Contacts: Lisa Adler, Strategy Center, (213) 387-2800
Horacio Arroyo, CHIRLA, (323) 270-5422
Lizette Patron, InnerCity Struggle, (323) 481-7346
Press Advisory
For Immediate Release
November 7, 2008
Proposition 6 soundly defeated in largest margin of defeat 69%-31%
The defeat represents a breakthrough against
“tough on crime” ballot initiatives
(Los Angeles, CA) On Friday, November 7th at 10:00am, community organizations who worked intensely against Proposition 6 will announce their unprecedented victory in soundly defeating this draconian proposition. With record numbers of young people, immigrants and communities of color voting, historic unity was built among different generations and communities to reject this " lock-em-up and throw away the key" proposal. We see the defeat of Prop 6 as an opportunity to focus on bringing peace to all of our neighborhoods through investment in education, employment and other vital services.
All of the groups present did intensive voter education and turnout in the communities of South Los Angeles, East Los Angeles, Koreatown, and San Fernando Valley--communities that would have been disproportionately harmed by Prop 6. The work in Los Angeles was in conjunction with a statewide alliance, including Ella Baker Center and the Burns Institute in the Bay Area, as well as a number of labor unions throughout the state.
Proposition 6, introduced by State Senator George Runner (R-Antelope Valley), proposed to try youth as young as 14 as adults, take billions of dollars from education, health care and other vital services to increase funding to prisons, and impose harsher penalties for more than 30 crimes, among other policies that would have further criminalized and targeted immigrants, youth, and low-income people of color.
The defeat of Proposition 6 represents a breakthrough in the movement against draconian and discriminatory “tough on crime” laws, such as the Three Strikes Law and Prop 21, which had previously been passed by voters in 1994 and 2000 respectively.
In Southern California, we believe a key message that was critical in generating opposition to Prop 6 was the emphasis on education over incarceration and the racially discriminatory nature of the California criminal legal system.
WHEN: Friday, November 7th, 10:00 AM
WHERE: Central Juvenile Hall
1605 Eastlake Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90033
WHO: Labor/Community Strategy Center, Bus Riders Union, Youth Justice Coalition, Korean Resource Center, InnerCity Struggle, Coalition for the Humane Rights of Immigrants (CHIRLA), New Way of Life/All of Us or None, Families to Amend California’s Three Strikes (FACTS), National Korean American Service and Education Consortium (NAKASEC), Homies Unidos, and Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
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