News & Commentary

December 15, 1791: The freedoms of speech, religion, the press and others included in the Bill of Rights were not part of the original Constitution. The first 10 amendments to the Constitution were proposed in 1789, and added a year and a half later after ratification by the 13 states.

LOS ANGELES — A Kern County judge is expected to issue a court order today that will ensure that Bakersfield high school students are not wrongly censored and that student free speech rights in the district are preserved.

LOS ANGELES - In a unanimous vote last night, the City Council of West Hollywood passed a resolution regarding the civil liberties dangers of the USA PATRIOT Act, the first Southern California city to join a growing movement across the nation of local jurisdictions voicing dissent and exploring ways of responding locally to USA Patriot's civil liberties threats. Twenty-six other cities and counties have passed such resolutions, including Oakland, Denver, and Detroit, in part of a national movement led by the ACLU and other groups.

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LOS ANGELES - After encountering strong opposition from free speech and dance music groups, AB 1941, the so-called "Anti-Rave" legislation has died in committee. The bill, originally introduced and passed by the state Assembly, was heard by the state Senate Public Safety Committee and did not produce the required number of votes to make it out of committee.

LOS ANGELES ? Gary Williams, ACLU of Southern California board member and professor at Loyola Law School was elected president of the ACLU of Southern California's Board of Directors on January 22, 2002. A civil rights and civil liberties litigation professor, Williams began his involvement with the ACLU/SC in 1979 as a Staff Attorney. Williams has served as vice president of the ACLU/SC since 1997 and is also a sitting member of the ACLU's national board of directors.

LOS ANGELES ? The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California (ACLU/SC), representing employees of a Los Angeles child placement agency, Gay and Lesbian Adolescent Social Services (GLASS), today filed a lawsuit against the Southern Counties Placement Committee and several county officials and agencies, for violating the GLASS employees' First Amendment right to express disagreement with the counties' choice of "Dr. Laura" Schlessinger as the keynote speaker at a county-sponsored conference in Palm Springs.