Latest From ACLU of Washington

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

Published: 
Thursday, July 1, 2010
  Es costumbre que el cuatro de julio es un tiempo de celebrar la independencia estadounidense y nuestra libertad política con cuetes y carne asada.  Pero este año, hay un sentido mutua en nuestras comunidades que nuestra libertad y dignidad colectiva esta amenazada con la ley de discriminación racial de Arizona, SB 1070.  
Published: 
Thursday, July 1, 2010
    The Fourth of July is typically a time to celebrate our nation’s independence and our collective political freedom with fireworks and BBQs. However, this year many people, including myself, feel that our political freedom and dignity have been threatened by unfair legislation: Arizona’s racial profiling law, SB 1070.    
Published: 
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Well, that settles it – government surveillance without suspicion is a costly endeavor. The case surrounding the false arrest of Phil Chinn –the Olympia activist targeted for surveillance based on his political associations – has come to a close. Unfortunately, a new ACLU report on political spying shows that coordinated efforts to target political activists for surveillance persist not only throughout Washington, but throughout the country.
News Release, Published: 
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
In response to civil liberties threats caused by the passage of Arizona's racial profiling law, the ACLU of Washington issued a travel alert today informing Washington residents of their rights when stopped by law enforcement when traveling in Arizona. News Flash: Court Blocks Implementation of Key Sections of Arizona's Racial Profiling Law
News Release, Published: 
Monday, June 28, 2010
Three law enforcement agencies in Washington are paying a total of $418,000 to resolve a lawsuit over the wrongful arrest and covert surveillance of an Olympia activist who was prevented from participating in a lawful demonstration.
Published: 
Monday, June 28, 2010
Last week, Seattle's weekly Stranger newspaper reported on the launch of a new meth outreach program: For 16 years, Seattle Counseling Service (SCS), an LGBT mental-health- and addiction-­counseling center, has focused its meth outreach on gay men. A month ago, the organization started something different: Women OUT, a weekly meth-abuse support group for lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LBTQ) women. This is a good thing. Rates of current (past-month) use of methamphetamine by women and men have been equal in recent years. Why the previous focus on gay men? According to a 2004 report published by the National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors and the National Coalition of STD Directors, evidence suggested that meth use increased the likelihood of engaging in risky behavior like unprotected sex. Well, yes, that shouldn't have surprised anyone.
Published: 
Friday, June 25, 2010
You might have thought that “debtors' prisons” were extinct. But people are still being jailed in Washington all too often simply because they can’t pay their court-ordered financial obligations in a criminal case. The Washington Supreme Court recently agreed with ACLU-WA that it is not fair to “automatically” send a person to jail for failure to pay these financial obligations, without a hearing to determine if the person has the ability to pay.
News Release, Published: 
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Founded in 1935 by a small group of labor activists and others in Seattle, the ACLU of Washington has grown to become a statewide organization with more than 20,000 card-carrying members and a staff of nearly 30.
Published: 
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Fair Play in Community Sports This summer marks the one-year anniversary of the Washington Fair Play Law, the law that requires community sports programs to provide equal benefits and opportunities to girls in sports. While the federal Title IX law has long prohibited discrimination in school sports, community sports programs could - and did - discriminate with impunity. So the Fair Play Law was passed to deal with persistent inequities that played out in community sports programs throughout the state. Read more
Published: 
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
It's the 75th anniversary of the ACLU of Washington, and we've put up ads all over the city of Seattle to celebrate!
News Release, Published: 
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Standing up for consumer rights, the ACLU says that individuals have the right to read books, view films, and buy other items without the government keeping tabs on what they choose to read, watch, or purchase.

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