Law Enforcement Assistance Act to State and local security agencies or entities that do not query this index and use the resulting information in their hiring decisions; and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that the NBCSL send a copy of this resolution to the President of the United States, the Vice President of the United States, members of Congress, and other federal and state government officials as appropriate.

• SPONSOR: Representative Brenda Gilmore (TN)
• Committee of Jurisdiction: Law, Justice, and Ethics Policy Committee
• Certified by Committee Chair: Representative Reginald Meeks (KY)
• Ratified in Plenary Session: Ratification Date is November 30, 2018
• Ratification is certified by: Representative Gregory W. Porter (IN), President

A RESOLUTION ON LAW ENFORCEMENT POLICY REGARDING ALERTS FOR MISSING PERSONS

WHEREAS, there is no uniform national or local public policy establishing a public alert for missing persons from ages nineteen to sixty-four;

WHEREAS, despite representing 13.5% of the population, African Americans accounted for 33% of the 651,226 people whose names were entered into the national missing person database in 2017, including 169,426 children;

WHEREAS, researchers have found that several media outlets are more likely to cover missing white women and girls and will cover the cases with more intensity than when the missing person is African-American;

WHEREAS, each year thousands of African-American families are left wondering what has happened to their loved ones who have sometimes been missing for decades;

WHEREAS, searches for missing people can be delayed because many states do not have an alert system for missing persons unless they are children or senior citizens; and

WHEREAS, according to the Black and Missing Foundation, as of 2014, more than 64,000 black women and girls remain missing across the United States, and many people of color are initially considered runaways severely impeding and delaying the search for and recovery of the missing person.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the National Black Caucus of State Legislators (NBCSL) encourages town hall meetings with lawmakers, law enforcement, justice department officials, and child advocate groups regarding missing black women and their children to educate and motivate more action on finding them;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the NBCSL insists that all media coverage be equal regardless of race so that African American missing women and children’ families are treated fairly in the lime of their greatest need;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the NBCSL urges State governments to create a comprehensive notification and alert systems for all missing persons regardless of race, color, or age;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the NBCSL advocates for more federal funding to be allocated to agencies, groups, and organizations for the purpose of researching and locating missing women and children of color; and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that the NBCSL send a copy of this resolution to the President of the United States, the Vice President of the United States, members of Congress, and other federal and state government officials as appropriate.

• SPONSOR: Representative Brenda Gilmore (TN)
• Committee of Jurisdiction: Law, Justice, and Ethics Policy Committee
• Certified by Committee Chair: Representative Reginald Meeks (KY)
• Ratified in Plenary Session: Ratification Date is November 30, 2018
• Ratification is certified by: Representative Gregory W. Porter (IN), President

A RESOLUTION ON THE PREVENTION OF NUCLEAR WARS

WHEREAS, the President of the United States currently has the sole authority to launch a nuclear attack without any required consultation or any system of check and balances;

WHEREAS, the first use of nuclear weapons against any other nuclear-armed nation would result in retaliation and invite the near total destruction of any state;

WHEREAS, even a single nuclear detonation comparable to those dropped during World War II would have a devastating impact on all Americans;

WHEREAS, Americans have the right to live a life free from the threat of the reckless use of nuclear weapons; and

WHEREAS, use and detonation of even a small number of nuclear weapons would have catastrophic human, environmental and economic consequences globally – impacting everyone on the planet.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the National Black Caucus of State Legislators (NBCSL) urges the U.S. Congress to take all necessary steps to establish a system of check and balances with regard to the first use of nuclear weapons and to ensure that the President does not have the sole and unchecked authority to launch nuclear weapons, except in circumstances of retaliation; and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that the NBCSL send a copy of this resolution to the President of the United States, the Vice President of the United States, members of Congress, and other federal and state government officials as appropriate.

• SPONSOR: Representative Carol Ammons (IL)
• Committee of Jurisdiction: Law, Justice, and Ethics Policy Committee
• Certified by Committee Chair: Representative Reginald Meeks (KY)
• Ratified in Plenary Session: Ratification Date is November 30, 2018
• Ratification is certified by: Representative Gregory W. Porter (IN), President

A RESOLUTION ON VOTING RIGHTS PROTECTIONS

WHEREAS, the controversial ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court in the Shelby vs. Holder case struck down Section 4(b) of the 1963 Voting Rights Act;

WHEREAS, the 1963 Voting Rights Act, known as the crown jewel of the civil rights movement, had an immediate impact of eliminating egregious voting discrimination, enfranchising millions of African American Voters and changing the political landscape of America;

