[Sosfbay-discuss] [Fwd: Two Northern CA cities ban military recruiting of minors]

[Tian Harter]

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: 	Two Northern CA cities ban military recruiting of minors
Date: 	Sat, 21 Feb 2009 11:00:44 -0800
From: 	david ledesma <svtriathlete at hotmail.com>


*Two Northern California Cities Ban
Military Recruiting of Minors*
By Dave Meserve, of Stop Recruiting Kids
February 12, 2009


On November 4, 2008, voters in Arcata and Eureka, California approved
ballot initiative ordinances that prohibit the military recruiting of
any person under the age of 18.

Specifically, the "Youth Protection Act" makes it an infraction for any
military recruiter to initiate contact with minors, within the city
limits, for the purpose of recruiting them into any branch of the
military.

The ordinance in no way prevents anyone from choosing to talk with a
recruiter if he or she wants to do so.

The idea for the ordinance was hatched over a year earlier, with a small
group of activists wondering how people who opposed the use of the U.S
military in so-called "preemptive wars" could act locally to stop such
violations of international law.  They reasoned that the impact of wars
on communities is felt primarily in two ways.  First, is the financial
impact on city budgets and services that is a trickle-down effect of
squandering billions of dollars* *on war.  But just as real, and far
more tragic for the community, is the recruiting of local people,
especially very young people who become cannon fodder in wars that never
needed to be fought.

Recruiters often approach kids in their early teens and expound on the
great opportunities that await them in the military, often with no
mention of the grim realities of war.  Staffing an army by preying on
the vulnerability of youth is clearly wrong, and it is an issue which
can unite people of diverse political views.

Organizing around this kernel of an idea, a group of local parents,
teachers, students, counter-recruiters, and activists came together and
developed the Arcata Youth Protection Act into a ballot-ready ordinance.
In January, volunteers began collecting the 1,300 valid signatures
needed to place it on the November 4, 2008 ballot in Arcata.

Then a group sprang up in neighborhood Eureka, determined to get an
identical ordinance on their ballot, but working uphill, with a short
time frame, in a city better known as a logging and fishing center than
a bastion of progressive politics like Arcata.  Amazingly, when the
signature-gathering deadline arrived, volunteers in both cities had
succeeded in gathering the support needed to place both measures on the
ballot.

An active campaign ensued, with a high point of receiving permission
from Roger Waters, of Pink Floyd fame, to use an adapted version of
"Another Brick in the Wall", where a chorus of children sang, "Hey
Recruiter, leave them kids alone!".  On November 4, 2008, Measure F in
Arcata passed by a 73% landslide, and Measure J in Eureka received
57% approval.

This historic victory is not the end of the story.  Thirty days later,
on December 4, the ordinances took effect.  On December 15, both cities
received letters announcing that the U.S.Department of Justice, acting
on a Department of Defense complaint, was filing suit to invalidate the
ordinances, claiming that they violate the Supremacy Clause of the U.S.
Constitution.

Proponents of the measure assert that limiting recruiting to those
recognized as adults should in no way impede the mandate of Congress to
"raise and support armies".

In this "David vs. Goliath" match-up, the City Councils of both Arcata
and Eureka have instructed their City Attorney to defend "the will of
the voters", by defending the measures, at least through the preliminary
legal process.

The City of Arcata has a population of approximately 17,000 residents,
while the City of Eureka is home to about 26,000.  With today's economic
crisis, and their small tax base, neither city has the deep pockets to
launch a defense in Federal Court, taking on  the U.S.Department of
Justice.  But the plot thickens.

Their commitment to defend the measures has been made possible by the
offer of pro-bono legal assistance by* *several well known Bay Area
attorneys and law firms. In addition, the proponents of the measures,
Stop Recruiting Kids, have retained their own attorney and hope to
"intervene" in the case, in support of the ordinance.

The attorneys are developing legal arguments for a defense of the
ordinance, which in a responsive judicial environment may have a fair
chance of success.  Funds are needed for court costs, and more than
anything else, people everywhere need to know about local efforts to
protect youth on the California North Coast.

Hopefully the courts will uphold the ordinances and other cities will
start similar campaigns, with the benefit of knowing the successes and
challenges of the Youth Protection Act.

All of the more traditional efforts to counter the on-going military
recruitment of minors should continue, but communities may also want to
assert their rights, in their own hometowns, to demand that the military
"Stop Recruiting Kids!".

Attend our upcoming
Bay Area STOP RECRUITING KIDS
Speaking and Fundraising Tour:
FRIDAY, March 6, San Francisco, 6:30pm
SATURDAY, March 7, San José, 4pm
For further information visit: *www.stoprecruitingkids.or
<http://www.stoprecruitingkids.org>**g <http://www.stoprecruitingkids.org>
*
Please distribute widely!

-- 
Tian
http://tian.greens.org
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