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DNC: Is Romney REALLY Bragging About Bob Jones Endorsements?
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The News - Press Releases Sent By Other Organizations
Written by Democratic National Committee   
Thursday, 18 October 2007
DNC: Is Romney REALLY Bragging About Bob Jones Endorsements?

WASHINGTON, Oct. 18 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following was issued today by the Democratic National Committee:

Apparently, smooth-talking Mitt Romney is so desperate to win over the extreme right wing of the Republican Party that he is willing to turn a blind eye to the racist, anti-Catholic, anti-Mormon, and anti-gay policies of Bob Jones University and its leadership. Romney was in Columbus, Ohio yesterday bragging about this week's endorsements from Bob Jones University Dean Robert Taylor and chancellor Bob Jones III, calling their support "a positive step." [Columbus Dispatch, 10/18/07] Earlier this week, Romney's campaign manager in South Carolina said the campaign was "proud to have the support of Dr. Jones." [Greenville News, 10/16/07]

Embracing Bob Jones University and Bob Jones III is hardly something to be proud of. Not only did Bob Jones University lose its tax-exempt status because of its discriminatory policies, but Bob Jones III himself has a history of disturbing statements. In a "President's Corner" column posted on the school's website, Jones III called Catholicism and Mormonism "cults which call themselves Christian." After the school removed the post, Jones III reportedly ordered it reposted in order to avoid giving anyone the impression that he had changed his views. [Associated Press, 3/16/00] Bob Jones University refused to admit African-American students, banned interracial dating until 2000, refused to honor Martin Luther King, published fifth grade textbooks that called Catholicism a "false religion," and banned gay alumni from campus--particularly noteworthy considering Romney's statement just last week that he opposed discrimination against gay people. In Columbus, Romney sidestepped questions about whether he agrees with those policies and rhetoric, saying the questions were "not really relevant today." [Columbus Dispatch, 10/18/07]

"If smooth-talking Mitt Romney is so proud to be endorsed by Bob Jones and the school's leadership, he should be able to tell the American people whether he supports their despicable rhetoric and policies and whether he would allow the school to receive federal funds," said Democratic National Committee Communications Director Karen Finney. "He may be desperate to win over extremists in the right wing of his Party, but his failure to be straightforward about which racist, discriminatory and anti-gay policies and statements he is proud to be associated with speaks volumes about his campaign."

Mitt Romney Proud of Bob Jones Endorsements...

Romney: Bob Jones Endorsements "A Positive Step." Romney, making his first public appearance of the campaign in Columbus, told reporters that Jones' backing was "a positive step" in his effort to reach out to evangelicals who disagree with Mormon doctrine, although he conceded that he didn't know whether it's "100 percent resolved yet" that evangelical voters would support a Mormon for president. [Columbus Dispatch, 10/18/07]

Romney South Carolina Campaign Manager "Proud" of Jones' Support. Terry Sullivan, Romney's South Carolina campaign manager, said he doesn't think
Jones' endorsement will turn off voters who may be wary of Jones' religious views. "We're proud to have the support of Dr. Jones and look forward to
his help in delivering Gov. Romney's conservative message to the voters," he said. [Greenville News, 10/16/07]

What Exactly is He Proud Of?

BOB JONES III'S ANTI-CATHOLIC, ANTI-MORMON RHETORIC

Bob Jones III Protested Catholicism, Other Religions. In 1994, Jones III protested an agreement between evangelicals and Catholics in the south, saying that "The Christian Church has as much reason to separate from Catholicism as it does from Islam, Mormonism, or any other of the world's religious deceptions." The university's website referred to Catholicism as "a cult which calls itself Christian." Former university president and founder Bob Jones Jr. called the Pope the antichrist and referred the University's collection of Catholic art as false, saying that "There is not a lot of good Protestant Christian painting. I had to buy Catholic pictures, despite the falsehoods in them." [Associated Press, 4/8/94, 9/11/87; Christian Century, 5/5/93; Atlanta Journal Constitution, 6/30/91; Arizona Star, 3/7/00]

