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LOS ANGELES, Calif. – Seven Iranian American refugees have conditionally pled guilty

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California and the Bear Valley Unified School District announced today that they will enter into a settlement that will protect students' right to free speech.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - A high-school class president who was prohibited from wearing a homemade 'Prop. 8 Equals HATE' T-shirt at school must be allowed to wear it because the message is protected free speech under both the federal and state constitutions as well as state statute, the ACLU of Southern California has told officials of Big Bear High School.

Catherine Lhamon, the Racial Justice Director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, today urged the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors to file suit or join an existing lawsuit to overturn Proposition 8. Here is her statement:

SAN FRANCISCO - The American Civil Liberties Union, Lambda Legal and the National Center for Lesbian Rights filed a writ petition before the California Supreme Court on Nov. 5, 2008 urging the court to invalidate Proposition 8. The petition charges that Proposition 8 is invalid because the initiative process was improperly used in an attempt to undo the constitution's core commitment to equality for everyone by eliminating a fundamental right from just one group - lesbian and gay Californians. Proposition 8 also improperly attempts to prevent the courts from exercising their essential constitutional role of protecting the equal protection rights of minorities. According to the California Constitution, such radical changes to the organizing principles of state government cannot be made by simple majority vote through the initiative process, but instead must, at a minimum, go through the state legislature first.

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