Latest From ACLU of Washington

The latest content and updates from the ACLU of Washington website.

Legislators Hear Why We Should Tax and Regulate Marijuana

Published: 
Monday, February 14, 2011
Last week the House Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Committee dedicated an entire two hour hearing to HB 1550, which would tax and regulate adult marijuana use. It seems that legislators are finally giving this issue the attention it deserves.
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Protect Your Electronic Privacy: Here Are Some Tools

Published: 
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Mozilla, the makers of the FireFox web browser, and Google have recently announced plans to incorporate “Do Not Track” features into their browsers.  What this means is that users are finally afforded a simple opportunity to opt out of having their Internet activities tracked by marketers.   While it is great to see these companies finally start to take consumer’s privacy seriously, these are by no means the only tools available to consumers. We’ve compiled a list of free or mostly free tools that are to install, either as an add-on to your current browser or as stand-alone software.  We’ve also included tools that you can use to privatize you mobile computing experience, regardless of whether it is an iPhone, Blackberry, Android, or Windows Phone 7 device.  
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Final Settlement of Lawsuit Protects Amazon Users’ Privacy and Free Speech Rights

News Release, Published: 
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
The final settlement of a lawsuit in which the ACLU intervened will protect the privacy of what customers read, view, and listen to via their purchases on Amazon.com.  
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Ross Dress for Less Redresses Discrimination

Published: 
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
The ACLU-WA was recently contacted by a transgender woman who experienced discrimination at the Ross Dress for Less in Lynnwood, Washington. While trying on clothes in the women’s dressing room, this woman was interrupted by the store manager, sternly told to put on her “regular clothes,” and loudly and repeatedly instructed to leave the dressing room area immediately. The ACLU-WA contacted Ross’ headquarters to explain that the Lynnwood store manager’s actions clearly violated the Washington Law Against Discrimination.
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Clothing Store Responds to Incident of Discrimination

Published: 
Monday, February 7, 2011
After undertaking advocacy efforts in response to an incident of unlawful discrimination at a local Ross Dress for Less, the ACLU-WA has good news to report: Ross Stores, Inc. has taken action to ensure that transgender customers do not face discriminatory treatment in the future. A transgender woman reported that a manager loudly told her to leave a dressing room and put on her “regular clothes” when she was trying on apparel at Ross’ Lynnwood, Washington, location. The ACLU-WA contacted Ross’ president to remind him that Washington law bars retail stores from discriminating against customers based on gender identity or expression. The company responded by clarifying for its employees that the company’s prohibition on “gender” discrimination includes discrimination against persons on the basis of their gender identity or expression and instructing its employees to accommodate customers’ gender identities in the use of changing dressing rooms and restrooms.
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Opposition to Gang Bill Continues to Grow

Published: 
Monday, February 7, 2011
Last week, 25 community-based groups sent a strongly worded letter opposing Atty. Gen. Rob McKenna’s gang bill (HB 1126), saying it wouldn’t reduce crime and would lead to profiling in communities of color. So far, a total of 50 groups from across Washington have come out against the proposed legislation.
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