Jones III Reposts Anti-Catholic, Anti-Mormon Column on School Website.  After it was reported that the message referring to Catholicism and Mormonism as cults in the "President's Corner" of the Bob Jones University website was removed, school President Bob Jones III reposted the attacked.  Jones III reposted the comments to show that nothing had changed about his views, he said. Reports about the removal were "totally misleading" Jones III said, because they implied the removal was "for suspect reasons or because of embarrassment or cowardice." "In order to leave no doubt in anyone's mind of the university's integrity and absolute commitment to its biblical principles, the article in question has been reposted," Jones III said. [Associated Press, 3/16/00]

-- Website Statement: The statement which Jones III removed and then reposted stated the following: "The diminution of evangelistic enterprise to cults which call themselves Christian, including Catholicism and Mormonism, is frightening." [Associated Press, 3/16/00]

Bob Jones Textbooks Condemn Catholicism. Bob Jones University's textbooks speak out against Catholicism. One book states that "Luther and other Protestant reformers exposed the false doctrines of Roman Catholicism that had clouded God's truth for centuries." A fifth-grade social studies book produced by the school said that Roman Catholics practice a "false religion" [San Francisco Chronicle, 12/17/96; Virginian Pilot and Ledger Star, 3/19/93]

BOB JONES UNIVERSITY'S RACIST HISTORY

Bob Jones University Lost Tax-Exempt Status Because of Racial Discrimination. Bob Jones University lost its tax-exempt status in 1970 for refusing to admit African-Americans. The school then changed its policy but still prohibited any interracial dating or marriage. In 1983, the U.S. Supreme Court supported an IRS decision to remove tax-exempt status from the school for its dating policy, which included rules such as "students who date outside their own race will be expelled." [The Tax Lawyer, Winter 1984; World News Digest, 5/27/83]

University Still Banned Interracial Dating in 1998. In 1998, James Landrith, who is white, tried to apply to the school even though he is married to an African American woman. According to NPR, Landrith received this response to his application: "I noticed on your application that you are interracially married. Bob Jones University does not endorse this. It would be no problem for you to be a student here as long as your wife was not or vice versa." [NPR, 4/15/99]

Bob Jones University Dropped Ban on Interracial Dating in 2000. On "Larry King Live" in March 2000, Bob Jones III said that the university had dropped the ban on interracial dating as of March 3, 2000. Jones said the national scrutiny the school has received since Bush's appearance led to the decision to drop the policy. Jones III also said that the foundation for the ban was still true -- "that God made the races separate for his own purpose, and it is wrong to break down the barriers God erected, that it could lead to dangerous 'one-worldism,' just like globalism ..." according to the Globe and Mail, but that students and alumni were coming under too much criticism for the policy. The ban was put in place in the 1950s, when an Asian family threatened to sue the school after their son, a student there, almost married a white student. [Larry King Live, 3/3/00; Associated Press, 3/5/00; Globe and Mail, 3/9/00]

-- Interracial Dating Still Requires Parental Permission. Three days after announcing that the ban on interracial dating was dropped from school policy, BJU President Bob Jones III announced that students must tell their parents if they become involved in an interracial relationship. "We will carry out the will of your parents," Jones III said at the school's chapel service. "They will need to have a say in this." The new policy says that parents must send a letter to the dean of men or women approving the relationship before the school will allow it. Jones also said that most people disapprove of interracial dating and marriage. "I think that's evidenced by the fact that so few people are interracially married," Jones said to students. "When you date interracially or marry interracially, it cuts you off from people. [Associated Press, 3/7/00]

Bob Jones University Refused to Honor Martin Luther King, Jr. According to a former student of Bob Jones University, the school refused to fly the campus flag at half-mast after Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated, and the president referred to King as an "apostate," one who abandons the Christian faith. [Chicago Tribune, 6/4/92]

