Fwd: Stop Recruiting Kids!

[Rich Gibson <rgibson@pipeline.com>]

> From: "David Meserve" <davemeserve@suddenlink.net>
> To: <davemeserve@suddenlink.net>
> Subject: Stop Recruiting Kids!
> Date: Fri, 29 Feb 2008 23:34:02 -0800
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>
> Hello peace and counter-recruiting activists,
>
> Apologies for any cross-postings.  Your email 
> was posted online as a contact for a group involved in counter-recruiting.
>
> Here in Arcata, CA we have just begun collecting 
> signatures to place the  Arcata Youth Protection 
> Act (attached and below) on the November ballot 
> as a voter initiative.  This ordinance prohibits 
> the military recruiting of any person under the age of eighteen.
>
> This is a strategy to raise community 
> consciousness about the common practice of 
> recruiters initiating contact with kids fourteen 
> to seventeen years old in order to glamorize the 
> military and entice them into considering 
> enlistment when they turn eighteen.  If the 
> initiative passes, we do expect a federal 
> challenge to the ordinance, and we are working 
> on legal strategies to assert our right to 
> enforce community values and standards.  Counter 
> recruiting is of great value, but we must also 
> stop the military from recruiting kids.
>
> We hope that other towns and cities may join us 
> in placing this initiative on the November 
> ballot.  Time is getting short, but there are 
> still a couple of months to gather signatures 
> before completed initiative petitions must be 
> submitted.  If you do not have the time or 
> inclination to mount a petition campaign this 
> year, we would still be interested in your 
> thoughts and comments about the ordinance.
>
> Thank you for taking the time to read this.
>
> Dave Meserve
> Arcata, CA
> 707-834-3612
>
>
>
> The main premise of the ordinance is that 
> military recruiting is a threat to youth, and 
> that those who are considered too young to vote 
> are also too young to be urged to enlist in the military.
>
> Some common questions about the ordinance:
>
> Doesn?t the ordinance violate the First Amendment rights of recruiters?
> The ordinance states that, ?No person who is 
> employed by or an agent of the United States 
> government shall,?in the execution of his or her 
> job duties,? recruit any person under the age of 
> eighteen?? The government does not have free 
> speech rights.  Only the people do, and on-duty 
> recruiters are, in essence, the government.
>
> Doesn?t the Ordinance violate ?No Child Left 
> Behind? and threaten federal school funding?
> ?No Child Left Behind? allows federal funding to 
> be cut if local school boards restrict recruiter 
> access to schools; it says nothing about people 
> voting to protect youth from military recruiting.
>
> Federal law trumps local law, so why bother passing this ordinance?
> The ordinance will likely be challenged by the 
> federal government on the grounds of preemption, 
> but when the federal government is destructive 
> of our rights or threatens the welfare of our 
> youth, we must challenge its authority.
> The federal government sets no lower age limit 
> below which recruiters may not contact kids and 
> promote military enlistment.  We have the right 
> to enforce community standards, and we believe 
> that eighteen is the logical and proper age, 
> below which kids should not be targeted by recruiters.
>
>
> ARCATA YOUTH PROTECTION ACT
>
> AN ORDINANCE TO PROHIBIT THE MILITARY 
> RECRUITMENT OF ANY PERSON UNDER THE AGE OF EIGHTEEN
>
> To protect the welfare of our youth, the People of Arcata Ordain as Follows:
> No person who is employed by or an agent of the 
> United States government shall, within the City 
> of Arcata, in the execution of his or her job 
> duties, recruit, initiate contact with for the 
> purpose of recruiting, or promote the future 
> enlistment of any person under the age of 
> eighteen into any branch of the United States Armed Forces.
>
> Authority:
> This Ordinance is adopted and enacted pursuant 
> to the authority guaranteed to the people of 
> Arcata by the California Constitution (Article 
> 2, Section1) and the U.S. Constitution 
> (Amendments IX and X) which guarantee political 
> power to the people and recognize the right to 
> exercise that power through initiative and 
> referendum (California Constitution Article 4, Section I).
>
> Findings
>
> 1)  Military Recruiters Target Teens.
> Military recruiters target teens through ad 
> campaigns, mailings, telephone calls, email, and 
> direct personal contact.  They promote 
> enlistment by glorifying military service and 
> exaggerating the educational and career 
> benefits, while ignoring the 
> dangers.  Recruiters are rewarded for meeting 
> enlistment quotas and risk reassignment if 
> quotas are not met.  College and business 
> recruiters lack equivalent resources and 
> incentives to promote non-military careers to teens.
>
> 2) People under the age of eighteen are not permitted to vote.
