Upstate Citizens for Equality calls on Senator Schumer to end tribal sovereign immunity on commercial activity.

In a letter to Senator Schumer on October 24, 2003, Upstate Citizens for Equality called on Senator Schumer to get Congress to abrogate tribal sovereign immunity on a tribe's commercial activities.

By letter outlining the legal history and precedents of tribal sovereign immunity Upstate Citizens for Equality presented its argument on why tribal sovereign immunity should be abrogated as it relates to an Indian Nation/tribe's commercial activity. "Tribal immunity extends beyond what is needed to safeguard tribal self-governance. This is evident when tribes take part in the Nation's commerce. Tribal enterprises now include ski resorts, gambling, and sales of cigarettes and gasoline to non-Indians. In this economic context, immunity can harm those who are unaware that they are dealing with a tribe, who do not know of tribal immunity, or who have no choice in the matter, as in the case of tort victims. For these reasons there is no need to afford tribal immunity to commercial activities. For purposes of its sovereign immunity Indian Tribes and Nations should be treated in the same respects that friendly foreign nations are."