BOB JONES UNIVERSITY IS ANTI-GAY

Bob Jones University Threatened to Arrest Gay Alumni. In October 1998, Wayne Mouritzen, a retired minister and Bob Jones University graduate, received a letter from university officials telling him to not return to the school because he is gay. The letter from the school's dean said that "as long as you are living as a homosexual, you, of course, would not be welcome on the campus and would be arrested for trespassing if you did visit." Bob Jones spokesman Jonathan Pait said the policy applies only to graduates, and also covers cult members, unrepentant criminals, or other alumni who are believed to have strayed from the school's teachings. "We can't tell our alumni what they can and can't believe," Pait said. "But we can say, 'You've made your decisions; please do not return.'" The school did allow those banned alumni to visit its religious art gallery so the gallery does not lose its tax-exempt status. [Boston Globe, 10/24/98; Christianity Today, 12/7/98]

FLASHBACK: Romney Opposed Discrimination Against Gays. Romney said, "'I'm not in favor of discrimination. I do not oppose and I very much support equal opportunity in education, equal opportunity in employment, in housing and so forth for gay people.' He added that as Governor one of his cabinet members was gay. Romney's statement of support for 'equal opportunity in employment' might serve to remind his Democratic critics that he once was a supporter of the Employee Non-Discrimination Act during an earlier, more moderate, period of his career but has more recently become an opponent of the federal legislation which would protect gays and lesbians from employment-based discrimination." [ABCNews.com, 10/10/07]

Paid for and authorized by the Democratic National Committee, http://www.democrats.org. This communication is not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.

SOURCE Democratic National Committee

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Letter to Congress re: Health Privacy
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Advocacy and Letters - Letters to Government Agencies Signed by TMA
Written by Coalition for Patient Privacy   
Thursday, 18 October 2007

Coalition for Patient Privacy

October 18, 2007

The Honorable
Neil Abercrombie
Member of Congress
1502 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515-1101

Dear Rep. Abercrombie:

Three fourths of the American public want Congress to ensure that our right to health privacy is protected in electronic systems and that electronic health databases and systems are truly secure . Americans have no Federal statutory right to health privacy today.

Despite the good intentions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and its “Privacy Rule”, the current regulations leave all Americans’ personal health information completely vulnerable and exposed. State laws, common laws and the Constitution are there for protection. Yet the HIPAA “Privacy Rule” is really a “Disclosure Rule” that authorizes more than 4 million entities to use and disclose an individual’s health information. This disclosure is without the individual’s consent and over their objections.

We, the undersigned organizations, urge Congress to establish basic privacy protections this year.

Setting national privacy standards is a job for Congress, not unelected agency appointees, who for the most part represent industry. An overwhelming majority of American consumers (86%) are somewhat or very concerned about the health industry’s ability to protect the privacy of personal health information in deploying Electronic Health Records (EHRs).

It is imperative to the millions of members of our organizations that NO health IT legislation pass without enforceable basic health privacy rights for all consumers. Alternatively, Congress should pass a comprehensive health privacy bill that ensures consumers the right to control disclosure of their personal health information before passing any Health IT bills. Senator Leahy’s Health Information Privacy and Security Act (HIPSA), S. 1814, is a good example of what is needed to protect our privacy.

The private sector, communities, states and federal agencies are racing to build EHR systems without adequate privacy protections. Congress has fallen far behind in protecting Americans’ right to health privacy. We hear about violations and abuses of privacy and of records almost weekly. Current laws do not adequately protect electronic health records, leaving the marketplace for “personal health records” and other products the “gold rush” of Health IT. Companies can now do virtually whatever they want with this sensitive information once consumers provide their information, including selling it in secondary markets. No American should be forced to have his or her information entered into this system.

Meanwhile, the President and federal agencies continue to push EHRs via Executive Orders and regulations that ignore what consumers want and Congress intended when it authorized HIPAA.

