Federal Appeals Court Rules Against

[sbillenness@xxxxxxxx]

Subject: Federal Appeals Court Rules Against MA Burma Law

NEW ENGLAND BURMA ROUNDTABLE

June 22, 1999

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1. Federal Appeals Court Rules Against MA Burma Law
2. Take Action: Urge the MA Attorney General to Appeal
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1. Federal Appeals Court Rules Against MA Burma Law

Today, Federal Appeals Court upheld Judge Tauro's ruling striking down as
unconstitutional the Massachusetts Burma selective purchasing law. It is
vital that we urge the Massachusetts Attorney General, Thomas Reilly, to
appeal this unfair and sweeping decision.

In a broad, 78-page ruling the Court found that the Massachusetts Burma Law
was unconstitutional on three counts. The Court ruled that the law was
preempted by the federal sanctions on Burma and that the law impinged upon
both Congress's powers to regulate foreign trade as well as the federal
government's foreign policy powers.

A full copy of the ruling is available at:
<http://www.law.emory.edu/1circuit/june99/index.html>

Under the precedent set by this broad ruling, any state or local selective
purchasing law that indirectly affects foreign trade or foreign policy is
vulnerable to court challenge. This ruling endangers selective purchasing
laws with regard to Nigeria, Northern Ireland, Tibet and the Swiss banks.
It also could be the basis for challenge of "Buy America" laws and city &
state restrictions of the purchase of rainforest or old-growth timber.

Massachusetts Attorney General Thomas Reilly has 90 days in which to decide
whether to appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court. Please let him know
that you want him to continue to uphold the law.
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2. Take Action: Urge the MA Attorney General to Appeal

It is vital that Massachusetts Attorney General Thomas Reilly *immediately*
hear from people around the country in support of the Massachusetts Burma Law.

It is likely that corporations will strongly lobby Attorney General Reilly
to drop his defense of the law. We need to generate a couple of hundred
letters to show him that the Massachusetts Burma Law has broad support
throughout the country.

Please write or fax a simple one-page letter within the next few days. Feel
free to make a phone call too but, remember, letters have more impact!


Attorney General Thomas Reilly
Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 1 Ashburton Place, Boston, MA 02108
(617) 727-2200
(617) 727-5778 - fax

Here are some suggestions for your letter:

* Tell Attorney General Reilly that you support the Massachusetts Burma
Law. Urge him to appeal the recent court ruling against the law to the U.S.
Supreme Court

* Include a personal paragraph. Explain your interest in Burma and/or
selective purchasing laws. If you live in Massachusetts, describe your deep
roots in your community

* Thank Attorney General Reilly for his office's strong support for the
Massachusetts Burma selective purchasing law.

* Declare your strong support for the Massachusetts Burma Law. Explain your
outrage that a group of corporations would seek to require Massachusetts to
do business with corporations that support brutal dictatorships abroad.

* Reiterate your request that the Attorney General appeal the case to the
Supreme Court.

**[[Please send a copy of your letter to the New England Burma Roundtable
(address below) so that we can gauge the response to our action alerts.]]**

Thank you for your help! 

If did not receive this action alert directly and would like to be added to
the New England Burma Roundtable email list, contact Simon Billenness at
the address below.
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Simon Billenness
*for the New England Burma Roundtable*
Trillium Asset Management
711 Atlantic Avenue, Boston, MA 02111
(617) 423-6655, x225
(617) 482-6179 - fax
sbillenness@xxxxxxxx

http://www.trilliuminvest.com/
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"I see my life...as part of a procession, a dynamic process, doing all that
we can do to move toward more good and justice; a process that is not
isolated from what has happened before or what will come after.  And I do
whatever I have to do along the path, whether it's sowing seeds or reaping
the harvest or tending the plants half grown."

Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma's democratic leader under house arrest, in "On the
Issues," Fall '98
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