from: savetheinternet.com [1]

Michigan Residents Gather to Ground Lame Duck Attempt by AT&T

Local members of the SavetheInternet.com Coalition are gathering on Tuesday in Lansing to protest efforts by outgoing “lame duck” senators to push through a statewide “Video Franchising Bill” that doesn’t protect Internet freedom and Net Neutrality.

At noon, we will hold a rally at the state capitol building to protest the “Michigan Video Franchising Bill” (HB 6456) and urge state senators to stand up for a more open and accessible Internet for all Michiganders.

Here are the particulars of the event:

WHO: SavetheInternet.com Michigan
WHAT: Petition delivery to Michigan Senate
WHERE: First floor Capitol Rotunda
Michigan State Capitol, Lansing, Mich.
WHEN: Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2006, 12 p.m.

If you want to attend please RSVP here.

If you can’t make it to Lansing on Tuesday, click here to learn about other local actions.

We’ve just beat back AT&T and its allies in Congress. But these powerful corporations haven’t stopped their efforts to kill Net Neutrality. They are now determined to take away Internet freedom at the state level — starting in Michigan. And if they win in Michigan, it will have severe repercussions for our work in Washington.

The Michigan Video Franchising Bill was written by phone company lobbyists. AT&T tells legislators and the public that it will expand access to the Internet. What they don’t reveal is that unless Net Neutrality protections are added, these corporations will be able to abuse their role as gatekeepers to the Internet — deciding which Web sites open quickly on your computer.

This is also simply a bad bill for broadband deployment bringing competition to just the wealthiest communities, gutting consumer protections for all and allowing the phone companies to dodge local community access requirements.

“Every Michigan community — rich and poor, urban and rural — deserves the benefits of new technology and competition,” said David Pettit of Michigan PIRG, who will be speaking at the Tuesday event. “The bill pending in the Senate does not support consumers or economic innovation. Instead, it’s a massive hand-out to AT&T.”

Michigan-based consumer groups, local governments, small businesses, Internet companies, and thousands of Michigan residents are now heading to Lansing to be a part of the protest. Coalition members at the rally will include the Michigan chapters of the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors, the Consumer Federation of America, US/State PIRG, Alliance for Community Media and the Grand Rapids Community Media Center/Grand Rapids Institute for Information Democracy.

Local residents will deliver more than 18,000 petitions to their state senators immediately following the Tuesday rally.