News & Commentary

Wendy Walsh, ACLU Client And Mother Of Son Who Took His Own Life After Bullying, Helps Introduce Bills

SAN FRANCISCO — Today, the California affiliates of the American Civil Liberties Union partnered with Wendy Walsh, mother of 13 year-old Seth Walsh who recently took his own life after enduring years of anti-gay harassment at school, to send an important message to schools about anti-gay bullying. California law, in particular, requires schools to take specific steps to protect students from harassment based on sexual orientation.

SAN FRANCISCO – In a landmark decision today, a federal judge ruled that Proposition 8, the California ballot initiative that excluded same-sex couples from marriage in the state, violates the United States Constitution. The American Civil Liberties Union, the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) and Lambda Legal filed two friend-of-the-court briefs in the case supporting the argument that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – ACLU/SC Executive Director Ramona Ripston, for decades one of the region’s most respected and outspoken voices on civil rights and civil liberties issues ranging from education and police reform to privacy, freedom of speech, and the rights of immigrants and homeless people, announced today that she will step down from the post she has held for 38 years.

SANTA ANA, Calif. – The ACLU of Southern California and the law firm of Hadsell, Stormer, Keeny, Richardson and Renick LLP have settled a lawsuit against Orange County’s Newport-Mesa Unified School District and Corona del Mar High School over a sexist and homophobic atmosphere that officials permitted to flourish at the school.

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Unlike Proposition 8 in 2008, any upcoming electoral campaign for marriage equality would be one of choice, not one of necessity in fending off an attack from religious-right foes. Timing is ours to determine. Going back to the ballot to remove the voter-imposed ban on same-sex marriage from the state constitution in 2010 would be rushed and risky. We should proceed with a costly, demanding, and high-stakes electoral campaign of this sort only when we are confident we can win. We should choose to Prepare to Prevail.

Motion filed in response to judge’s call for information to resolve ‘factual disputes’

NEW YORK – In response to the California Supreme Court decision allowing Prop 8 to stand, four LGBT legal organizations and five other leading national LGBT groups are reminding the LGBT community that ill-timed lawsuits could set the fight for marriage back.  The groups released a new publication, “Why the ballot box and not the courts should be the next step on marriage in California.”  This publication discourages people from bringing premature lawsuits based on the federal Constitution because, without more groundwork, the U.S. Supreme Court likely is not yet ready to rule that same-sex couples cannot be barred from marriage.  The groups also revised “Make Change, Not Lawsuits,” which was released after the California Supreme Court decision ending the ban on marriage for same-sex couples in California.  This publication encourages couples who have legally married to ask friends, neighbors and institutions to honor their marriages, but discourages people from bringing lawsuits.