Home Press Center Civil Rights Lawyer Testifies in Favor of New Hampshire Bill

Civil Rights Lawyer Testifies in Favor of New Hampshire Bill

Monday, 18 March 2002

Contact: David Gersten (703)421-5443 CEO General Counsel Roger Clegg Discusses Need for Anti-Preference Legislation in Granite State     The vice president and general counsel of the Center for Equal Opportunity, Roger Clegg, will testify on Tuesday, March 19, at 2 p.m. before the New Hampshire House of Representatives’ Ways and Means Committee in favor of legislation that would prohibit “preferential treatment or discrimination” on the basis of, among other things, race and ethnicity—including “the use of any quotas, goals, guidelines, or timetables that permit, encourage, or require” such discrimination.     The legislation is being sponsored by state representative Michael Harrington (R-Strafford).  CEO, at Rep. Harrington’s request, was asked to help in drafting the bill, and Mr. Clegg was invited last week to testify about the legislation before the committee.      CEO president Linda Chavez said:  “Rep. Harrington has performed a valuable service to the people of New Hampshire by offering this badly needed legislation.  While discrimination is widely unpopular and manifestly illegal, some people still haven’t gotten the message.”  Chavez criticized the University of New Hampshire, for instance, which has entered into an agreement with the Black Student Union that sets out a series of numerical, racial goals in student admissions and faculty hiring.     Clegg’s testimony is posted on CEO’s website, www.ceousa.org.  It discusses why the legislation is need, and why the arguments being offered by some against the bill are unpersuasive both legally and as a policy matter.         The Center for Equal Opportunity is a nonprofit research and educational organization based in Washington, D.C.  It focuses on civil rights issues nationwide.