Prop 6 Hurts Black Youth

http://www.examiner.com/x-861-African-American-Community-Examiner

A proposition on California’s November ballot will hurt Black youth and their families, if it is passed.

Mike Reynolds, who seems to have his finger on the pulse of the most mean-spirited Californian voters - he authored the notorious Three Strike’s initiative - co-authored the initiative, listed on the ballot as Proposition 6, along with other members of his gang: Sen. George Runner (R-Antelope Valley), Assemblywoman Sharon Runner (R-Lancaster), and Gary Ovitt, San Bernadino County Supervisor.

What will Prop 6 do?

If passed, Proposition 6, which is deceptively titled the Safe Neighborhoods Act, will increase prison sentences for non-violent offenses.  This means that more people will be sentenced to state prison and they will spend more time there, according to a 2007 legislative analysis of the measure conducted for California’s Attorney General.

This is the same formula that has California’s jails and prisons bursting at the seams today.

Of course, the Runner Gang is banking on the fact that more sentenced offenders serving longer sentences will equal more jails and prisons – more county jails will be built, and more people will enter them, if the legislation passes.  

More?

Prop 6 will shift control of all funding for mental health and drug treatment for youth from qualified county level providers to already understaffed and overwhelmed probation units.

Prop 6 will funnel millions of dollars into the coffers of law enforcement and corrections and will divert just as much from youth programs and services.  

One last lowlight identified in the Runner Initiative Overview conducted by the W. Haywood Burns Institute:

Proposition 6 will target teenagers as young as 14 for adult incarceration.

What Prop 6 won’t do: Prop 6 won’t help Black youth build and maintain healthy relationships with their families and their communities.  Prop 6 won’t get Black youth jobs.  Prop 6 won’t improve relationships between neighborhood residents and law enforcement.  Prop 6 will make it even harder for community members to help Black youth and their families to achieve these goals.

Encourage everyone you know to get the facts on Prop 6 and spread the word:

Vote No On Prop 6!

Why should you care about Prop 6 if you’re not a California voter?

One reason: much like our wildfires, the decisions that California voters make on criminal justice policies spread quickly.

So, if you are a California resident but you are not registered to vote, register today and vote No on Prop 6 on November 4th, 2008.

If you are a registered voter in California, help someone else get registered and educate them on Prop 6.

If you don’t live here, help our community-based organizations educate and mobilize California voters with a donation.

Let’s put this fire out now.

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