[ti:San Francisco Law Lets People Bring Legal Action for Racist 911 Calls] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]San Francisco lawmakers have approved a law giving people of color [00:06.24]the right to take legal action against false accusations. [00:13.00]The law is meant to prevent people from calling law enforcement [00:18.40]when they see other people, who are different from them, [00:22.00]carrying out common activities. [00:26.56]In the San Francisco area, reports say white people have called 911 [00:33.52]when they saw people of color doing things [00:37.48]like selling bottles of water or having a barbecue. [00:43.24]Nine-one-one is the national emergency number. [00:48.64]All 11 officials on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors [00:54.00]voted this month for the Caution Against Racial [00:57.96]and Exploitative Non-Emergencies Act, or CAREN. [01:03.92]The acronym CAREN sounds like the name "Karen." [01:09.24]That name has special meaning. [01:11.88]It is used by some people to describe an entitled white woman [01:18.00]who tries to use her position in society to make demands or threats [01:24.44]without concern for the effect on others. [01:29.68]Critics say the law's name is sexist and unfair. [01:35.76]Supervisor Shamann Walton is a member of the San Francisco [01:41.88]Board of Supervisors, the city's lawmaking body. [01:47.56]He introduced the legislation and is Black. [01:52.96]He told the Associated Press, [01:55.96]"We don't want... false accusations of Black men and boys [02:00.80]in this country...to ever happen again." [02:05.44]He also spoke of the killing of Emmett Till [02:09.12]in the southern state of Mississippi in 1955. [02:15.20]Till was a Black youth beaten to death [02:18.88]after accusations by a white woman who later admitted to lying. [02:25.56]Walton also said that 911 is not a "service line for someone's racist behavior." [02:33.72]He has dismissed concerns about calling the legislation [02:38.44]the CAREN Act by saying it does not point to any individual. [02:45.44]In May, Amy Cooper, a white woman, [02:48.84]called 911 from Central Park in New York City. [02:54.76]She claimed that a Black man — who had asked her [02:58.44]to leash her dog — was threatening her. [03:02.44]She has now been charged with making a false police report. [03:08.52]In San Francisco, a white couple was criticized on social media [03:13.92]for accusing a man of damaging someone else's property. [03:19.96]In a video, the couple questioned the Filipino-American man [03:25.12]who was chalking "Black Lives Matter" in front of his home in June. [03:31.92]The two walked toward James Juanillo [03:35.92]and demanded to know if he was the homeowner. [03:40.84]The couple later called police. [03:44.36]Supporters of the law say it is frightening to be faced with police [03:50.20]because someone saw you as a threat. [03:54.20]Brittni Chicuata leads San Francisco's Human Rights Commission. [04:00.64]She said there is a proven pattern of mistreatment [04:04.96]of "Black people and other people of color in our city" and country. [04:11.80]The San Francisco law gives people the right to bring [04:16.32]legal action in court against someone who calls 911. [04:23.68]The law also makes it unlawful to discriminate [04:28.00]against a person on the basis of their "religious affiliation, [04:33.72]gender, sexual orientation, or gender identity." [04:40.32]Supporters say they hope it will prevent people [04:44.24]from calling police for the wrong reasons. [04:48.56]The legislation does not make clear what conditions are needed [04:53.84]to bring civil legal action against someone. [04:58.92]The Board has gotten written complaints from eight people [05:03.24]— several whose names have different spellings of Karen. [05:07.96]They say they support the law but dislike its name, [05:12.84]which they say insults women and older people. [05:17.52]Karen Shane, for example, wrote, "Yes, I am named Karen, [05:22.88]and I do speak up for injustices" all the time. [05:27.76]She asked the city to rename the law [05:31.36]so that it does not criticize "a whole group of people." [05:35.80]I'm Alice Bryant. [05:37.80]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM