Who and what constrains lobbying and protest by nonprofit groups?
Tom Boland (wgcp@earthlink.net)
Sat, 13 Nov 1999 22:42:53 -0800 (PST)
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Nonprofit groups have a legal right to advocate for - or criticize -
government policy. Yet few do so, preferring to deliver services instead
of engaging in controversy. Why?
Who and what constrains lobbying and protest by nonprofit groups?
Where you live, have nonprofits remained silent when socially excluded
groups, such as homeless and disabled people, were under attack?
See below for a related article:
http://www.globe.com/news/daily/13/giuliani.htm
FWD Boston Globe - Saturday, Novemver 13, 1999
CITY PUNISHED AIDS SERVICE GROUP OVER CRITICISM OF MAYOR
By Associated Press
NEW YORK - City officials tried to make an AIDS service group ineligible
for millions of dollars in federal money because it had been critical of
Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, a judge ruled.
In a ruling released Friday, U.S. District Judge Allen Schwartz found that
city officials acted with ``retaliatory intent'' against Housing Works, a
nonprofit group that operates two homes for homeless people with AIDS,
mental illness and drug addiction.
Housing Works has been a relentless critic of Giuliani's policies on AIDS.
It has blocked rush-hour traffic on bridges and tunnels, interrupted news
conferences of city officials and conducted sit-ins in city offices.
Housing Works claimed the administration had initially given it a favorable
rating, making it likely to qualify for grants from the U.S. Department of
Housing and Urban Development. The agency awards grants through a ranking
system established by the city.
Housing Works said top city officials, angered by the group's stance
against the mayor, downgraded it, effectively blocking $2.4 million to
cover three years of operating expenses.
Schwartz issued an injunction ordering the city to restore the original
rating. Schwartz also barred the city from punishing the group for its
``criticism of the Giuliani administration or its advocacy on behalf of
persons with HIV or AIDS.''
The decision came less than two weeks after a federal judge found Giuliani
had violated the First Amendment by withholding payments to the Brooklyn
Museum of Art over an exhibit the mayor deemed offensive.
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