Personhood Nevada Denied Right to Circulate Petition; Prepares for 2012

Carson City, NV – Personhood Nevada, through many legal battles, has been denied the right to circulate their prolife petition in the state. The ACLU joined forces with Planned Parenthood, tying the petition up in court and disallowing the many ready and willing Nevada volunteers their right to circulate the petition.

“We have several issues at the heart of this matter,” explained Keith Mason, co-founder of Personhood USA. “First, we have judicial activists ruling against the petition, despite the fact that nearly similar language has been approved in other states. Second, we have the anti-personhood media reporting that we failed to get the required signatures – when in fact, Personhood Nevada was not allowed to get even ONE signature. This is clearly a case of big money versus the rights of the citizens – but we’re preparing to try again, even stronger than before. ”

The people’s voice in Nevada has been silenced by those who profit from abortion the most – Planned Parenthood, with over one billion dollars in profit in recent years. Planned Parenthood, in conjunction with the ACLU, are fighting against the rights of Nevada citizens to circulate a petition for a constitutional amendment.

The one-sentence proposed state constitutional amendment states, “In the great state of Nevada, the term 'person' applies to every human being.”

James T. Russell, District Judge of Carson City, ruled on January 8, 2010 that the one-sentence amendment was a myriad of subjects. Personhood Nevada appealed to the Nevada Supreme Court, but a ruling has yet to be handed down. “We have volunteer petition circulators who have been waiting for months,” added Olaf Vancura, President of Personhood Nevada. “Planned Parenthood, the ACLU, and the liberal courts have stifled our ability to engage in free speech, legally maneuvering until me miss our statutory deadline, and keeping us from exercising our constitutional rights as Americans and Nevadans. We are determined that no matter how long it takes, we will not be silenced. The personhood petition will be approved, and we will protect all human life in the state of Nevada.”

For Interviews Contact:
Olaf Vancura 702-494-8229
Or
Keith Mason 202-595-3500

www.personhoodnevada.com





Nevada Supreme Court fast-tracking 'personhood' appeal to meet initiative qualification date

LAS VEGAS (AP) The Nevada Supreme Court is fast-tracking an appeal by a group that wants to reshape abortion law by amending the state Constitution to define "personhood" as beginning at conception.

The high court on Thursday set an expedited briefing schedule to give it time to issue a ruling by May 18. That's the deadline for qualifying initiatives on the November ballot.

The court did not immediately schedule oral arguments.

Personhood Nevada wants the justices to overturn Carson City District Court Judge James Russell's Jan. 8 ruling that the petition was vague and violated a state law limiting a ballot question to one subject.

The petition challenge was argued on behalf of three plaintiffs represented by the American Civil Liberties Union and Planned Parenthood.


For Information Or Interviews Contact:

Olaf Vancura

702 / 556-1134
olaf@personhoodnevada.com

www.personhoodnevada.com





Judge Denies Nevada Citizens’ Right to Personhood Ballot Initiative

Carson City, Nevada, 01/11/2010 – A ballot initiative by human rights group Personhood Nevada has been thwarted by Planned Parenthood, the ACLU, and local Judge James Russell. On Friday, January 8, Judge Russell ruled that the fourteen word amendment did not encompass a single subject, although it is comprised of merely a handful of words and one of the most succinct ever to be filed in that State.

The proposed amendment reads, “In the great state of Nevada, the term ‘person’ applies to every human being.” The Judge’s decision declares that the people of Nevada are not entitled to vote on this matter, and that the State’s very own policies and procedures to amend the Constitution through ballot initiatives should not be applied to this specific civil rights amendment.

Judge Russell was quoted by the Associated Press as saying, "The issue to me is, are we adequately informing voters on what they're voting on. There's no way for the voter to understand the effects of the initiative."

