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Blog

We Must Stop Forcing Conformity on Intersex Bodies

Oct 24, 2019
A core aspect of human autonomy and dignity is to be able to make decisions about our own bodies. But each year, doctors around the country continue to perform medically unnecessary, harmful surgeries on intersex infants and children, just to “normalize” their bodies. What this means is that doctors are forcing infants and young children to undergo medically unnecessary genital surgery simply to f... Read More
Father of transgender child
Blog

My Employer Denied My Transgender Daughter Equal Health Care

Oct 22, 2019
When our oldest child came out to us as transgender, my wife and I faced a steep learning curve. As part of this learning process, we discovered that transgender adolescents have significantly higher rates of depression and suicide than other teens. Learning about the struggles of those with untreated gender dysphoria—the condition of experiencing a conflict between one’s assigned gender and ge... Read More
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ACLU Demands Yuba Community College District Remove Anti-Transgender Health Care Exclusion

Oct 22, 2019
YUBA COUNTY — The ACLU of Northern California today sent a letter to Yuba Community College District and Tri-County Schools Insurance Group calling on them to immediately remove an illegal provision in the district’s employee health care plans that discriminates against transgender people with a blanket-exclusion for gender-affirming care. Our client Brian Condrey, an English Professor at Yuba ... Read More
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News

Governor Newsom Signs Groundbreaking Abortion Access Bill

Oct 11, 2019
SACRAMENTO – Today, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 24 (Leyva), groundbreaking legislation that will require student health centers at all 34 California public universities to offer medication abortion. The bill, also known as the College Student Right to Access Act, is the first of its kind in the nation, and has widespread support across the state. At the signing ceremony, Governor News... Read More
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Blog

California Just Blocked Police Body Cam Use of Face Recognition

Oct 11, 2019
The state of California just made it clear: Face recognition surveillance isn’t inevitable. We can — and should — fight hard to protect our communities from this dystopian technology. Building on San Francisco’s first-of-its-kind ban on government face recognition, California this week enacted a landmark law that blocks police from using body cameras for spying on the public. The state-wide law... Read More
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Fresno Unified District Complaint (Racial Harassment)

Oct 10, 2019
The ACLU Foundation of Northern California filed a discrimination complaint under the Uniform Complaint Procedures (UCP), on behalf of two black Bullard High School students in the Fresno Unified District, for failure to comply with the California Education Code and Fresno Unified School Board’s requirements pertaining to racially hostile environments and bullying. The UCP covers alleged violation... Read More
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ACLU Files Complaint on Behalf of Black Students at Fresno Unified Bullied and Harassed by Blackface Video

Oct 10, 2019
SAN FRANCISCO – Today, the ACLU Foundation of Northern California filed a discrimination complaint under the Uniform Complaint Procedures (UCP), on behalf of two black Bullard High School students in the Fresno Unified District, for failure to comply with the California Education Code and Fresno Unified School Board’s requirements pertaining to racially hostile environments and bullying. The UCP c... Read More
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Advocates Celebrate Governor Newsom’s Signature on SB 136, Dismantling a Cruel, Ineffective Sentence Enhancement

Oct 09, 2019
SACRAMENTO — Today, the Repeal Ineffective Sentence Enhancements (RISE) Coalition celebrated Governor Gavin Newsom’s signature on SB 136: The RISE Act. The legislation, authored by Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), dismantles a cruel, expensive, and ineffective sentence enhancement that adds an extra year to an individual’s base sentence for each prior prison or felony jail term they already... Read More
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California to Become First State to Stop Charging Copays in Jails and Prisons After Governor Signs New Law

Oct 08, 2019
SACRAMENTO — California Governor Gavin Newsom today signed historic legislation to permanently bar county jails and state prisons from charging incarcerated Californians copays and other fees for medical and dental services. AB 45, state legislation introduced by Assemblymember Mark Stone (D-Monterey Bay), goes into effect January 1, 2020, making California the first state in the country to abolis... Read More
Matt Cagle "With this law, California has acted boldly to protect civil rights and civil liberties from the threats posed by an unprecedented surveillance technology."
News

California Governor Signs Landmark Bill Halting Facial Recognition on Police Body Cams

Oct 08, 2019
SACRAMENTO — Today, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed landmark legislation making California the largest state in the country to block law enforcement agencies from using facial recognition and other biometric tracking technology in connection with officer body cameras. Assemblymember Phil Ting (D-San Francisco) introduced AB 1215: The Body Camera Accountability Act earlier this year in l... Read More