WHEREAS, the United States is founded on the principles of individual rights and civil liberties, embodied in the Bill of Rights of the Constitution; and

WHEREAS, for several years these individual rights and civil liberties have been under attack by various elements of our society, resulting in the need for continual vigilance and positive action; and

WHEREAS, at this very moment violation of the traditional American right of the people to speak freely and peacefully to assemble and petition for the redress of grievances is gross and flagrant in many parts of the country, calling into question the reality of American freedom;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED: That this General Assembly of the Unitarian Universalist Association calls upon the President, Attorney General and all of the duly constituted authorities to act decisively and at once to protect the Constitutionally guaranteed civil rights of American citizens throughout the United States, and to call to account those who violate these guaranteed civil rights; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED: That this Association reaffirms its devotion to the maintenance of the individual rights and civil liberties which are so essential to our democratic way of life, and calls upon all its members and affiliated organizations to bear witness to our belief in these basic tenets by organizing adult education classes on the guarantees of the Bill of Rights in their respective communities, by urging public and private schools to include such classes in their regular curricula, by supporting the work of such organizations as the American Civil Liberties Union and by constantly reminding our government officials, city, state, and federal, of their obligations in this regard.