Personhood USA legal analyst Gualberto Garcia-Jones was disturbed by the Judge’s comments. "Judge Russell is being disingenuous," he remarked. “There is a very simple way for the voter to understand the effect of the initiative, namely, read the 200 word description that immediately follows the 14 word ballot text. That 200 word description includes: ‘This amendment codifies the inalienable right to life for everyone, young or old, healthy or ill, conscious or unconscious, born or unborn.’ Judge Russell is abusing his power and jumping the gun by prejudging the effect of the law."

In 2008, Planned Parenthood sued to prevent the Colorado ballot initiative from moving forward, claiming that it was not a single subject issue, and lost the lawsuit. The initiative, although longer than the Nevada initiative, was found to be a single subject and allowed to proceed.

"This is a civil rights initiative by and for the people of Nevada. Civil rights initiatives, by their nature, tend to have broad scope, yet are still a single subject issue," explained Olaf Vancura, President of Personhood Nevada. "Under the logic and precedent of this court, ANY civil rights initiative brought forth by the people of this great state will be struck down as overly broad. We must appeal this erroneous decision, not only because the Judge ruled wrongly, but for the future of Nevada."

For Information Or Interviews Contact:

Olaf Vancura

702 / 556-1134
olaf@personhoodnevada.com

www.personhoodnevada.com





Carson City, NV - Hearing to Decide Personhood Initiative Fate Held Today, January 8, 2010, in Carson City

Submitted by Keith on Friday, January 8th, 2010 1:06 AM

The ACLU has joined forces with abortion giant Planned Parenthood to stop the initiative process of Nevada citizens. The simple, one sentence amendment reads: "In the great state of Nevada, the term 'person' applies to every human being."

The hearing on this matter, in the First Judicial District Court of the State of Nevada, will take place at 9 a.m. Friday morning, January 8, 2010 in Carson City, the state's capitol.

Personhood Nevada is a citizen-led initiative to amend the Constitution of the State of Nevada.

Olaf Vancura, PhD, President of Personhood Nevada, stated “The right to live is God-given and the most precious of all civil rights," stated Olaf Vancura, PhD, President of Personhood Nevada." Absent government leadership in protecting our most vulnerable persons, we the people are expressing our 1st Amendment rights with this historic civil rights initiative.”

On November 12, 2009, the ACLU and billion-dollar-per-year abortion profiteer Planned Parenthood filed a lawsuit challenging the amendment wording and summary. Similar legal challenges have been dismissed in other states attempting Personhood initiatives.

In commenting on the legal challenge, Vancura continued, “The abortion lobby's plan is clear – delay, delay, delay. They are trying to run out the clock so that Nevadans cannot vote on this historic civil rights initiative. Their notion that this proposed Amendment violates the single-subject rule is absurd. This initiative is the epitome of a single subject. The last citizen-led initiative to successfully amend the Nevada constitution comprised over 400 words. Our proposed Amendment has only 14 words, the first 6 of which affirm that Nevada is a great state, the remaining 8 of which clarify 'the term person applies to every human being.' The Personhood Nevada language is simple enough that a child could explain it to an attorney.”

Today's hearing will determine whether the citizen-led initiative can continue.

For Interviews Contact:
Olaf Vancura
702 / 556-1134
olaf@personhoodnevada.com

Personhood USA is a grassroots Christian organization





Carson City, NV - Planned Parenthood and the ACLU have filed a lawsuit against the sponsors of a Nevada ballot initiative defining the term ´person´.

Submitted by Keith on Friday, November 13, 2009 4:06 AM

The simple, one-sentence amendment states, "In the great state of Nevada, the term ´person´ applies to every human being."

Blogger Emmily Bristol, the woman participating in the lawsuit, seems to admit on her blog that the measure is easy to understand. She claims, "It is designed to leave voters scratching their heads and saying, ´Well, duh, a person is a person.´"

"Exactly," answered Keith Mason of Personhood USA. "It's simple, easy to understand, and if even the folks behind the lawsuit can see that it´s that simple, the voters shouldn't have any trouble. Every human being is a person. Period."