The reality is that Americans’ personal health information currently is accessed and used without first obtaining informed consent. “Informed consent” means that the person whose health is affected must know and understand the risks involved in disclosing the information. “Secondary” uses of our health records, which have nothing to do with improving our health, have become the primary uses of our health records. Researchers are using our most intimate information without informed consent and without requiring state-of-the-art security measures. These trends are unwelcome and dangerous. It is denying Americans opportunities; these practices must be stopped.

“Garbage In, Garbage Out.”

Without Congressional input or oversight, a national electronic health system will be built that will destroy privacy, and more importantly Americans’ trust in their health care system.

While many argue that electronic health records can help improve efficiency, lead to research breakthroughs, and lower the costs of health care, these outcomes are only remotely possible if and when informed consent is required for all uses. When patients do not trust doctors or the health care system to protect their privacy, they withhold information, they delay or avoid care, and they become sicker.

One in 8 Americans admit to putting their health at risk by engaging in privacy-protective behavior such as:

  • Avoiding their regular doctor
  • Asking a doctor to alter a diagnosis
  • Paying privately for a test
  • Avoiding tests altogether

Without control and trust, patients will not see physicians or use the health care system in an effective manner. Wary health care consumers will drive up costs and increase the danger to others. Further, the data collected and stored will be incomplete and filled with inaccuracies and omissions. Corrupted, incomplete and false data will not enhance or improve medical outcomes or research – it will make them exponentially worse.

The proper balance to ensure timely access to medical records for treatment, and preserve patient control of health records, is to allow access in emergencies if consent cannot be obtained. But require patient permission before records are disclosed in all other situations.

We urge you to build a foundation for heath IT that is based on the following privacy principles and protections:

  • Recognize that patients have the right to health privacy
  • Recognize that user interfaces must be accessible so that health consumers with disabilities can individually manage their health records to ensure their medical privacy.
  • The right to health privacy applies to all health information regardless of the source, the form it is in, or who handles it
  • Give patients the right to opt-in and opt-out of electronic systems; i.e. the right for patients to give or withhold their consent for the use and disclosure of their health information.
  • Give patients the right to segment sensitive information
  • Give patients control over who can access their electronic health records
  • Health information disclosed for one purpose may not be used for another purpose before informed consent has been obtained
  • Require audit trails of every disclosure of patient information
  • Require that patients be notified promptly of suspected or actual privacy breaches
  • Ensure that consumers cannot be compelled to share health information to obtain employment, insurance, credit, or admission to schools, unless required by statute
  • Deny employers access to employees’ health records before informed consent has been obtained
  • Preserve stronger privacy protections in state laws
  • No secret health databases. Consumers need a clean slate. Require all existing holders of health information to disclose if they hold a patient’s health information
  • Provide meaningful penalties and enforcement mechanisms for privacy violations detected by patients, advocates, and government regulators

In summary, most Americans are “highly concerned” about the privacy of their health information. Without ironclad health privacy protections, a nationwide interoperable health system will fail. Americans simply will NOT trust doctors or the health care system if they do not control access to their most intimate personal information.

We urge you to take pro-active steps to safeguard our health privacy and ensure our loved ones are not wrongfully denied opportunities because of an illness or genetic risk of disease. We look forward to working with you and your staff on this urgent problem.