> As a society, we believe that people under 
> eighteen lack the life experience to make 
> informed choices; they cannot vote, sign 
> contracts, or make medical and other legal 
> decisions. Although people under eighteen cannot 
> enlist in the military without parental consent, 
> sixteen- and seventeen-year-olds in our 
> community are routinely urged by recruiters to 
> commit themselves to future enlistment after 
> their eighteenth birthdays.  Those who do enlist 
> in the military may be ordered to participate in 
> actions that violate Constitutional and 
> International Law including bombings of civilian 
> targets, invasions and occupations of sovereign 
> nations, or illegal detention and mistreatment 
> of suspected terrorists.  Young soldiers risk 
> their lives and sanity without a developed 
> ability to comprehend the consequences of their 
> actions. Unlike civilian employees, military 
> enlistees may be prosecuted and imprisoned if 
> they refuse to obey an order, or if they change 
> their minds and want to quit their jobs in the 
> military.  If we believe that people under the 
> age of eighteen lack the experience and maturity 
> necessary for voting, then they should not be 
> subjected to the highly sophisticated and 
> well-funded efforts of military recruiters to 
> enlist them in the armed forces.
>
> 3)  The First Amendment protects the free speech 
> of people, not the government.
> While some may argue that recruiting is ?speech? 
> protected by the First Amendment, the Bill of 
> Rights protects the rights of people from the excesses of government.
>
> 4)  This Ordinance does not violate provisions of No Child Left Behind.
>
> The No Child Left Behind Act (PL 117-110, 
> Section 9528.3) mandates that: ?Each local 
> educational agency receiving assistance under 
> this Act shall provide military recruiters the 
> same access to secondary school students as is 
> provided generally to post secondary educational 
> institutions or to prospective employers of 
> those students.?  This Ordinance is to be 
> approved by the voters, not by any local 
> educational agency.  Under the Ordinance, 
> schools may still provide access to military 
> recruiters, but recruiters are prohibited from 
> recruiting or promoting the future enlistment of 
> any person under the age of eighteen.
>
> Specific Purpose:
> The specific purpose of this Ordinance is to 
> protect youth under the age of eighteen from military recruiting.
>
> Statement of Law:
> No person who is employed by or an agent of the 
> United States government shall, within the City 
> of Arcata, in the execution of his or her job 
> duties, recruit, initiate contact with for the 
> purpose of recruiting, or promote the future 
> enlistment of any person under the age of 
> eighteen into any branch of the United States Armed Forces.
>
> Nothing in this Ordinance shall prevent any 
> person from voluntarily visiting a military 
> recruitment office or specifically initiating a 
> request to meet with a recruiter.
>
> Nothing in this Ordinance shall prevent 
> individuals who are not employed by or agents of 
> the U.S. government from encouraging people 
> under the age of eighteen to join the military.
>
> Enforcement
> The City of Arcata shall inform all local 
> military recruiters and their commanding 
> officers of this Ordinance, which prohibits 
> military recruiting of any person under the age 
> of eighteen within the City of Arcata.  Any 
> military recruiter who violates this Ordinance, 
> as well as his or her commanding officer, shall 
> be held responsible for said violation.  Both 
> shall be deemed guilty of an infraction and 
> shall be subject to the penalties stated in the 
> Arcata Municipal Code. (A.M.C. I-3-1200)  A 
> citizen complaint of any unsolicited military 
> recruiting activity involving people under the 
> age of eighteen shall initiate investigation and 
> possible citation by the Arcata Police 
> Department for violation of this Ordinance.  If 
> recruiters violate this Ordinance five or more 
> times within one month, military recruiting of 
> persons under the age of eighteen shall be 
> deemed a public nuisance and shall be summarily abated.
>  (A.M.C. I-3-1201)
>
> Severability
> The provisions of this Ordinance are severable. 
> If any section or provision of this Ordinance is 
> determined to be illegal, invalid or 
> unconstitutional by a court of competent 
> jurisdiction, such decision of the court shall 
> not affect or invalidate any of the remaining 
> sections or provisions of this Ordinance. It is 
> the express intent of the people of Arcata, 
> California that this Ordinance would have been 
> adopted if such illegal, invalid, or 
> unconstitutional section or provision had not been included.
>
> Effective Date
> This Ordinance shall take effect thirty (30) 
> days after adoption by the voters.
>
> Interpretation
> In the event this Ordinance requires 
> interpretation (by courts, county officials, or 
> anyone else), it is the express intent of the 
> people of Arcata that this Ordinance be 
> construed in such a manner to carry out the 
> original intent of this Initiative, which is to 
> prohibit military recruitment of any person 
> under the age of eighteen within the City of Arcata.