"Children in the womb today have fewer rights than dogs or cats,"continued Mason. "Planned Parenthood, the ACLU, and Emmily Bristol are seeking to keep it that way."

Nevada´s personhood amendment was filed on October 21, 2009. An amendment much like this one was introduced in Colorado and was found to be a single-subject issue. In 2007, Planned Parenthood and the ACLU teamed up to try to defeat the Colorado Personhood Amendment, but failed even up to the Colorado Supreme Court.

"This is clearly a single subject issue, easy to understand, and simply recognizes the rights of every human being," stated Keith Mason, of Personhood USA. "Planned Parenthood´s lawsuit is not only stifling the people´s right to a ballot initiative, but it appears desperate. Once personhood is properly recognized, Planned Parenthood stands to lose over a billion dollars in annual profit."

"This is now the third time that the ACLU and Planned Parenthood have ganged up to silence the voice of the people, and their right to ballot initiatives," concluded Mason."In Colorado, they failed. They are trying to silence us, and to keep the vote away from the people. The citizens have a right to ballot initiatives, and human beings have a right to live."

Personhood USA is a grassroots Christian organization founded to establish personhood efforts across America to create protection for every child by love and by law. Personhood USA is committed to assisting and supporting Personhood Legislation and Constitutional Amendments and building local pro-life organizations through raising awareness of the personhood of the pre-born.

Personhood USA is a grassroots Christian organization founded to establish personhood efforts across America to create protection for every child by love and by law. Personhood USA is committed to assisting and supporting Personhood Legislation and Constitutional Amendments and building local pro-life organizations through raising awareness of the personhood of the pre-born.



Nevada Coalition Introduces Historic Campaign To Affirm All Humans Are Persons

Submitted by Keith on Thu, 10/22/2009 - 03:34

Carson City NV.  October 22/ Personhood Nevada is pleased to announce yesterday's filing of a citizen-led initiative to amend the Constitution of the State of Nevada, the proposed Amendment reading as follows:

      “In the great state of Nevada, the term 'person' applies to every human being.

Article I Section 8 of the Nevada constitution states, ‘No person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law.’”

Currently some Nevadans are deprived of their inalienable civil rights, specifically their fundamental right to live, due to an arbitrary and discriminatory distinction between person and human being.

“While the state has no authority to grant inalienable rights, it has the obligation to protect them,” stated Richard Ziser, Board Member and Campaign Manager of Personhood Nevada. “With an ever more oppressive federal government lacking leadership in protecting the weakest and most vulnerable in our midst, the people of Nevada are taking necessary action to correct this injustice. This amendment addresses the most important civil right, the right to live, without which all other civil rights are rendered irrelevant.”

"This amendment benefits all Nevadans by guaranteeing, as envisioned by our founding fathers, that no one shall be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law." Anna Serra-Radford, Board Member of Personhood Nevada

Recognizing life is a continuum, this amendment codifies the inalienable right to life for everyone, young or old, healthy or ill, conscious or unconscious, born or unborn. It assures protection and dignity to our children, our infirm, and our seniors.

"We've got to stop age-discrimination against our children and our seniors. Recognizing life is a continuum for each of us, this amendment protects the right to live for every Nevadan."  Olaf Vancura, President of Personhood Nevada

The amendment applies the term “person” to every human being in a straightforward manner understandable by all, including children. Scientifically, the term 'human being' includes everyone possessing a human genome specific for an individual member of the human species, from the beginning of his or her biological development, without discrimination as to age, health, reproduction method, function, physical or mental dependency, or cognitive ability.

"I look forward to championing the fight for civil rights and the end of discrimination in Nevada." Ken Wilson, Board Member of Personhood Nevada, Director of Christian Action Council of Southern Nevada

As a citizen-led initiative, approximately 97,000 signatures are necessary for the proposed amendment to be placed on the 2010 statewide ballot.

For Interviews Contact:  Richard Ziser  702-221-1613  rziser@earthlink.net