open to all two women

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We can be pretty sure that each new day will bring two things: new threats to our civil liberties, and new stories of people standing up for their rights and winning. Behind every court ruling is a person. Behind every landmark law is a movement. Read the stories and hear the voices that ground our work.

surveillance camera footage
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Communities Under Surveillance in California

Nov 21, 2014
Back in 2012, the LA County Sheriff commissioned a small Cessna plane filled with cameras and had it secretly fly over the City of Compton for nine days. The Sheriff did not tell that city’s residents – many of whom are Black and Hispanic – they were being watched, that their private lives were being recorded, or that a private company would control their data. This story of surveillance... Read More
Transgender Day of Remembrance
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Trans Remembrance and Resistance

Nov 20, 2014
At least 10 transgender women of color have been murdered in the United States since June.Today, on the Transgender Day of Remembrance & Resilience we honor their lives and mourn their deaths. These women - Kandy Hall, Zoraida Reyes, Yaz’min Shancez, Tiff Edwards, Mia Henderson, Alejandra Leos, Aniya Parker, Ashley Sherman, and another yet to be identified person ... Read More
Kelli Jo Griffin
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I Was Arrested for Voting in Iowa

Nov 07, 2014
On Election Day in 2013, I took my four children with me to watch me register to vote and cast my ballot in a city election in my small town in Iowa. Earlier that day, my daughter's class learned about the meaning of democracy and the importance of elections.Two months after I cast my ballot as a civics lesson for my daughter, the Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation agents parked across the ... Read More
Let People Vote
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Voters to Politicians: "Just Let Us Vote"

Nov 05, 2014
We've seen a wave of voter suppression laws across the country in recent years, which many have rightly characterized as a cynical attempt by politicians to manipulate the rules of the game.Yesterday, however, we heard directly from voters in three states, who overwhelmingly voted in favor of a system free from barriers, fairly administered, and equally accessible to all.Montanans faced a ballot m... Read More
Getty photographer Scott Olson arrested at Ferguson protest.
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Ferguson's No-Media Zone Extended to the Skies

Nov 04, 2014
It appears the Federal Aviation Administration may have fallen into the "constitutional sinkhole" that is Ferguson, Missouri. Earlier this week, the Associated Press released an alarming set of documents revealing the FAA's decision to approve a no-fly zone over Ferguson – a no-fly zone requested by local police in order to muzzle media coverage of protests in the wake of the killing of unarmed bl... Read More
Photo by: prayitno, Creative Commons
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Legislative Roundup: 2014 in California Civil Liberties

Oct 20, 2014
As the 2014 California legislative session came to an end, you may have seen headlines about California passing a “first-in-the-nation law.” While these headlines covered issues such as the statewide plastic-bag ban, they also applied to landmark civil liberties and civil rights legislation sponsored by the ACLU of California. Read More
vote no on measure a - protect access to medicine
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Don't Deny Sick Patients Access to their Medicine

Oct 09, 2014
Accessing medicine prescribed by a doctor should never be a crime, but Shasta County’s Measure A would make some medical marijuana cultivation a misdemeanor offense. Sick people should not be criminalized for their efforts to grow the medicine necessary to deal with the pain of debilitating diseases. Read More