PLI Bulletin

Assault Weapons, Community Schools, Facial Recognition and More

Posted on August 15, 2019

Community Services Ombudsman Act: At the city, county and state levels, nonprofit organizations provide a great deal of the social services that residents need. The Community Service Ombudsman Act creates an office of ombudsman whose job is to help those nonprofits in their interactions with government, allowing them to provide even more and better services.

It is time to ban assault weapons, again: Semiautomatic assault weapons were banned by federal law for ten years, from 1994 to 2004, and no court ever struck down that law. Instead, it was allowed to expire by a cowardly Congress in debt to the NRA. There is absolutely no reason to allow the sale of assault weapons, as we explain in the latest IdeaLog, our blog intended to raise eyebrows and engage minds.

Webinar on Deeper Learning in Community Schools: Tuesday, August 20 @ 2pm Eastern, 1pm Central, Noon Mountain, 11am Pacific. The Coalition for Community schools is sponsoring a webinar discussing how Community Schools provide students with the tools to succeed by connecting their academic learning to their jobs and communities. To hear experts explain the ins and outs of deeper learning in community schools, register here.

Muslims Overrepresented in State Prisons: Muslims comprise about nine percent of state prisoners even though they make up only about one percent of the U.S. population, according to a report by Muslim Advocates and reported by National Public Radio.

Facial Recognition Software Prompts Privacy, Racism Concerns in Cities and States: Amid privacy concerns and recent research showing racial disparities in the accuracy of facial recognition technology, some city and state officials are proposing to limit its use according to a report by the Pew Center.

New edition of Voicing Our Values: Just six weeks ago, we published the Fourth Edition of Voicing Our Values: a message guide for policymakers and advocates. Download a PDF copy here!