Respectfully,

The Coalition for Patient Privacy

AIDS Action www.aidsaction.org
American Association of People with Disabilities www.aapd.org
American Association of Practicing Psychiatrists
American Chiropractic Association www.acatoday.org
American Civil Liberties Union www.aclu.org
American Conservative Union www.conservative.org
American Psychoanalytic Association www.apsa.org
Association of American Physicians and Surgeons
Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law www.bazelon.org
Bob Barr (former Congressman R-GA)
Citizens for Health www.citizens.org
Citizen Outreach Project
Clinical Social Work Association www.cswf.org
Consumer Action www.consumer-action.org
Consumers for Health Care Choices www.chcchoices.org
Cyber Privacy Project
Doctors for Open Government
Ethics in Government Group
Fairfax County Privacy Council www.fairfaxcountyprivacycouncil.org
Family Research Council www.frc.org
Free Congress Foundation www.freecongress.org
Georgians for Open Government
Gun Owners of America www.gunowners.org
Health Administration Responsibility Project, Inc. www.harp.org
Just Health (California Consumer Health Care Council) www.justhealthnow.org
The Liberty Coalition www.libertycoalition.net
The Multiracial Activist www.multiracial.com
Microsoft Corporation, Inc. www.microsoft.com
The National Center for Transgender Equality www.nctequality.org
The National Coalition for Mental Health Professionals and Consumers
National Whistleblower Center www.whistleblowers.org
The Natural Solutions Foundation www.healthfreedomusa.org
The New Grady Coalition
Pain Relief Network www.painreliefnetwork.org
Patient Privacy Rights Foundation www.patientprivacyrights.org
Privacy Activism www.privacyactivism.org
Privacy Rights Now Coalition www.privacyrightsnow.org
Private Citizen, Inc. www.privatecitizen.org
Republican Liberty Caucus www.rlc.org
The Student Health Integrity Project (SHIP)
TexPIRG www.texpirg.org
Thoughtful House Center for Autism www.thoughtfulhouse.org
Tolven, Inc. www.tolven.org
Tradition, Family, Property, Inc.
Universata, Inc. www.universata.com
U.S. Bill of Rights Foundation
You Take Control, Inc. www.y-t-c.com

“Anyone today who thinks the privacy issue has peaked is greatly mistaken…we are in the early stages of a sweeping change in attitudes that will fuel political battles and put once-routine business practices under the microscope.” Forrester Research

cc: Every Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
Every Member of the U.S. Senate For additional information please contact:

Deborah Peel, MD
Founder & Chair
Patient Privacy Rights
(O) 512-732-0033
(C) 512-970-9007
This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it
www.patientprivacyrights.org

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Last Updated ( Friday, 30 November 2007 )
 
Microsoft Raises the Bar for Privacy in Electronic Health Record Solutions
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The News - Press Releases Sent By TMA and Coalition Partners
Written by Coalition for Patient Privacy   
Thursday, 04 October 2007

EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE UNTIL 10:00 A.M. EST, OCTOBER 4, 2007

For Immediate Release October 4, 2007
Contact: \n This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , Patient Privacy Rights or 512.732.0033

Download a PDF copy

Microsoft Raises the Bar for Privacy in Electronic Health Record Solutions

PatientPrivacyRights.Org, a national consumer watchdog group, works with technology giant Microsoft to put consumers in control of their electronic health records.

Austin, TX - Earlier this year Microsoft sought advice from PatientPrivacyRights.Org about building privacy protections into their new consumer health platform, HealthVault.  Today Microsoft’s HealthVault system goes “live” and proves that technology can give consumers complete control over who can see or use the information in their health accounts.  HealthVault proves that privacy is not an obstacle to building useful and safe technology to improve health.

Fifty years ago today, the Soviets launched Sputnik in space and provided a wake up call for Americans, changing what we thought was possible and jolting industry.  The privacy protection in HealthVault is Health IT’s Sputnik.  Microsoft proves that privacy works in real-world electronic health systems and it cannot be ignored. “Consent is essential for consumer trust and participation in digital health systems,” says PatientPrivacyRights.Org’s founder, Dr. Deborah Peel. HealthVault requires consumers to give informed consent before any use or disclosure of personal health information.

“Corporate claims to offer privacy mean nothing unless they are willing to take the same steps Microsoft has taken in building HealthVault," says Peel. Microsoft has committed to independent third party audits to verify their pledge to protect privacy.  “Audits are essential,” says Peel.  “Technology companies have got to do better than telling consumers to just ‘trust us.’  Consumers shouldn’t trust anyone but themselves to decide who can see and use their sensitive health information.”

