ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - Civil liberties activists called upon lawmakers on Monday to make the state a “safe haven for democracy” during Republican Donald Trump’s presidency.
The New York Civil Liberties Union assembled a few hundred people outside the Capitol for an Emergency Day of Action. The crowd huddled together against a cold wind and held signs that read “Dissent is Patriotic” and “I Heart Repro Rights.”
They urged lawmakers to codify into state law the federal abortion laws, limit surveillance by the government, tighten police accountability and shift the financial responsibility for the legal defense of indigent residents to the state.
Karen Duncomb, of Perry, said she made the four-hour journey to participate in the rally because she is concerned about inaccurate statements made by the White House and by Trump’s accusation, presented without any evidence, that his Democratic predecessor, Barack Obama, wiretapped his New York Trump Tower home last year.
Trump last month banned U.S. funding to international groups that perform abortions or even provide information about abortions. His vice president, Mike Pence, strongly opposes abortion, citing his Catholic beliefs, and his newly confirmed health secretary, Tom Price, has supported cutting off taxpayer money to Planned Parenthood.
Trump’s top spokesman, Sean Spicer, on Monday suggested Trump wasn’t accusing Obama specifically of wiretapping him but instead was referring to the actions of the Obama administration. Spicer said Trump’s tweet used the word wiretap in quotes to mean broadly surveillance and other activities.
Donna Lieberman, the union’s executive director, said New York must be a “safe haven for democracy” while Trump is in the White House.
“This is just the beginning of our efforts to stand up for civil liberties and safeguard New York from President Trump’s agenda,” said Lauren Frederico, the union’s director of organizing campaigns. “We will continue to engage, train and mobilize New Yorkers of all backgrounds and from all corners of the state to exercise and defend their rights.”
Among the speakers was Gwen Carr, the mother of Eric Garner, whose death in a New York City police chokehold was among several encounters between black men and white police officers that sparked a national outcry.
Carr called on lawmakers to improve reporting standards for police interactions and to take an active role in opposing federal action.
“If they want our vote they’ve got to come and get it,” Carr said. “They’ve got to bring something to the table.”
Officials with the National Institute for Reproductive Rights and the New York State Defenders Association also spoke at the rally.
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