| From the HSLDA E-lert Service: |
< BACK TO ARCHIVE |
| Date: From: Subject: | 8/27/2012 2:41:19 PM Darren Jones--HSLDA Public Hearing on Daytime Curfew in Chula Vista! |
|
====================================================================== From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ====================================================================== Public Hearing on Daytime Curfew in Chula Vista! Dear HSLDA Members and Friends: The Chula Vista Public Safety Subcommittee is scheduled to hold a public hearing to discuss proposed changes to the existing daytime curfew at its Wednesday, August 29, meeting at 6:00 p.m. http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=15541 Currently, Chula Vista Municipal Code 9.09 http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=15542 imposes a daytime curfew that prohibits minors under age 18 from being present in any "public place or any place other than the minor's school or home" between 8:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. except under certain specified conditions. The amended ordinance makes positive changes such as allowing for more exceptions to the daytime curfew, but it does not eliminate the current curfew entirely. The Public Safety Subcommittee welcomes comments and discussion about the daytime curfew from the public. Since HSLDA opposes daytime curfews, we encourage you to state your opinion about the daytime curfew at the August 29, 2012, meeting. ACTION REQUESTED Please attend the meeting on August 29 http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=15541 at 6:00 p.m. in the Olympian High School's Multi-Purpose Room at 1925 Magdalena Avenue, Chula Vista, CA 91913. While the truancy ordinance is on the agenda for discussion by the Public Safety Subcommittee, the agenda has not been posted and can be verified at http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=15543 closer to August 29 date. Please consider whether to testify about the daytime curfew, especially if it has had a negative impact on your homeschool schedule. BACKGROUND There is no doubt that public school truancy is a significant problem. But public schools usually already know the names and addresses of truant minors, and California law already has substantial enforcement mechanisms in place. There is no legitimate need to have ordinances that treats every young person on the street during school hours like a suspected criminal. HSLDA believes that daytime curfews are unnecessary and un-American. An ordinance that criminalizes parents and their children for simply being in a public place is unacceptable. Even though the current and proposed ordinance includes a long list of exceptions, including homeschooling, the ordinance gives city police the power to detain and question any minor in a public place. Police officers frequently presume that any school-age child is truant, regardless of whether the child is homeschooled. HSLDA has had to defend numerous California homeschoolers in court who have been cited for violation of daytime curfews. Daytime curfews violate a minor's fundamental constitutional right to freedom of movement as guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment on the public streets, highways and areas of the city without being subjected to prior governmental restraint. Daytime curfews violate the fundamental legal principle of the presumption of innocence. This presumption is protected by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth and Fifth Amendments to the United States Constitution. Daytime curfews result in violations of a minor's Fourth Amendment rights to be secure against unreasonable searches and seizures. A policeman should not stop and question anyone unless there are actual facts that make it reasonable to suspect that a crime has occurred. If a policeman stops and questions a person without such facts, it is a violation of the citizen's rights under the Fourth Amendment. Daytime curfews interfere with the parents' fundamental right to direct the upbringing and education of their children, especially for parents with children in small private schools who often work outside the classroom. Daytime curfews are, in essence, beefed-up truancy ordinances. California has already addressed the area of truancy in a comprehensive way. There is no need for new laws addressing the issue of truancy. The present laws addressing minors simply need to be enforced. Daytime curfews result in selective enforcement. Since officers will not be stopping every juvenile during school hours to check their ID, they will be selective. This opens up the extremely dangerous potential for unequal treatment of minors based upon race, appearance, dress, etc. This type of ordinance will simply divert attention from real crime prevention programs and interfere with effective police work. There is no evidence that daytime curfews significantly reduce juvenile crime during curfew hours. Statistics demonstrate that there is very little juvenile crime during these hours even when there is no daytime curfew. Additionally, the serious juvenile law-breaker will not be deterred by the daytime curfew. Hundreds, if not thousands of innocent minors will suffer the inconvenience of unwarranted stops, detentions and harassment, not to mention the added cost for taxpayers for the enforcement of the curfew. Daytime curfews dangerously train young citizens to accept, as normal, constraints that are inconsistent with the freedom they should be educated to enjoy and use responsibly in their adult years. For more information on daytime curfews, please visit the HSLDA Issues Library, http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=15544 or view our Strategy Packet for Defeating Daytime Curfews. http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=15545 Thank you for standing with us for freedom! Sincerely yours, Darren A. Jones Staff Attorney ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -> "I saved my entire membership fee with one discount" "When I called Liberty to find out what kind of discount we could get, they told us we would 10% off our car insurance and 5% off our homeowner's insurance. What we will save is more than double what it costs to join HSLDA. With one child getting his driver's license this year, the savings will be a real blessing!" More reasons to join HSLDA... http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=1108 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ====================================================================== The HSLDA E-lert Service is a service of: Home School Legal Defense Association P.O. Box 3000 Purcellville, Virginia 20134 Phone: (540) 338-5600 Fax: (540) 338-2733 Email: info@hslda.org Web: http://www.hslda.org ---------------------------------------------------------------------- How To Subscribe: - Subscribe to the HSLDA E-lert Service at our website: https://secure.hslda.org/hslda/elert/account.asp?Process=Subscribe - Or send an email with name and complete mailing address to: subscribe@hslda.org ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscription Information: - You subscribed to the HSLDA E-lert Service as: ##ToAddress## - To unsubscribe from the HSLDA E-lert Service send an email from the email address you want to unsubscribe to: unsubscribe@hslda.org - To change your email address or make other changes to your subscription, visit the HSLDA E-lert Service account web page at: https://secure.hslda.org/hslda/elert/account.asp ---------------------------------------------------------------------- POSTMASTERS: This message is being sent to the most recent address we have for our subscribers. If this is an invalid email address or you have other problems, please reply to webmaster@hslda.org. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- DISCLAIMER: This is considered a private and confidential message from HSLDA to its bonafide HSLDA E-lert Service subscribers. HSLDA cannot attest to the authenticity of copies posted, forwarded, or sent by any party other than HSLDA. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTE: Please do not reply or otherwise use this email address; hslda@hslda.org is for broadcast purposes only and is not intended to receive incoming messages. We cannot reply to any email sent to this address. If you have comments or questions, please send email to info@hslda.org or call HSLDA at 540-338-5600. HSLDA members can also email staff directly through the Members website at http://members.hslda.org/contact.asp. Thank you for your cooperation. ====================================================================== | |