Microsoft was very receptive to concerns about the unchecked loss of consumer control of personal health information and the abuse of Americans’ rights to health privacy.  Microsoft is the first major multinational technology corporation to collaborate with PatientPrivacyRights.Org and use the 2007 Privacy Principles created by the bi-partisan Coalition for Patient Privacy as the basis for the consumer controls of the health data stored in HealthVault.

Microsoft’s use of the Coalition’s strong principles ensures that consumers alone control the personal health information they store in HealthVault accounts. No one: not insurers, employers, hospitals, application partners, advertisers, data miners, or even Microsoft will access consumers’ electronic health accounts without consent.  Microsoft’s application partners are held to the same privacy standards as HealthVault.  Partners are prohibited from data mining or data aggregation contractually and by technical design, and no onward transfer of data is permitted without explicit informed consent. Advertisers are contractually required to protect any data transferred from HealthVault, and HealthVault’s privacy policies are simple and easy to understand. 

In advance of the launch, Microsoft presented the security and privacy features of HealthVault to the Coalition for Patient Privacy.  A number of issues were raised, and Microsoft pledged to continue to improve HealthVault’s protections and features and address new concerns as they emerge with the Coalition going forward.

Finally, Microsoft’s new health search engine allows people to search for health information anonymously. Search information may be saved to your Health Vault account where your searches are kept private and secure. Today, virtually all health sites data mine whatever you read and study, and sell that along with your identifying information. So at last it’s possible to search without fear that someone will know about what your concerns are.

PatientPrivacyRights.Org founder, Dr. Deborah C. Peel, will stand with Microsoft in Washington, D.C today at a press conference to announce the launch of HealthVault. PatientPrivacyRights.Org applauds Microsoft’s implementation of the most stringent existing standards for privacy in HealthVault. Microsoft’s willingness to incorporate the Coalition’s strictest privacy standards is truly revolutionary and sets a new, very high bar for the entire industry.

Microsoft’s HealthVault gives Americans a private, secure, trusted place for collecting and storing their personal health information. No consumer should trust any digital health system or technology product that does not follow the same best practices for privacy and security that HealthVault has put into action.   PatientPrivacyRights.Org looks forward to standing with other technology corporations as they step up and employ best practices for privacy and security.

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Letter to Senatators Kennedy and Dingell re: FDA Revitalization Act
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Advocacy and Letters - Letters to Government Agencies Signed by TMA
Written by Liberty Coalition   
Monday, 30 July 2007
7/30/07

The Honorable Edward M. Kennedy
Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions
428 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable John D. Dingell
Committee on Energy and Commerce
2125 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Messrs. Chairman,

The purpose of this letter is to alert Congress to the opportunity it has to protect the health of the American people by protecting a certain section in the "Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Revitalization Act" (S. 1082 and HR 2900), and overriding recent FDA Guidance threatening consumer access to natural therapies.

While the sponsors of the FDA Revitalization Act spoke on the Senate floor that the bill holds harmless natural supplements, Senator Durbin’s Food Title (VI) does include an explicit Section (608), “Rules of Construction,” authored by Senators Hatch and Harkin, protecting nutrients and natural supplements already regulated by the 1994 Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA). If Title VI is retained in the Conference Report for the underlying FDA bill, we respectfully request that Section 608 remain in the final bill. This is necessary as the FDA consistently interprets enactments contrary to clear Congressional intent that supplements are to be regulated like foods, not drugs.

This, however, is not the only problem facing consumers of Dietary Supplements. Recently FDA issued two draft Guidance’s: the so-called “CAM Products” (Docket No. 2006D-0480) and “Health Claims” (Docket No. 2007D-0125) that also impact DSHEA products. The first tries to create a new regulatory category - without Congressional approval while the second places a heavy burden on proof of health claims. The FDA Guidance’s could have dire and deadly health and freedom consequences since high potency nutrients are a well-demonstrated health protection strategy, which lowers morbidity, mortality and health costs. The undersigned organizations, representing in the aggregate millions of voters, are deeply concerned about the important health freedom assaults facing the people. We urge Congress to take immediate action to reverse these dangerous and potentially lethal regulations. One immediate step would be to adopt the Health Freedom Protection Act, HR 2117, mandating FDA approval of Health Claims that have scientific substantiation.

