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While the Senate passed one bad bill after another on December 6, 2013, they locked out the public, including our legislative director.
The ACLU of Michigan believes the right to peacefully assemble and petition the government is a sacred cornerstone of our democracy.
Pushing controversial bills through a lame duck session is a bad way to make public policy under the best of circumstances. Doing so on such important issues while the public is shut out of the debate is cause for, once again, the Michigan legislature to be a national embarrassment.
On October 29, the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan and a coalition of labor unions filed a motion asking a court to rule that state officials blatantly violated the Open Meetings Act when they locked the public out of the Capitol in 2012 as lawmakers deliberated over the controversial right-to-work law.
The case, filed on behalf of a journalist, citizens, legislators, and unions, charges that government officials, in an unprecedented assault on democracy, deprived the public of their right to participate in the legislative process.
Key News and Documents
► Press Release | ACLU, Unions: E-mails, Testimony Prove Legislature Intended to Push Public Out of Right-to-Work Debate
► Case Page | Cook v. State of Michigan
► ACLU Blog | An Open Letter to the Governor from our Executive Director
► At The ACLU | ACLU of Michigan Legislative Department
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