Archive

SAN FRANCISCO — The Court of Appeal on Tuesday confirmed that it is illegal discrimination for a hospital to deny someone care simply because they’re transgender, allowing a lawsuit filed against Dignity Health to move forward.  Plaintiff Evan Minton was scheduled to receive a hysterectomy at Mercy San Juan Medical Center, a Sacramento-area Catholic hospital in the Dignity Health chain. Two day... Read More

SAN FRANCISCO — The ACLU is set to argue before the Court of Appeal in San Francisco Tuesday on behalf of Evan Minton, a man who was denied health care because he is transgender. Minton was scheduled to receive a hysterectomy at Mercy San Juan Medical Center, a Sacramento-area Catholic hospital in the Dignity Health chain. Two days prior to the appointment, a nurse called to discuss the surgery... Read More

SACRAMENTO — Groundbreaking legislation that would require all on-campus student health centers at public universities in California to offer medication abortion services passed in the California Assembly today with an initial vote of 44 to 15. Now, Senate Bill 24, also known as the College Student Right to Access Act, goes back to the Senate for concurrence before it heads to Governor Gavin Newso... Read More

SACRAMENTO–The California Legislature today sent State Assemblymember Phil Ting’s Body Camera Accountability Act (AB 1215) to Governor Newsom, positioning California to become the largest state in the country to block law enforcement agencies from adding facial recognition software to officer-worn body cameras. In response to the bill’s passage, Matt Cagle, Technology and Civil Liberties Attorn... Read More

SACRAMENTO–Today, the California Legislature approved SB 72, legislation by State Senator Thomas J. Umberg (D-Santa Ana) that will allow all eligible Californians to register to vote and cast a ballot at polling sites on Election Day. SB 72 now heads to Governor Newsom for his signature. If signed by the governor, Election Day registration would be available at all polling sites in California in 2... Read More

SACRAMENTO — Today, the California Senate passed AB 1215: The Body Camera Accountability Act, legislation to block law enforcement agencies from using facial recognition surveillance against Californians on officer-worn body cameras. Introduced by Assemblymember Phil Ting (D-San Francisco), AB 1215 passed the Senate just weeks after the ACLU released test results showing that facial recognition so... Read More

SACRAMENTO — Today, the California Senate voted to pass AB 45, state legislation introduced by Assemblymember Mark Stone (D-Monterey Bay) to eliminate copays for medical and dental services provided in California county jails. The bipartisan vote follows the decision by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) to voluntarily eliminate copays in state prisons earlier this ... Read More

SACRAMENTO – Today the California State Assembly passed Assembly Constitutional Amendment (ACA) 6, which would restore voting rights to nearly 50,000 Californians on parole. ACA 6, authored by Asm. Kevin McCarty (D-Sacramento), passed with a 54-16 vote. ACA 6 will next go through the California State Senate, where it will need a 2/3 majority to pass. If it passes through the Senate, the constituti... Read More

Living in California is already expensive enough for working families – paying rent, paying for childcare, putting food on the table, etc. – without also having to pay to retrieve a towed car. But every year, California local governments push countless families that are struggling to make ends meet deeper into poverty by towing their legally parked cars. Hundreds of thousands of cars are towed eac... Read More

OAKLAND — Today, the ACLU of Northern California will give public comment at the BART Board of Directors meeting calling on the Board to forgo any potential ordinance that would prohibit panhandling on BART. In its public comment letter, the ACLU warns that panhandling, busking, and other forms of solicitation are free speech protected under the First Amendment as well as state law. The letter ... Read More