News & Commentary

The ACLU/SC has launched a public education campaign to fight misinformation about the rights people with felony convictions have to vote. Get the facts and know your rights: California residents who have finished their sentences and parole do have the right to vote. Individuals on probation also can vote. All you have to do to restore your rights and take back your voting power is to register to vote by Oct. 20th at the post office or DMV. Click here to download a quick guide, and click here to download a complete toolkit. For more information, visit Every Vote Counts.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - The film 'Tru Loved' - which tells a poignant tale about gay and lesbian teen-agers dealing with parents and high-school friendships as well as their own hopes and fears -- will premier at 2:00 p.m. this Saturday, October 11 at the Regent Showcase Theater, 614 N. La Brea Ave., Los Angeles.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - The ACLU of Southern California today announced an immigration victory for Ahilan Nadarajah, an ethnic Tamil farmer who, after being tortured in his native Sri Lanka, sought asylum in the United States. He then suffered through a nearly seven-year ordeal as Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials held him first in immigration jail and later under electronic monitoring because of secret, fake evidence accusing him of being a terrorist.

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ORANGE, CALIF. - A Buddhist congregation will be able to move forward with plans to build a long-awaited temple under the terms of a settlement announced today with the city of Garden Grove.

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ORANGE, Calif. - A state appeals court has affirmed the dismissal of misdemeanor charges of disrupting a meeting against Coyotl Tezcatlipoca, a former Orange Coast College student involved in a free-speech lawsuit against the city of Costa Mesa.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Certain laws meant to fight terrorism have actually hijacked the war on terror, says Ahilan Arulanantham, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California who will speak at a public forum on government repression Wednesday evening.

The three California affiliates of the ACLU have filed a joint request for detailed information on the focus and methods of two little-known government centers in the state that gather broad data about American citizens in the name of fighting terrorism.