Stories from the ACLU of Washington

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Published: 
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
With the approval of R-74, same-sex couples across the state are getting ready to line up to obtain marriage licenses starting Dec.6 and are moving forward with long-cherished dreams for  marriage ceremonies.  Our state’s media have been filled with their truly heart-warming stories.
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Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Our state’s Prescription Monitoring Program (PMP) recently suffered a data breach. It appears that the private prescription information of at least 34 patients was accessed by an unauthorized person for unknown reasons. Perhaps identity theft is involved, but there could be other motives, including identifying potential people to steal drugs from, simple snooping, or even blackmail. At a minimum, the privacy of these patients has been invaded.
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Thursday, November 15, 2012
Russell delivered these remarks when he accepted the ACLU-WA’s Youth Activist Award for 2012 at the Bill of Rights Celebration Dinner on Nov. 10.
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Wednesday, November 14, 2012
The Bill of Rights Dinner on Saturday was such a celebration!  I have to tell you a story about it.
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Thursday, November 8, 2012
California voters narrowly rejected Proposition 34, a ballot measure to replace the death penalty with a sentence of life without parole. Although a majority of voters chose to retain the death penalty, the fact that close to half the voters supported repeal represents a dramatic shift away from capital punishment.
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Tuesday, November 6, 2012
The ACLU of Washington would like to thank all of the amazing volunteers who have made the campaign to Approve Referendum 74 one of the largest efforts our state has ever seen.
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Friday, November 2, 2012
A recent report prepared by the Marijuana Arrest Research Project sheds light on the tremendous amount of resources Washington State has devoted to marijuana law enforcement over the last 25 years. There have been over 240,000 arrests for adult marijuana possession, consuming over $300 million in taxpayer money, since 1986. And people of color are the more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession in Washington state. Disturbingly, racially disproportionate enforcement is getting worse. Using data from the Marijuana Arrest Research Project report, the ACLU of Washington has produced an infographic that visualizes this increasing disparity,
Published: 
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Marginalized people need to know that they have the right to vote. To that end, I was recently one of a small group of thoughtful, committed Seattle University law students who helped people in local homeless shelters and food banks participate in the democratic process.
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Friday, October 19, 2012
Today is Spirit Day when people across the country wear purple as a sign of support for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth and to speak out against bullying.  
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Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Two weeks ago we brought you news about the four states that have marriage-related ballot initiativesthis fall. As the election quickly approaches, each of the campaigns in Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, and Washington have begun running television ads that highlight the stories of individuals, religious leaders, and community leaders who support the freedom to marry. These ads show the underlying issue at stake this fall – that marriage, both for straight and gay couples, is about building a life with someone and making a commitment to take care of and love one another.
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Thursday, October 4, 2012
“GOP Senate hopeful latest to endorse legal pot” proclaimed an Associated Press report carried by media statewide yesterday.  It came after Michael Baumgartner, the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate who is a state senator from Spokane, announced that he is supporting Initiative 502 – citing his experience as an advisor to a counternarcotics team in Afghanistan.
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Wednesday, October 3, 2012
A vibrant democratic society prizes freedom of speech. Its government does not try to protect the public from messages that some people find offensive or disturbing. President Obama asserted this principle before the United Nations General Assembly saying, "…in a diverse society, efforts to restrict speech can quickly become a tool to silence critics and oppress minorities.”

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