WHEREAS, Section 5 of the Act invokes a pre-clearance requirement that prohibits jurisdictions that have demonstrated consistent and pervasive prior acts of racially motivated voter discrimination from implementing voting law changes without obtaining pre-clearance from the U.S. Justice Department;

WHEREAS, Section 4(b) includes the formula that determines what jurisdictions shall be covered by the pre-clearance requirement of Section 5; and

WHEREAS, in order to preserve the vital voting rights protections gained through the courageous actions and great sacrifices of Dr. Martin Luther King, Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and many other committed notable civil rights workers, leaders and organizations, it is imperative that we call upon Congress to reauthorize and restore all pertinent and essential aspects of the Voting Rights Act.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the National Black Caucus of State Legislators (NBCSL) advocates for the restoration of these critical components of Voting Rights Act;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the NBCSL urges that these restorations be made to the extent that they fully eliminate voter discrimination and guarantees and protects the voting rights of all Americans, regardless of race, creed or color; and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that the NBCSL send a copy of this resolution to the President of the United States, the Vice President of the United States, members of Congress, and other federal and state government officials as appropriate.

• SPONSOR: Representative Randal L. Gaines (LA)
• Committee of Jurisdiction: Law, Justice, and Ethics Policy Committee
• Certified by Committee Chair: Representative Reginald Meeks (KY)
• Ratified in Plenary Session: Ratification Date is November 30, 2018
• Ratification is certified by: Representative Gregory W. Porter (IN), President

A RESOLUTION OPPOSING “STAND YOUR GROUND” STATUTES AND SHIFTING BURDEN IN THE LAW

WHEREAS, tragic shootings related to the controversial “Stand Your Ground” law, continue to persist in Florida and other states;

WHEREAS, Florida’s law, enacted in 2005, allows a person to use deadly force as a first resort when he or she is in “reasonable fear” of imminent great bodily harm or threat of death rather than first attempt to retreat or escape if safe to do so, and murders climbed 22% in the state after the “Stand Your Ground” self-defense law was enacted;

WHEREAS, Florida’s self-defense law gained widespread notoriety in 2012 after Trayvon Martin, an unarmed teen, was fatally shot by a neighborhood watch captain, who claimed he acted in self-defense under “Stand Your Ground”;

WHEREAS, in states with “Stand Your Ground” laws, the shooting of an African-American by a Caucasian is found justifiable 17% of the time, and in states without “Stand Your Ground” laws, white-on-black shootings are found justified just over 9% of the time;

WHEREAS, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement has cited that there have been nearly 200 instances since 2005 where Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law played a factor in prosecutors’ decisions, jury acquittals or a judge’s call to dismiss charges;

WHEREAS, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation data, justifiable homicide cases have increased in several states in the years after they passed “Stand Your Ground” laws;

WHEREAS, the “Second Chance on Shoot First” coalition and others have over the years focused on reform or repeal of dangerous “Stand Your Ground” laws that have moved use of deadly force outside of a home onto parking lots, sidewalks and other community areas, with no duty to retreat if such could be done safely, allowing a potential lawbreaker to roam free for an extended period of time;

WHEREAS, in 2017 Florida changed the “Stand Your Ground” law, shifting the burden of proof from the defendant to the state in pretrial hearings to determine whether a defendant is immune from criminal prosecution based on claimed justifiable use of force;

WHEREAS, additionally, the law was changed to require the state to disprove a defendant’s “Stand Your Ground” defense by clear and convincing evidence, a higher standard than the preponderance of evidence standard that defendants previously had to prove;

WHEREAS, other states are likely to follow suit in adopting similar legislation; and

WHEREAS, data indicates that stand your ground laws disproportionately “justify” the killing or use of force against African-Americans.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the National Black Caucus of State Legislators (NBCSL) strongly opposes “Stand Your Ground” laws and particularly those that turn the standard of proof to the prosecution who has no victim to speak for themselves;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the NBCSL urges state legislatures that have adopted “Stand Your Ground” laws to reform or repeal such laws and stand firm against the beyond a reasonable doubt standard; and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that a copy of this resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States, the Vice President of the United States, members of the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate, and other federal and state government officials as appropriate.

• SPONSOR(S): Representative Reginald Meeks (KY) and Senator Audrey Gibson (FL)
• Committee of Jurisdiction: Law, Justice, and Ethics Policy Committee
• Certified by Committee Chair: Representative Reginald Meeks (KY)
• Ratified in Plenary Session: Ratification Date is November 30, 2018
• Ratification is certified by: Representative Gregory W. Porter (IN), President