News & Commentary

The San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors has settled a case brought by the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California. The suit stemmed from the County's grant of $2,500 to the Mission College Catholic Preparatory High School for a school theater production. The ACLU had argued that the grant violated the Establishment Clause of the United States constitution and Article IX and Article XVI of the California constitution, which prohibit government funding of sectarian schools and institutions.

The ACLU of Southern California today joined with community leaders in support of Maria Elena Durazo, president of Local 11 of the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union. On Thursday, Ms. Durazo completed an eleven day hunger-strike to draw attention to the union's four-year fight to win a written guarantee of job security for cafeteria workers and janitors at The University of Southern California. The ACLU, among other organizations and individuals supporting the union, have pledged to take up the hunger strike, each agreeing to go one day with only water.

The United States Supreme Court today ruled states cannot pay lower welfare benefits to new residents than to longtime residents.The 7-2 decision said California's limit on benefits for new residents violates the constitutional right to travel.

The ACLU launched the " Driving While Black or Brown (DWB)" campaign to address race-based traffic stops by the police. In an effort to reach the Asian community, outreach materials have been translated into several Asian languages, including Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Tagalog and Japanese. The Asian outreach project differs from the English and Spanish campaign in that there is no hotline available in the Asian languages. Translators who speak Cantonese, Mandarin, Vietnamese, Korean, Tagalog and Japanese will call people directly after a request form and/or a survey has been completed. Request forms and surveys are in their native languages. We hope to expand the number of languages to include Laotian and Cambodian in the near future.

Medical care shouldn't be hazardous to your health. Yet that's exactly what it is for the majority of lesbians and gay men. Studies have consistently shown that as with people of color and other minority groups gay men and lesbians are frequently discriminated against in healthcare.

The ACLU of Southern California strongly favors the establishment by municipalities of independent civilian review boards fully empowered to investigate, conduct hearings, subpoena witnesses and report their findings and recommendations on misconduct complaints made by people against law enforcement personnel.

The ACLU of Southern California today filed suit in United States District Court, alleging that this week's grant of $2,500 by San Luis Obispo County to the Mission College Catholic Preparatory High School violates the Establishment Clause of the United States constitution and Article IX and Article XVI of the California constitution, which prohibit government funding of sectarian schools and institutions.

"The ACLU has reviewed the Order of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals staying all appeals in the Proposition 187 litigation, and referring the appeals for mediation. We continue to believe that Governor Davis has both the authority and obligation to dismiss the appeal given his frank public acknowledgment that Proposition 187 is unconstitutional.

Today the ACLU of Southern California announced a a statewide campaign to publicize its . Driving While Black or Brown. hotline, 1-877-DWB-STOP (1-877-392-7867) and urged support for SB 78, legislation that would track race-based stops by California's law enforcement officers. (The Spanish language hotline is 1-877-PARALOS, 1-877-272-2567.)