Signed,

Natural Solutions Foundation
Association of American Physicians and Surgeons
American Policy Center
Multiracial Activist
Republican Liberty Caucus
DownsizeDC.org, Inc.
U.S. Bill of Rights Foundation
Body Mind College, Inc.
Wahzee.com, Inc.
Body Mind Massage Clinic, Inc.
Medi-Key Transcription Service, Inc
The Prostate90 Foundation
Tanager Foundation,
Chemical Sensitivity Disorders Assocation
Asheville Homeless Network
Lotus Health & Wellness
Fellowship of Christian Love, Inc.
Pacific Green Party (Oregon)
Riverside Wellness Center
Gunderson Food Co-op
Global Consciousness Press, Inc.
The Schumacher Group
Blackstone Massage Therapy Center
Healing Traditions Inc.
Prosper Natural Sales
Allied Wellness Events
Michael Eidson Acupuncture and Wellness Center
Florida Breast Cancer Resource Network
AllSeasons Wellness
The Inner Center
NOW IF
Tree Sound Studios/TreeV Productions
Eyes Wide Open International
Kery Colvin Cleaning Services
Next Step Life coaching
Austin Kinesiology and Chriopractic Center
Bross, Inc.
Washington Rotary Club
Orange County Wellness Center
New England Holistic Chamber of Commerce
East Hawaii Island Volunteers Active in Disaster
Beyond Wheat Artisan Bakery
Good Energy Nautral Foods,llc
Center For Integrative Medicine
Natural Food Associates, Connecticut Chapter
Marian Center
Compromise Committee to SAVE our access to natural supplements
Natural Health Concepts
Foundation for the Advancement of Cancer Research
The Good Medicine Society
Celebrate Life
Healthy Heart Nutrition Store
Living Naturally
Unity of Louisville Church
Radiant Heart Healing Ministry
C & C HEATING & COOLING
Akasha Organics
Incredible New Technologies
Home Oriented Un-Schooling Experience in Montana
Helena Area Learning co-Opportunities
Unschooling-Spirituality
Spirituality, Unschooling & Beyond
Montanaunschoolers ·
Alternative Montana Unschoolers
Guaranteed Outcome Marketing, firm
Heart of Nature Apothecary
Yoga Source
Healing Leaves Ministry
Environmentally Friendly Options
New Beginnings ReeSearch
KE and Associates
Golden Flocks, INC
Aspen Chapter of the Weston A. Price Foundation
Informed Consent Town of Esopus
Creative Word Communications
A1 Health Depot LLC
Center for Homeopathy of Southern Vermont
American Standard Company
Riverhouse Holdings LLC
Candida Support Group
GRH, Inc
EARTHSONG
New Awakenings Community
Hermitage of St John the Baptiser
Motivational-Ink!
Pranic Healers of Portland, Oregon
Healing Touch Holistic Health
Cynthea's yoga mom's
The Learning Clinic
Health Marvels
Havetotalhealth
Blissentials
The Institute for Applied Sciences
Pathway to Wellness
Natural Food Associates (NFA)
Madhu Health Services, Inc
The Living Way
WOW Speaks Out
The Guerra Family
Esparza Enterprises
New Life Treatment Center
Heavenly Comforts
Communitas: A Center for Health and Transformation, LLC
Point of View Productions
Heritage Family Chiropractic
UNC Charlotte Small Business and Technology Development Center (SBTDC)
Bright Beginnings Family Services, Inc.
Maranatha Human Services, Inc.
PMG LLC
Arimathea Foundation
Alternative Medical Arts/docevaonline.com
Shepherd Valley Waldorf School
Occupational Therapy Associates
Walt's Photocopy Company
Mastery Consulting, LLC
The School of Complete Yoga
Trinity Wellness Institute
Marketing Visions Inc.
Senior Tax Advisors
Sacred Moments Ministry
Divine Feminine Institute
Talking Hearts
Grand Medicine
Hypnotherapy and Naturopathy Associates Inc.
Trinity Wellness Institute
Komyozan Dojo
Life in Balance
St. Louis Mannaplanners
Nutritional Pathways
OpenHouse Direct Inc
BellWether Group of 4Life Research
Aham Prema
The Whole Life Network, Inc
Healthy Solutions LLC
TLC Holistic Wellness PC
Nevada Holistic Chamber of Commerce
Program in Psychiatry and the Law, Department of Psychiatry, Beth Israel-Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School

