Defending Civil Liberties

Congressional Resolution Condemning Discrimination Against Iranian Americans

PAAIA’s connected PAC, IAPAC, worked on a bi-partisan basis with Congressmen Marty Meehan (D. MA) and Christopher Shays (R. CT) to assist them in their introduction of H.Res.476, which condemns discrimination and bigotry against Iranian Americans. The resolution, previously introduced in the 109th Congress, is a response to documented reports of discrimination targeting members of the Iranian American community. H.Res.476 is part of IAPAC's broader efforts in connection with the "Iranian American Know Your Rights Campaign," which was launched in cooperation with other organizations and which seeks to educate Iranian Americans about their civil rights and liberties, and other civic matters.

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AVN Drops Anti-Iranian Ad

Due in part to PAAIA’s efforts, The American Values Network (AVN) dropped an anti-oil ad campaign that targeted Iran in favor of a new concept that promotes clean energy but shields innocent Iranians and Iranian Americans from a bad image.

In a letter to AVN, PAAIA expressed its concerns that by targeting and naming Iran as the enemy, the ads imply that all Iranians are enemies of the U.S. – a message that in effect encourages xenophobia and hatred towards Americans of Iranian descent. Such unintended consequences are not only damaging to Iranian Americans but to those living in Iran who are fighting for democratic freedoms.

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