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Coalition Letter in Opposition to H.R. 297
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Advocacy and Letters - Letters to Government Agencies Signed by TMA
Written by Coalition   
Wednesday, 23 May 2007
5/23/07

SUBJECT: Opposition to H.R. 297 (retroactive lifetime labeling of Americans as mentally defective)

Dear Congressman:

We the undersigned organizations urge you to oppose H.R. 297, a bill to greatly expand federal lists of “mentally defective” people. H.R. 297 will result in a large scale unwarranted invasion of the personal privacy of millions of Americans, and an unjustified lifetime deprivation of their civil rights.

In the wake of the Virginia Tech murders, some have urged immediate passage of Democrat Representative Carolyn McCarthy’s H.R. 297 to require and fund massive mental health data transfers from every state to the federal government.

But it is a grave mistake to make mental illness a proxy for problems with violence when in fact we know that only a small percentage of mentally ill people represent a danger. Under H.R. 297’s danger classification logic, it follows that many racial, ethnic, and age classifications should be established to similarly monitor the behavior and restrict civil rights of Americans.

H.R. 297 is a federal mandate commanding states to make end runs around their state medical privacy laws and report mental health data about citizens. Once the federal bureaucrats have this data, they will issue these people a mental defect scarlet letter and close the book on them. For example, since 1992, Congress has forbidden the ATF from entertaining petitions of persons to restore their civil rights even if their rights were restored by a state court!

Any action to retroactively label people mentally defective without notice and a hearing is a violation of basic fundamental fairness and due process. Further, now declaring persons who in the past voluntarily submitted to mental health evaluation and/or treatment as mentally defective would deter people from seeking mental health assistance in the future. Finally, millions of Americans and veterans who might have undergone post-combat zone counseling or other treatment could find themselves unknowingly in violation of federal gun laws, or, lose their security clearance or employment.

In short, rash action to mass categorize Americans as mentally defective is unfair and would have grossly harmful unintended future consequences.

Research shows people recover from mental illness, but once these lists of mentally defective citizens are created, they will be nearly impossible to correct, as mental defects are in practice lifetime federal gun possession disabilities. And when the federal bureaucracy gets their hands on these fortified lists, there will be a stampede of government agencies, airlines, data aggregators, and others fighting to use the lists to discriminate against prospective employees, students, travelers, etc.

In the final analysis, arbitrarily eroding the civil liberties of some people does not make our country safer because the threat of being classified as a criminal will drive good people away from treatment that could help them get well.

Sincerely,

Association of American Physicians and Surgeons
American Association of Practicing Psychiatrists
American Policy Center
Citizen Outreach Project
Consumer Action
Cyber Privacy Project
DownsizeDC.org, Inc.
The Fairfax County Privacy Council
The Multiracial Activist
National Coalition of Mental Health Professionals and Consumers
OpenCarry.org
Oregon Firearms Federation
Pain Relief Network Patient Privacy Rights Foundation
Private Citizen, Inc.
Republican Liberty Caucus
Texas Citizens Defense League
Virginia Citizens Defense League
Virginia Gun Owners Coalition
Patient Privacy Rights Foundation
Gun Owners of America

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